--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dams have harmed our wildlife and made…" description: "\"Dams have harmed our wildlife and made rivers less useful for recreation.\" — Stephen Ambrose" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/stephen-ambrose-10501_dams_dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-r_1004216.jpg" --- # Dams have harmed our wildlife and made rivers less useful… ![“Dams have harmed our wildlife and made rivers less useful for recreation.” quote by Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/stephen-ambrose-10501_dams_dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-r_1004216.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/stephen-ambrose-10501_dams_dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-r_1004216.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/stephen-ambrose-10501_dams_dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-r_1004216.jpg) > “Dams have harmed our wildlife and made rivers less useful for recreation.” [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dams disrupt ecosystems and reduce river-based recreation, harming wildlife and human enjoyment. **In simple terms:** Dams damage nature and leisure. Key Takeaway Consider ecological costs before building dams. Themes environment conservation recreation wildlife Mood concerned reflective Type environmental policy When to use this quote - river tourism - fishing - habitat restoration - policy planning Key Concepts ecosystem disruption hydropower sustainable development Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives could balance energy needs with ecological health? - How can communities protect river recreation while using dams? A Different Perspective Dams also provide renewable energy and flood control benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dams/) [Dams Harmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dams-harmed-2138254/) [Harmed Wildlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmed-wildlife-2138255/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Recreation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recreation/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Rivers Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers-useful-2138257/) [Wildlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildlife/) [Wildlife Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildlife-rivers-2138256/) ## Related quotes > [The flood of photos sweeps away the dams of memory. Never before has a period known so little about itself. In the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-kracauer/the-flood-of-photos-sweeps-away-the-dams-of-memory-never-before-has-a/) [Siegfried Kracauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-kracauer/) > [The sound of water escaping from mill dams, etc., willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork, I love such things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-constable/the-sound-of-water-escaping-from-mill-dams-etc-willows-old-rotten/) [John Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-constable/) > [A direful death indeed they had That would put any parent mad But she was more than usual calm She did not give a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-fleming/a-direful-death-indeed-they-had-that-would-put-any-parent-mad-but-she/) [Marjorie Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-fleming/) > [An unspoiled river is a very rare thing in this Nation today. Their flow and vitality have been harnessed by dams and too often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/an-unspoiled-river-is-a-very-rare-thing-in-this-nation-today-their/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [The river is of the earth and it is free. It is rigorously embanked and bound, and yet it is free. To hell with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-river-is-of-the-earth-and-it-is-free-it-is-rigorously-embanked/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Tragedy can break the heart but not the dam of the tearducts while schmaltz can dissolve the most hardened sophisticate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-otis-skinner/tragedy-can-break-the-heart-but-not-the-dam-of-the-tearducts-while/) [Cornelia Otis Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-otis-skinner/) > [The spirit of rebellion is present in every great city, and the great task of wise government is to keep it dormant, for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/the-spirit-of-rebellion-is-present-in-every-great-city-and-the-great/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [Go around asking a lot of dam fool questions and taking chances. Only through curiosity can we discover opportunities, and only by gambling can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/go-around-asking-a-lot-of-dam-fool-questions-and-taking-chances-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When dams were erected on the Columbia, salmon battered themselves against the concrete, trying to return home. I expect no less from us. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/when-dams-were-erected-on-the-columbia-salmon-battered-themselves/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [All this piling up of one technology on top of another-railroad on steamboat, interstate highway on railroad, hydroelectric dam on watermill-had reduced the Mississippi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/all-this-piling-up-of-one-technology-on-top-of-another-railroad-on/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Never give up; for even rivers someday wash dams away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/never-give-up-for-even-rivers-someday-wash-dams-away/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [I started inventing things, and then I couldn't stop, like beavers, which I know about. People think they cut down trees so they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-started-inventing-things-and-then-i-couldn-t-stop-like-beavers/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [There comes a day of public ceremonial, and a chance to make a speech… A million voters with IQs below 60 have their ears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-comes-a-day-of-public-ceremonial-and-a-chance-to-make-a-speech/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [But the sound of water escaping from mill-dams, &c., willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork, I love such things. Shakespeare could make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-constable/but-the-sound-of-water-escaping-from-mill-dams-c-willows-old-rotten/) [John Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-constable/) ## More by Stephen Ambrose > [Trial by jury. Live wherever you can make a living. How could a government based on such principles fail?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/trial-by-jury-live-wherever-you-can-make-a-living-how-could-a/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [It is through history that we learn who we are and how we got that way, why and how we changed, why the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/it-is-through-history-that-we-learn-who-we-are-and-how-we-got-that/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [There are many more want-to-be writers out there than good editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/there-are-many-more-want-to-be-writers-out-there-than-good-editors/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [The number one secret of being a successful writer is this: marry an English major.