The United States in 1869 tasked Major John Wesley Powell with navigating and charting the Colorado River. This set in motion an “age of reclamation” as the federal government bought land and dammed our rivers in the name of progress. Dams such as the Hoover Dam, and the Glen Canyon Dam were built so hastily that thousands of years of Indigenous History were flooded before documentation, and this is the case for many federal dams. Treaties broken or never honored. Invasive plant and animal species introduced for some sort of “control” of the river. Downstream populations ignored, flooded areas inundated due to too many dams. 160 years later we are dealing with the consequences of frivolously blocking nature's lifelines. There are over 20,000 dams in the US, and that only accounts for 6.4% of our energy production. It also accounts for an estimated 80% loss in wild salmon population, driving many species near extinction. It is time we ask ourselves if hydroelectric power is the future we want, or do we honor centuries old treaties and give nature her life back?