Anonymous Artists Paint Giant Scissors On Face Of Silted-Up Matilija Dam In California

[hatrack]

Matilija Dam was built in 1947 for flood control and water storage. But officials say it was flawed from the outset. For decades, it's been holding back silt as much as water, depriving beaches 17 miles downstream of the sand they need to replenish themselves. It's also been deemed a huge obstacle for steelhead trout, an endangered species that was once a trophy fish luring anglers from across the country.

Officials say they don't know who painted the shears, and they're careful to note that such acts — even in the name of art — are illegal and dangerous. The dam is challenging enough that rescue squads use it for climbing practice, pounding in metal anchors that may have aided the scissors hands.

But even if the painting is no more legal than garden-variety graffiti, some say it speaks to the takedown's glacial pace. "We've studied this to death and talked about it forever," said Paul Jenkin of the Matilija Coalition, an alliance of community groups pushing for the dam's removal. "There's very strong support from the community, and that's part of what we're seeing with the graffiti."

Coincidentally, environmentalists, county officials, the Army Corps of Engineers and others concerned about Matilija met on Wednesday — the morning a story about the mystery shears appeared on the front page of the Ventura County Star.

EDIT

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-dam-scissors-20110919,0,5589102.story

[pinto]

1. Quite a feat and echoes the move at re-thinking dam policies across the West.

:hi:

[DCKit]

2. Cool. They can gain RW support by calling the dismantling of the dam...

an anti-graffiti project. It's win-win.

[hunter]

3. Take down the dam already!

Good grief, it's not like there's a labor shortage or anything.

[MineralMan]

4. Not far from my childhood home town. They should have

torn that dam down years ago. That said, there aren't really any steelhead in Southern California any more. I don't think they'll ever be back.

[formercia]

5. Steelhead are just Sea-Run Rainbow Trout. n/t

[MineralMan]

6. Yes, but not all rainbow trout are anadromous.

It's a specific strain that is tuned to going to sea. Most rainbows stay in fresh water all their lives. The migration of steelhead in Southern California essentially ended in the 1980s, for many reasons, including dams, but also due to warmer weather.

By this time, there are few if any rainbow trout left in SoCal streams that have the genetics that lead them to go to the ocean. Even as far north as Morro Bay, the last steelhead I saw run up a stream there was in the late 1970s. When I first moved there, steelheads were plentiful in streams in that area. Now, none have been seen for years during the Fall season.

It's a great pity. I don't think there will ever be a significant steelhead population south of Monterey again.

[hunter]

9. Speaking of Monterey...

... the dams on the Carmel River have got to go. They are useless and dangerous.

The issue is a never-ending multi-million dollar political shit storm in Monterey County.

Apparently it is better to bicker and argue and wait for some overwhelming catastrophe than do something sensible today.

Damn dams.

Give me some rock drills, pumps, hammers, and explosives. and I'll take down the dams myself, a few feet a year.

[phantom power]

7. that is epic

:rofl:

[Kolesar]

8. Nice artwork! eom

[Odin2005]

10. Epic WIN!