(insects chirping) (critters chittering) (birds chirping) (soft music)

- [franklin] this morning, i came, i sa and i w conquer, everyone would o sees f the fir time this gre feat ofankind. 10 yrs ago, e placewhere were gd was unpeopl, foidding dert. in theottom of the glmy cao ose precitous walls ro to heig of morthan a tusand fe, we a here tocelebrate the cn of the gatest dam in theorld, rising26 feet overate the cn thbedrock the riv

and alring theeography of . the ople othe overate the cn uned stateare prou anher eat achiement of amerin resourfulness, american skill, and american determination.

- now the are, ts ishe tape om, recent taped ' at, tch hehy left , d then jt kept them aft the elw. (indisnct) (mal clankg softly little qeter, (mal clankg) coared to is, you know? - en] any rds of ipirationfor as at have a big dam canvas to paint? - (laughs) go for it.

but it bigg and betr. definily do bier and bter. but it bigg and betr. dot, you kw, it like, gat, 25 yea ago, weid a coue pated crac on dams pass it's ol been do. ta it a st further 25 yea ago, weid a coue justomethingsomethin prealmpressiv dams don't kn what th'd be, but comep with somethin (laughs - [ben] spiratiocan be a prettyangeroushing. mikal'advice haunteme for mths wh soc rappels f a 200-ot dam wi a paintucket, ane, the mide of theight, st to ma a stament? anay, i'm tting way aheaof mysel we'll t back to th. myame's be by the y. it was kd of embrassing how lia when itarted working this fi. i us to sneainside their ovflow tunls ce in hile, take otos my fries skatebrding. sohe extenof my knledge aboudams mosy had too m

dams don just blend in apart of the ldscape tme anymo. kning what i kw now, it's impossiblfor me to look at dams the same way i did a few years ago. or even rivers for that matter. to look at dams the same da and hropowereesentrs ago. a pithere'no denyi that.. but st like y other sourcee velopmenin the u.,sentrs ago. weook too far there ar75,000 ds overhree feehigh in the uted stat. at's thequivalen of blding on everydayince thos jeffern (soft music continues) - [ben] dams have been a common part of the american landscape for centuries. most early communities were established on the banks of rivers, so dams could be built

to divert river flows to water wheels to run machinery. ound theime edis had e light lb dialein, the fit hydroectric powers w being gerated one poi, nearlyhalf theounr the fwabeing d byic powerdropowerlone.ated nedams wer beinbuilt soast that the eineering thnology ruggled to keeup. one of the worst disasters in u.s. history occurred in 1889, when pennsylvania south fork dam failed with no warning. the city of johnstown was leveled with 20 million tons of water, taking 2,200 lives. the flood is still referred to as a natural disaster, despite the fact that there's really nothing natural about impounding a river behind a poorly constructed wall. in the late 1800s, the government was faced with a tough choice, when they began to realize that every major fishery in the country was at risk. either start regulating the impact of harvest pollution

and dams on wild fish, or mitigate that loss by trading nature for science. the answer was the national fish hatchery system. in 1902, the reclamation act was passed by congress, to promote the settlement of the west through the development of irrigation projects to support small family farms. this well-intentioned mission devolved into the bureau of reclamation, whose short-sided projects began a legacy of resource abuse. transporting and impounding absurd amounts of water to support unsustainable desert agriculture and sprawling urban development. - [franklin] the mighty waters of the colorado, were running unused to the sea. today we translate them into a great national possession. - [ben] 1913, aeven-yea envinmental ttle, d by theegendaryierra club fouer, johnuir, ended inain, whecongress gavehe greenight flood aational rk. semite'stunning tch tchy valy wadammed to prode watertorage for the.

on march 12th, 1928, 12 hours after a safety inspection by its engineer william mulholland, california's st. francis dam broke free from its foundation, sending a wall of l.a.'s water supply plowing downstream. mulholland was cleared of any wrongdoing, but felt personally responsible for dam's failure. "i envy the dead," said mulholland at a court hearing. "don't blame anyone else. if there was an error in human judgment, i was the human." during the great depression, reclamation began the two most ambitious engineering efforts in u.s. history. the hoover dam on the border of arizona and nevada, and the grand coulee dam in eastern washington. both projects created thousands of coveted jobs, and were proudly embraced by the public as national treasures. byhe te coul's gerators wt online

e u.s. hropower' syst was feeng byan iatiable mand ger electritynline to bld airples, ship and bombs r world r ii. if the era of dams had a golden age, it was the following 20 years. the army corps of engineers, the bureau of reclamation, and the tennessee valley authority were the government's dream team. if it flowed, was dammed. any river left unharnessed was considered a dangerous torrent with wasted potential. 30,000rivate and fedal ms wercompted between 50 and 10. by that pot, the ylowstone wasw altered tersheds left it. whenhe bureaof reamation gan running out of ideal locations to build dams, shit starting getting weird. massive dams were proposed in grand canyon national park and utah's dinosaur national monument. led by environmentalist david brower, the sierra club worked quickly to rally a massive outcry of public disapproval.

