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

- [franklin] this morning, i came, i sa and i w conquer, as everye woulbe o sees f the fir time this gre feat ofankind. 10 years agothe plac where are gatred was annpeopled forbding desert. ose precitous walls ro to heig of morthan ahousand et, are he to cebrate the completi of the gatest m in theorld, rising26 feet ove thbedrock the rivti

and alring theeography of . the ople othe ove ited stas are prd.ti other greaachievemt ofmerican sourcefuess, american skill, and american determination.

(sofmusic) now thesare, thi is t tape fr, recentlyaped 'emt, heh hehy left , d then jt kept them aft the elw. (indisnct) (mal clankg softly) little qeter, th have a g dam canvas tpaint? - (laus) go foit.

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 mikal'advice haunteme for mths with paint bket, alo, inhe middlof the nht, st to ma a stament? myame's be by the y. we'll . 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 wi how to oid gettinarrestd whilcrawlingnside th.

ms don'tust 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. da and hropowereprent a pital pa of u. history da and hropowereprent there'no denyi that. but st like y other source velopmenin the u.,istory weook too far there ar75,000 ds erhree 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 fwas being feby powerhyopower ane.ated nedams wer beinbuilt soast that the engeering tecology stggled to keep . 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. d by theegendaryierra club fouer, johnuir, to flood nationapark. semite'stunning tch tchy valy was mmed

to provide watertorage for t. 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 time coul's gerators wt online

the u.s.ydropowes syem was fding byan iatiable mand ger electritynline to bld airples, ship anbombs foworld waii. 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. 30,000riva and fedal ms wercompted betwee1950 and970. byhat poin the yelwstone was one very fe 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, reclamion'w secret weap was qug a littlenown tional tasure, wi very lile opposion. a littlenown tional tasure, - ife'd had own howbeautil, he would've foht it tooth a nail. brer now ss thatas the biggest stake hever made [ben] in973, the endangedt was set into motion by president nixon. a bold me to protect endangedpeci from extinctn, a conseence of econic dev. could nobe heldgo accountae by lawies, 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 ain. ere are grand tol, in tt pool or ther somee countethem wanyesterda 73 salm.n.

love peoe with sheries d wildli, "tre are ectly 73, gor" love peoe with s(peoe laugng)li, so, to tse, we s we wt 73,000ore. weome backcome on ba. sthat what ise s dais all aut.ore. ) w deep ts, rely deep is is. until yoget righhere to the ge . ah, i me it was nda know that tay was t last da untiof our fin operatis the ge . up he on theam. ah, a lile refleive. oft musi you comento a plt, anas you lrn to opate d spend me with em, yolearn toisten toertain soundl

rtain viations thatre not tical. buthis machi, for as many y, would block loait, and she'd just run and run smooth. i think she'd kept on runnin' just for years and years. ju 1st was big day that w hard, il beonest wi y. 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.

country, to remo every d. viour the's not ubt abouthat. s this thing rlly wortit? tohe amerin taayer to this? did it rlly make diffence? and if i10 or 20 years wn , did it rlly make diffence? we lk back anday, "notng rely chang that mu," th i think we' all gonna co some similar 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 stement about tang out eha dam in mfirst mohs in ofce

- made a stement 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 med to th statof washiton in 11, was told"gotta g involve - en withhe elwhaamh statoreval projt!n 11, 's gonnaappen anyear n." 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 saon stilbeating eir head e still ere, agait the boom of thdam. a centy later, they'rstill ti to getpstrea into olympic tional pk. rennectingt with e fish tt were tre for hundre of ousands of yrs,

it a very werful eerience. - ere's the things that cen there'hope, hulity, and happess. plac like sohwest alkathe hult tand her plac where you see e abdance, d just aasic spitual hainess at you c't find , tai n't findn ahelot ofther. you see e abdance, - it w the elds that kept theemory ale. it w the elds that passedhat knowdge, the knledge ofhis they don forget. th don'tove on.. they rember an theyersisteny seek restation ofhat was ce. ani'm ju gratefu thate're abl toee it haen in o lifetim

thfish comback for mang t and suain the ople. - thpeople othe loweelwha,mang t ey enter into a treatyn 1855 that gavthe word of thenite, thathey woulbe able contue theiray of li, and to le off th abunnt resoues 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 foabout 10years. 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 r reacheof the s. how had ey arriv? anher fairtale. bywimming ainst e of theost poweul rivers on eth, past eig deadly dams, all the waup from e pacifi why d they me such a insaneourney? other woer. these lorestones a cleacurrentso high a far om the s, once gave thelife. thgh they ssess litel mo, noegs, hooves, ft. by smming ho, at thetocertaice thpebbles the birth,litel mo, - yeah, just wan welcome you fo.

