In Ontario, the Ministry of Natural Resources owns over 300 dams. Most were installed many years ago by timber companies to enable logs to be moved along Ontario's waterways. Today, a number of these dams no longer serve any useful purpose. On the Big East River, a picturesque ravine park east of Algonquin Park, it was decided to remove one of these concrete dams and return the river to its natural state.

The removal of the Finlayson Dam in 2000 represents the first documented case of a dam in Canada being removed following a planned process that included attention to environmental impacts. Follow-up this year confirmed that the most important indicator of success had been achieved—trout had returned to the river.

Copyright Hatch Energy 2008