but while brower's attention was focused elsewhere, a lile kno natial trease, wi very lile opposion. a lile kno natial trease, - ife'd had own howbeautif, brow now say thatas the bgest stake hever made - [ben] in 1973, the endangered species act was set into motion by president nixon. a bold me to protect endangedpecies fromxtinctn, a conseence of econic dev. could now hd acuntable law. in 1976, the bureau of reclamation set up a claims office in eastern idaho, to divvy out $300 million to the communities in the flood path of their newly completed teton dam. as its reservoir filled for the very first time, the 300-foot earthen dam started to liquefy and cave away, taking 11 lives downstream.

duri an inteiew withhe hi countryews in 15, clinton appointed bureau of reclamation commissioner dan beard stated that, "the bureau's future isn't in dams. the era of dams is over." in 1997, the 162-year-old edwards dam, on maine's kennebec river, became the first major dam removal in u.s. history. river conservation organization, american rivers, becadecled 2011 thejor dam remoar of thriver,story. multipldam reval projts began cludinthe largt in.s. histy, (soft muc contins) - we areere todato say wee here tsay welce ba to the lmon. want u to livfree aga. ere are grand tol, in tt pool or there, somee countethem wantsterday,3 salmona.

love peoe with sheries d wildli, "tre are ectly 73, gor" (peoe laughi) so, to tse, we s we wt 73,000ore. weome backcome on ba. that what th day all abo. (wat rushing hodeep thi real deep th is. until yoget righhere to the ed . ah, i me it was nda know that tay was t last da untiof our fin operatis the ed . up he on theam. ah, a lile refleive. oft musi you comento a plt, anas you lrn to opate d spend me with em, u learn listen certain soundl

would block loait, and she'd just run and run smooth. i think she'd kept on runnin' just for years and years. beonest wi y. that wl tohut downwo perfely go runningower plas, itasn't ea. we, a count right n, it's not just an enterprise to blow something up and build something new and grander. i mean, we're removing these for good. ananwe're nojusting neking damout,r. anthey're sing the jobs. yeah, i ve, i obably he so personafeelingsowards

country, to remo every d.ious r the's not ubt abouthat. s this thing rlly wortit? was worth t $370 millio tohe amerin taayer to this? did it rlly make diffence? d if in or 20 years do the road, we lk back anday, "notng rely chang that mu," dthen think we' yeaall gonna mead, some simir conclusions. and only times gonna tell us if that's gonna be true or not. - [ben] what's your gut say to you? - what's my gut say? uh, i just assume not say anything. (laughs) - [b] that says a lot. (laughs) i'm not nning fo polics, ddy. (lahs) - made a stament out taki out eha dam in mfirst mohs in ofce

- made a stament and itaused a t of trole the esident, psident inton, tk me asi and sai "bce, what all ts ta about rovg dams - en i fir mov to the state 9 was told"gotta g involve with t elwha d remol projec 's gonnaappen anyear n." so, 20 yrs later it's aually haening. the damsboth of em, re illeg to starwith, becausof existg legislion, which stated essentially that any dam built, had to have passage for migrating salmon. - all the species of wild fish that have ever live in elwha e still ere, ologistsnow that - adulsnook sa stilbeating eir head againsthe bott of the m. - a ceury late sttheye still tryiad to getpstrea into olympinat. rennectingt with e fish tt were tre for hundre of ousands of yrs,

- thn there'hope, hulity, and happess. - thn thhope of covery i a loof theselaces, the huli when u go to placess and otr places where you see e abdance, d just aasic spitual hainess at you c't find , pt the mory aliv - it wast itas the eers that passedh, the owledge this river ints origiv - it wast theyersisteny seekey remben restorion of wt was on. ani'm ju gratefu thate're abl toee it haen in o lifetim

thfish comback for mang t and suain the ople. - the ople othe loweelwha,mang t that gavthe word of thenite, thathey woulbe able coinue the way of fe, and toive off e abdant resrces of that free-flowing river. although the u.s. constitution says that treaties are the supreme law of the land, the people of the lower elwha saw only injustice t there'a healinnow, becae thats changi. all of iian couny is here in spirit,

and their eyes are focused on the people of the lower elwha. en chantg) (sofmus)

- "whe had thecome fro the aner sound like fai tale. the fareacheof the s. how had ey arriv? anher fairtale. bywimming ainst onof the mt poweul rivers on eth, past eig deadly dams, all the waup from e pacifi why had ey made ch an sane jouey? anotr wonder these corestones a cleacurrentso high a far om the s, once gave thelife. noegs, hooves,eet. by smming ho, at thetocertaice e pebbleof the birth, in oer to crte ti silver fspring. - yeah, just wan welcome you fo.

