Reconnecting tributaries in the Vindelälven Catchment, Northern Sweden by removing of four barriers.
Within the 1.3-million-hectare Vindelälven-Juhttátahkka UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in northern Sweden, the undammed Vindel River runs for 453 km before joining the Ume River for its final 30 km to the Baltic Sea. Although technically a tributary, the large river becomes the main stem for many smaller rivers and streams. Along its course, the Vindel River features over 100 long rapids and passes 25 villages in a sparsely populated landscape dominated by coniferous forests, much of which consists of pine and spruce plantations managed through intensive clearcutting methods.
Focusing on four tributaries, this project addresses the legacy effects of 150 years of forestry, which have negatively impacted river life. These negative effects have increased with intensified forestry practices. In terms of river morphology, however, the most significant impacts occurred in the early to mid-20th century when most northern Swedish rivers were straightened and cleared of rocks and boulders to facilitate log transport, during a time when the forest road network was poorly developed.
| Project status | Completed |
|---|---|
| Project type | Dam removal: demolition |
| Country | Sweden |
| Rivers | Ruskträskbäcken, Hjuksån, Arvån, Strömbäcken |
| Removal date | Autumn 2024 |
| Km to be opened | 45.2 km |
| Focal species | Salmon, sea trout, burbot, pike, perch, minnow, freshwater pearl mussels |
| Organisation | Rewilding Sweden |
| Website | "Liberating Rivers" |
Despite a 50-year battle by the public and environmental organisations to prevent hydropower installations on the Vindel River, its numerous tributaries have experienced significant alterations due to human activities. These changes are linked to the canalisation and clearing of rocks and boulders to minimise structures where logs could become jammed, as well as the installation of many dams on tributaries to collect water for timber transport.
Multiple partners have made significant progress in improving the ecological condition of the Vindel River and its tributaries.
By removing the four barriers, the project aims to restore the natural hydrological and ecological connectivity for species and processes, both longitudinal and lateral, thereby enhancing biodiversity along the stream edges. For fish, reconnecting these tributaries to the main stem of the Vindel River will improve migration for anadromous species that require sea connectivity and support species with potamodromous life cycles in inland freshwater systems.
In addition to increasing connectivity to breeding and refuge habitats, the barrier removals are expected to re-establish important source-to-sink dynamics for organisms, restore natural disturbance patterns, and improve sediment and nutrient transport pathways, as well as seed dispersal for riparian vegetation.
In 2024, Rewilding Sweden successfully removed four small dams in tributaries to the Vindel River, within the Nordic Taiga rewilding landscape in northern Sweden. The project reconnected 76.5 km of upstream and downstream river habitat, restoring natural flows and enabling aquatic species such as trout and burbot to once again migrate freely through the landscape.
The removals took place in the Vindelälven – Juhttátahkka UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, an area shaped by 150 years of intensive forestry. The dams – originally built for log transport – no longer served any functional purpose but had continued to fragment rivers and hinder ecological processes. Their removal now supports the recovery of natural sediment dynamics, riparian vegetation, and hydrological connectivity.
The project highlights how even small-scale barrier removals in remote boreal watersheds can deliver immediate ecological benefits and serve as stepping stones toward larger-scale river restoration across the landscape.
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