American Rivers Announces 2024 Most Endangered Rivers

The non-profit American Rivers has dropped its 2024 list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers with a special emphasis on small streams and wetlands that are left unprotected after a 2023 Supreme Court ruling in regards to the Clean Water Act.

The annual report spotlights rivers that are threatened by development, pollution, loss of legal protections, habitat loss, water withdrawal, dams, mining, climate change, and more.

According to the report, nearly 50 percent of waterways in the U.S. are “too polluted for swimming or fishing. Freshwater species are going extinct faster than ocean or land species, and rivers are among the most threatened e2206cosystems on the planet.”

Several rivers on the list are of particular interest to fly anglers, including streams in New Mexico, Connecticut, California, Tennessee, Alaska, and West Virgina. The full list is:

1. Rivers of New Mexico
2. Big Sunflower & Yazoo Rivers (Mississippi)
3. Duck River (Tennessee)
4. Santa Cruz River (Arizona)
5. Little Pee Dee River (South & North Carolina)
6. Farmington River (Connecticut and Massachusetts)
7. Trinity River (California)
8. Kobuk River (Alaska)
9. Tijuana River /Rio Tijuana (California)
10. Blackwater River (West Virginia)

Rivers of New Mexico

Recently stripped Clean Water Act protections have been removed by a Supreme Court ruling, opening up most of New Mexico’s rivers, streams, and wetlands. In particular, the Rio Grande (brown trout, rainbow trout, cuttbow trout, northern pike), Gila River (rainbow trout, rainbow X gila trout, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass), San Juan River (big-ass trout), Pecos River (brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout), and smaller tributaries like Rio Costilla (Rio Grande cutthroat, cuttbows, rainbows, browns, brook trout).

According to the report: “To address the gap in clean water protections left by the Supreme Court decision, New Mexico must secure durable funding to establish a state-led surface water permitting program to protect its rivers, streams, and wetlands. The state’s heritage, environment, people, and economy depend on it.”

Duck River

Tennessee’s Duck River is one of the most biologically diverse systems in the world and is an important recreation hub for Tennessee. The headwaters section holds smallies, spotted bass, and panfish, the 10-mile tailwater stretch below Normandy Lake hosts trout, and the lower section is home to panfish and spotted and largemouth bass. The Duck is home to over 150 fish species all told.

From the report: “Population and industry growth has led to extreme development pressures, and local water utilities are trying to dramatically increase the amount of water they withdraw from the Duck. Unsustainable overconsumption of water from the Duck threatens to drain the river during periods of low flow and drought. This puts long-term water supply for local communities and the river’s aquatic inhabitants at risk.”

Trinity River

A major tributary to the Klamath, the Trinity River in California hosts rainbow trout, steelhead, browns and even King salmon. Dams have impeded the anadromous runs, the fish can get as far as Lewiston Dam and are protected by special regulations. It also hosts the rare green sturgeon.

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From the report: “The Trinity River is diverted into the Sacramento River for the Central Valley Water Project. Until a Record of Decision (ROD) was signed to restore the river in 2000, up to 90% of the river was diverted. The ROD–which allows up to 49% of river to stay in the watershed–provides no meaningful protections for cold water reservoir storage; State water right policies have not been updated to recognize Tribal rights or provide adequate cold river temperatures. Consequently, Biological Opinions enacted during the Trump administration have led to reservoir depletion, rising river temperatures, and other environmental impacts that put threatened coho salmon and chinook salmon at risk.”

Farmington River

Connecticut’s Farmington River is a well-known trout-fishing Shangri-la, boasting big wild browns, stocked rainbows–holdovers that get big, and stocked landlocked salmon. It sees great hatches, and both the East and West branches offer tremendous fishing.

From the report: “Eight miles upstream from where the Farmington River joins the Connecticut River is the Rainbow Dam, owned by the FRPC. This small hydropower dam has been in operation since the early 20th century, but due to a quirk of law, it has no federal oversight. Federal regulation of hydropower dams requires that a river be deemed ‘navigable,’ and over fifty years ago the Farmington–despite its significant flows and many boaters consistently using the river–was ruled ‘non-navigable’ by the federal government.

“The resulting lack of federal oversight and limited state jurisdiction has allowed this small and poorly maintained hydropower project, whose inadequate and outdated fishway often led to fish mortality before it was shut down in 2023, to effectively render more than 95% of the watershed’s habitat inaccessible to river herring, shad, eel, and sea lamprey. The dam is also responsible for creating river conditions in the upstream reservoir that have repeatedly caused toxic algae blooms that can be a health hazard to people, and can be lethal to pets and wildlife.”

Kobuk River

The Kobuk River in Alaska flows out of the Brooks Range, which is under threat of development of an industrial mining access corridor that would affect chum and Chinook salmon, Arctic grayling, sheefish, and other fish migrations.

From the report: “The Ambler Road project would weaken permafrost and require thousands of crossings over streams, rivers and wetlands, impacting the river’s water quality, migration patterns and habitat of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, the second largest caribou herd in Alaska, as well as salmon and sheefish populations found in the Kobuk River watershed.

“It is hard to overestimate the impact of this proposed road on the Kobuk River. The Kobuk River currently has no road connections to the rest of the world, which would make the Ambler Road the first to access what has remained a remote region up until now. The land, fish, and wildlife in the Kobuk River watershed are as pristine as can be found in the modern world. The Iñupiat have been excellent stewards of the Kobuk River for untold generations.”

Blackwater River

West Virginia’s Blackwater River is a haven of native brook trout in a remarkably scenic and difficult-to-access canyon area. A proposed four-lane highway threatens the pristine nature of this important brook trout habitat.

From the report: “A huge cement bridge and roadway complex would bisect the towns of Thomas and Davis, and another would straddle the gateway to the Blackwater Canyon, the North Fork of the Blackwater. The many rare animal and plant species in the river corridor would struggle to escape the habitat destruction that comes with highway construction–including deforestation, earth disturbance, giant cuts and fills.

“What’s more, the currently preferred route would pass across a large former strip mine that has not been reclaimed, underlain with a honeycomb of mine tunnels that are filled with acid mine drainage pollution.”

Click here for the full report.