Tales of the Undammed

Removing barriers doesn't automatically restore river health

An unusual explosion along the Rappahannock River on Feb. 23 defined the day for thousands of onlookers. As planned, at least 650 pounds of explosives blasted a 40-meter-long hole through the bottom of Embrey Dam near Fredericksburg, Va. Immediately, the water began to flow as it hadn’t in about 150 years, since the predecessor to this 6.7-m-tall