According to the organization American Rivers, preliminary figures of an annual survey of government agencies and private conservation organizations show that as many as 50 dams in a dozen or more states were removed or were slated for removal in 2008. Since 1999, nearly 300 dams have been demolished nationwide, good news for walleyes and other gamefish.

Many dams across the U. S. are falling into disrepair. “Often the best way to fix a dam is to remove it entirely,” says Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. One dam with a date for destruction specifically to benefit walleyes is the Ballville Dam in Fremont, Ohio. Located on the Sandusky River, the dam is scheduled to come down by late 2012, allowing walleyes access to 22 additional upstream river miles for spawning in the spring of 2013.

The Sandusky’s walleye stock has been struggling in recent years, and removal of the Ballville Dam is expected to go a long way toward stabilizing and improving this particular population of fish. Walleyes spawning in the Sandusky swim out of Lake Erie, cross Sandusky Bay, then ascend the river.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife has agreed to contribute $5 million toward the dam-removal project. But before the dam comes down, the city of Fremont must first build a 100-acre water reservoir, as the current dam impounds the city’s water supply. Once that’s accomplished, the Ballville Dam (built in 1911) will be demolished in layers, allowing upstream sediments to stabilize rather than wash downstream if the dam were to be removed all at once.

Also notable is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Passage Program, which in 2008 provided nearly $8.3 million to remove or bypass more than 168 barriers to fish migrations. Coupled with almost $18 million in partnership funds, the program is helping reopen 1,716 miles of streams and rivers and 9,471 acres of critical aquatic habitat.

One exemplary project supported by the program is the removal of the Balmoral Dam on Mill Creek, a major tributary to the Wisconsin River, Wisconsin. The project will restore stream flows and allow access to more than 92 miles of habitat for walleyes, brook trout, smallmouth bass, western sand darters, and other native fish species. The removal will also improve the quality of the coldwater trout fishery in the upstream reach, the warmwater fishery in the lower section, and boost water quality throughout the stream.

Since its inception in 1999, the National Fish Passage Program has removed or bypassed 655 obstructions, restoring access to almost 10,612 miles of river and 51,361 acres of wetlands. For details, visit fws.gov/fisheries/fwma/fishpassage.