Social considerations for the removal of dams and other aquatic barriers

Abstract

Abstract Stream connectivity restoration through the removal or mitigation of dams and other anthropogenic barriers is critical for aquatic species conservation. Historically, stream connectivity restoration planning has been focused on biophysical criteria; however, aquatic barriers are embedded in social contexts that can constrain restoration decisions. To support the integration of social considerations into stream connectivity conservation planning, we synthesized the available research involving social criteria linked to barrier removal. We found that the literature has been focused predominantly on the removal of dams and identify four major categories of social considerations for barrier removal: economics, nonmarket social values, safety, and procedural context. We reviewed contemporary barrier removal prioritization efforts and found that existing approaches typically only consider small subsets of social considerations and face issues with data availability. The findings synthesized in the present article establish potential criteria that could be integrated into effective stream connectivity restoration planning and inform future data capture efforts for barrier removal.