inorth arica of hydy s water aecond, going through each of the big penstocks, and when it's really cranking good, it will actually vibrate through the bedrock, you can sometimes fe 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, st to sa a couplof salmo ere are ose thathink tha the tive amecans t a raw al. me of th, of coue, woullike to back and ha their nive salm runsnd live off the la. but ings proess. (chkles) solete iterms offficienc so if weant to selectivy take o me of the olr, small dams, not rely a proem there

conceivef anybod but is 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 river, le a dam es, andis e of stor in term bacof tir abili to acssa spartf the wothey nee to cplete thr life cle. - [ben] me peoe still fine spe pacific rthwest gion t anywhersalmon c swim. it a romanc thing say, b that wod mean thterritorhas been cut inalf by ds. atne pointthe combian ake rive shown he in red werehe most oductivewild sas inhe lower8. now the ns hoverround 8% of thr formerlory.

the onlyhance fotheir offsprinto get tthe ocea isf the damsre spling wat, buthat eques to wted powe so you'lcommonly see junis being transported barges and t, 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, everaspect otheir fl is ctrolled compute in a ptland ofce. duringpring ruff, when then the's actuly a surus of energy ithe gr at time leaving wind-generatedpowero the's actuly a surus of enand one to y for it seeinghousandsf wind turbines generating wi power the colbia rge, witno impac

dropowerould be market as gr. one ings forure thou, the o-dam crd seems little teatened it. - yeah, 's like anie babs, the d of beae babies everyby had haveeanie baes. we, wind ia fad, tt evybody hato have nd. everyby had anthen, you buall these bnie babi d you lo up the elf d you t all of these anie s and wh arehey goodor? wellnot much anthat's just thsame th wind,t's just fad. - en] it'seally ha to ve a balced convsation on theubject o damsersus salmon en the mt outspon pro-da politians in the coury fused alof our quests f intervis. - well, e ofhem reluctany let usn, and th not so luctany asd us to ave. i can'say i rely ble these ys r not wanting talk to us, but couldn't hp but woer luckfor us, heard ty re throwg a ttle pty introduce bill th woulprohibitederal fding

from ever ing used for dam reval, auorizedy congre. unless l - ank you,r. chairman, thk you, eeciall for hoing thisearing to dtroy ourations'systems . some pple seem to havforgote at beforthe era of damon, the eness cyclof witheng drghts andiolent fods, they turd , but er theast w decade itprings fm the birre tion thamother ethlicy.

must brestoredo her istine p-historiconditio iteven iit meansestoring then tion thamother ethlicy. its priine prhistoricondition ey're nosatisfie witherely blking ery wad electrityvery op od in theirleak andtifling andimly. mes in which gravel has replaced green lawns and toilets constantly back up. to m these gring hypocrisies destroy their credibility and real an unashedly nihilid this is e kind o luna we are cing. you deawith the peop, you ben to reaze becae we lethem. we're not going let em anymo.

(crowd alaudin (cro cheerin (st music)(man chaering fat) - [b] as tpting ast wato stay d high-fe all r new prdam friends, the was a ace st a fewiles awa commted whatoday the ar r what wou be caed an act of ctural gecide. - as srman alee, a spone cor d'alenindi says, 's that rious a mbol. and toun the ds in a w thatipes outheir culre, at roves the cale fm ranche antells cooys that they'rdoingr

at roves the - [wom] this icelilo fls. the age-d fishinground of t columbiriver inans. re is a sherman, swingi t gaering fi for e salmoneast 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 itas salmo comi up the ver. the celi falls w e grande rendezvs placfor our ople, and pleau trib, in geral. it matted not ether yowas yaka,

wha, didn't mter. u was a rt of it. this mist and the roar of that water is just, ings tha in my mories, that'st unfortunately the last time,hisd 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

will dappear fever. they will cover the great fishing grounds, and the way of life that i(sofmusic coinues)re (vicles whring) - celiloalls wasone. knew whawas therand knew whathey'd de. somemes i geout andi look oa d i can ill see ere mehings shld be, d they'rnot ere noore.

the windas chang, beuse of the flat rfaces coming uthe coluia. the mperates of th watersave chand. e dead wer makes it harr h to getp and do. and noall it i is a bi bodyf water,s all its. it meansothing tme. all it mea is wh these ds have de, ast was th we remeer.iss not y [ben] dang backmore tha10,0, lilo wasne of tholdest, 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,