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-number-one-secret-of-being-a-successful-writer-is-this-marry-an/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [It would not be possible to praises nurses too highly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/it-would-not-be-possible-to-praises-nurses-too-highly/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries you have these great nation states hurling their young men at one another. The victory was really going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/in-the-nineteenth-and-twentieth-centuries-you-have-these-great-nation/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [You don't hate history, you hate the way it was taught to you in high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/you-don-t-hate-history-you-hate-the-way-it-was-taught-to-you-in-high/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [The American Constitution is the greatest governing document, and at some 7,000 words, just about the shortest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-american-constitution-is-the-greatest-governing-document-and-at/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [We are part of a country that outshines those that have gone before us and most of those in existence today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/we-are-part-of-a-country-that-outshines-those-that-have-gone-before/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [Washington, not Jefferson, freed his slaves upon his death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/washington-not-jefferson-freed-his-slaves-upon-his-death/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [American corporations hate to give away money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/american-corporations-hate-to-give-away-money/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [Washington's character was rock solid. He came to stand for the new nation and its republican virtues, which was why he became our first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/washington-s-character-was-rock-solid-he-came-to-stand-for-the-new/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [In America, Jefferson noted with approval, women knew their place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/in-america-jefferson-noted-with-approval-women-knew-their-place/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [To have some parts flowing free again . . . with deer grazing on its banks . . . ducks and geese raising their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/to-have-some-parts-flowing-free-again-with-deer-grazing-on-its-banks/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) [Explore all 65 Stephen Ambrose quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) ## More Dams quotes > [The flood of photos sweeps away the dams of memory. Never before has a period known so little about itself. In the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-kracauer/the-flood-of-photos-sweeps-away-the-dams-of-memory-never-before-has-a/) [Siegfried Kracauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-kracauer/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [There comes a day of public ceremonial, and a chance to make a speech… A million voters with IQs below 60 have their ears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-comes-a-day-of-public-ceremonial-and-a-chance-to-make-a-speech/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I started inventing things, and then I couldn't stop, like beavers, which I know about. People think they cut down trees so they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-started-inventing-things-and-then-i-couldn-t-stop-like-beavers/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Never give up; for even rivers someday wash dams away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/never-give-up-for-even-rivers-someday-wash-dams-away/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [All this piling up of one technology on top of another-railroad on steamboat, interstate highway on railroad, hydroelectric dam on watermill-had reduced the Mississippi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/all-this-piling-up-of-one-technology-on-top-of-another-railroad-on/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [When dams were erected on the Columbia, salmon battered themselves against the concrete, trying to return home. I expect no less from us. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/when-dams-were-erected-on-the-columbia-salmon-battered-themselves/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [Go around asking a lot of dam fool questions and taking chances. Only through curiosity can we discover opportunities, and only by gambling can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/go-around-asking-a-lot-of-dam-fool-questions-and-taking-chances-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The spirit of rebellion is present in every great city, and the great task of wise government is to keep it dormant, for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/the-spirit-of-rebellion-is-present-in-every-great-city-and-the-great/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [Tragedy can break the heart but not the dam of the tearducts while schmaltz can dissolve the most hardened sophisticate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-otis-skinner/tragedy-can-break-the-heart-but-not-the-dam-of-the-tearducts-while/) [Cornelia Otis Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-otis-skinner/) > [The river is of the earth and it is free. It is rigorously embanked and bound, and yet it is free. To hell with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-river-is-of-the-earth-and-it-is-free-it-is-rigorously-embanked/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [An unspoiled river is a very rare thing in this Nation today. Their flow and vitality have been harnessed by dams and too often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/an-unspoiled-river-is-a-very-rare-thing-in-this-nation-today-their/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [A direful death indeed they had That would put any parent mad But she was more than usual calm She did not give a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-fleming/a-direful-death-indeed-they-had-that-would-put-any-parent-mad-but-she/) [Marjorie Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-fleming/) > [The sound of water escaping from mill dams, etc., willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork, I love such things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-constable/the-sound-of-water-escaping-from-mill-dams-etc-willows-old-rotten/) [John Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-constable/) > [But the sound of water escaping from mill-dams, &c., willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork, I love such things. Shakespeare could make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-constable/but-the-sound-of-water-escaping-from-mill-dams-c-willows-old-rotten/) [John Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-constable/) [Browse all 138 Dams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Dams have harmed our wildlife and made rivers less useful for recreation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Ambrose" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-rivers-less-useful-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dams" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-rivers-less-useful-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/stephen-ambrose-10501_dams_dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-r_1004216.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/stephen-ambrose-10501_dams_dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-r_1004216.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/stephen-ambrose-10501_dams_dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-r_1004216.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Dams have harmed our wildlife and made rivers less useful for recreation.” — Stephen Ambrose", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen Ambrose", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Dams have harmed our wildlife and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-rivers-less-useful-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/dams-have-harmed-our-wildlife-and-made-rivers-less-useful-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```