Michigan Kayaking Journal | March 24, 2026 ⸻ It’s Time: These Aging Plainwell Dams Must Be Removed — Free the Kalamazoo River PLAINWELL, Mich. — State and local leaders are set to provide an update Monday night on three 19th-century dams along the Kalamazoo River, as plans move forward to replace them with fish ladders. But for many who know and love this waterway, ladders represent only a partial solution. They say the dams must be removed entirely. Constructed in the 1850s to power a long-silent paper mill, the aging structures — one near city hall, another by Gilkey Elementary, and a third farther south — have obstructed the river’s natural flow for generations. Today, they trap sediment, fragment fish habitat, increase flood risk, and stand as ticking time bombs at the end of their engineered lifespan. Each year they remain in place is another year the Kalamazoo is denied its natural rhythm — its fish runs disrupted, its ecological health diminished, and its potential for vibrant...
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