1,574 miles
 |
| Thief River Falls, 1907 |
I approached
Thief River Falls hoping to see a beautiful waterfall and hear a colorful tale
of thieves along the riverside. The
story is that a band of Dakota Indians occupied a secret encampment along the
river, hence "stealing" the land, before being discovered and routed
by the neighboring Ojibwe. The Ojibwe commemorated
the event by calling the river "Stolen-land River".
On the Red
Lake River, near its confluence with the Thief River, there used to be a modest
waterfall.
 |
| Thief River Falls Dam |
About a hundred years ago, a
dam was built to control the river and provide water for the city that was
growing there. Many other “low-head”
dams were built on the rivers in the region.
While they did provide benefits for growing cities, they also created serious
problems. The low-head dams were widely
referred to as "drowning machines" because of the dangerous roller
currents they created. And they
prevented fish from spawning upstream. "Dams,
I think, are the worst thing we've done to our rivers when you really look at
it in terms of species extinctions globally," said Luther Aadland, dam
modification specialist for the Department of Natural Resources in Fergus
Falls, Minn., in 2012.
 |
| Seven Clans Waterpark & Casino |
Now, instead
of a natural river with a waterfall, the town of Thief River Falls has a dam
and a commercial water park resort.
 |
| a rock-riffle rapids |
Aadland has designed
and installed rock-riffle structures along the Red River and elsewhere that
hold back the river water without creating roller currents or harming fish. The rock-riffle structures have replaced
seven of the eight low-head dams on the Red River in recent years. They hold back water to create deeper
upstream pools, and the water descends on a gradual slope over boulders placed
in strategic rows downstream, creating more pools and eddies for the fish.
waterfall
image: http://www.lakesnwoods.com/ThiefRiverFallsGallery.htm
waterpark
image: http://www.sevenclanscasino.com/thief-river-falls/thief-river-falls-waterpark-rates
rock-riffle image
& info by Brad Dokken of the Grand Forks Herald: http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/dam-conversion-projects-win-win-red-river
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