inorth america of hydy going through each of the big penstocks, and when it's really cranking good, it will actually vibrate through the bedrock, you can sometimes feel it clear across the river. so you just really know there's a lot of power there. there are those that would take out every dam, just to ve a coue of saln. so you just really know there's a lot of power there. ere are ose thathink tha the nave amerins goa raw de. and have theirative saon ru and live off the nd. but ings proess. (chkles) solete iterms offficienc so iweant to but selectivy take okles) me of thos olde smallerams, not rely a proem there

conceivef anybod but th t ally, seously,anting to take is damut. a dam, f salmon,essentiay is, l. thr basic fe histo reques the jenile fi and the ult fisho come back to eir spawng strea so, anytng that oc a river,ike a dadoes, isnd of sty, in tes ofheir abity to acss spartf the wothey nee ato cplete thr life cle. isnd of sty, in tes - [bensome peoplstill dene spthpacific rthwest gion at anywhersalmon c swim. it a romanc thing say, b that wod mean thterritorhas been cut inalf by ds. atne pointthe coluian sne river, swn here red, re the mt producve wildalmon fieries inhe lower8. now the ns hoverround 8% of thr formerlory.

the onlyhance r their offsprg tn isf the damsre spling wat, buthat eques to wted powe so you'lcommonly see junis being tranorted barges and trk, used tmake the 900-mi journen in ida's redfi lake. in 1992,nly one sh made it hom. th have rerned i the years sce, the amot of mon spt on recery effos, it com to $9,0 per fis thethe vers are run li mae spt on recery effos, . duri spring noff, whun li mae the vers are crankin the's acally a splus of energye leaving wind-generatedpowero the's acally a splus of energye and one to y for it seeinghousandsf wind turbines generating wind power in the cumbia gorge, wh no impt

seeinghousandsf wind on salmoruns turbind water ality,wind power definily raisethe estion ato how dropowerould be market as gr. one ings forure thou, the pro-m crowd ems a little t. - yeah, 's like anie babs, the d of beae babies everyby had haveeanie baes. we, wind ia fad, tt evybody hato have nd. anyou loadp the shf d you t all of these anie s and wh arehey goodor? d you t all of these anie s wellnot much and wh arehey goodor? a- en] it'seally ha to wive a balced convsation on theubject o damsersus salmon en the mt outspon pro-da politians inhe coury fused alof our quests f intervis. - wellone of them reluctany let usn, and en not sreluctany asd us to ave. i can'say i rely ble these ys r not wanting talk to u but i uldn't helbut wond whatheir rheric r nould sounlike.lk to u but i uldn't helbut wond luckfor us, heard ty re throwg a ttle pty introduce bill th woulprohibitederal fding

from ever ing used for dam reval, the stu of dam moval, unless elicitl auorizedy congre. - thk you, m chairman, ank you,speciall for hoing thisearing thcontinui drive o the enronmentaleft, some pple see at beforthe era of damon, the eness cyclof witheng drghts andiolent fods, they turd , but over theast w decade dical anretrogra ideolog itprings fm the birre tion thamother ethlicy. must brestoredo her istine p-historiconditio

iteven iit meansestoring then tion thamother ethlicy. its pstine prhistoricondition ey're nosatisfie witherely blking ery wad electrityvery op od in theirleak andtifling andimly. and ilets cotantly bk up. to m these gring hyprisies stroy thr credibity and real an unashedly nihilid this is e kind o luna we are cing. you deawith the peop, you ben to reaze we a literal dealing with te on tse issue of ourubly beuse we l them. we're not going let em anymo.

(crowd alaudin (cro cheerin (sofmusic) an chaering fatly) - [b] as tpting ast wato stay d high-fe all r new prdam fries, commted whatoday the ar r what wou be caed an act of ctural gecide. - as srman alee, a spone cor d'alenindian says, 's that rious a mbol. and toun the ds in a w thatipes outheir culre, thr spiritlity d their venue, is like the being federal reaucrac at roves t catt froranches antells cooys that they'rdoingr

at roves t - [wom] this icelilo fls. the age-d fishingrounds of theo. re is a sherman, swingi t thering sh for the salm feast and my d woke meup and iwas. "ce on, so let's g the fi are comg." itounded le a thound pele with oar, ating onhe water was saln cong up thriver. the celi falls w e grande rendezvs placfor our ople, and pleau trib, in geral. it matted not ether yowas yama,

wha, dn't matr. u was a rt of it. this mist and the roar of that water is just, ings tha in my mories, that'st en i thi about i i can tually hr it. - this is the rst, a unfortunately the last time, that we will ever have a film of this ceremony. as you will see, the great dalles dam, which is being built several miles below here, will soon back up over these falls. they will cover the great fishing grounds, and the way of life that indians have had here

they will cover the will dappear fever.nds, and the way of life that i(sofmusic coinues)re (vicles whring) celilo fls was ge. knew whawas therand knew whathey'd de. somemes i geout andi look oa d i can ill see ere me things shld be, d they'rnot there no me.

the windas chang, because ofhe flat rfaces coming uthe coluia. the mperatur of thewaters he the deadater mak it hder for e fish to get uand down and now l it is,s a big body oi it meansothing tme. and noalit meanss a big body oi wh they to away. wh these ds have de, th is not e same cntry it was at we rember. [ben] dang backmore tha10,0, th is not e same cntry celi was onef the olst, continuously inhabited communities in north america, until it was flooded in 1957. at one point, the army corps of engineers offered to lower the water backed up behind the dalles dam,