Media Advisory ** Media Advisory ** Media Advisory

Office of the Secretary

For Immediate Release: October 8, 1999

Contact: James Workman (202) 208-6416

Babbitt Brings Dam Busting Home to the Capital
Interagency, Fed-State-Local fish passage event to highlight river restoration potential

In a long awaited ceremony on the banks of the Potomac River, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt will join students, local, state and federal officials to mark the breaking of Little Falls Dam at 10:30 a.m. on October 12, at the Pumping Station off Clara Barton Parkway.

Sledgehammer in hand, Babbitt has been cris-crossing America - Wisconsin to North Carolina to Maine to the Pacific Northwest -- removing dozens of obsolete, unsafe and fish-blocking dams that no longer make sense. On Tuesday he takes that message home. Literally.

"For seven years I've watched hundreds of cities restore their communities by restoring their rivers," said Babbitt. "Now it's our turn. Since 1959, Little Falls dam has kept seven species of shad, herring, perch, and striped bass from spawning in our neighborhood. That ends today. And I've got my fishing rod ready to meet their return."

In 1992, with the support of Maryland Senator Paul S. Sarbanes, an intergovernmental task group was formed to begin planning a new USGS designed fishway at Little Falls Dam. Funding of $2 million project is split 75/25 between the federal government (EPA, USFWS, NMFS, USGS, NPS, and the Army Corps of Engineers) and the State of Maryland.

Officials note that construction access to the river will be across National Park Service, George Washington Parkway property and on Crest Lane. Motorists using George Washington Parkway should experience minimal delays during the six-month construction duration. Construction vehicles plan to use an alternate route to enter and exit Crest Lane. Officials will make every effort to minimize work during peak commuting hours.

Editor's note: News media are requested to arrive at the Little Falls Pumping Station by 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. Some space is available on the parking aprons along Clara Barton Parkway on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking on the ramp to the Pumping Station is reserved for persons taking part in the ceremony.