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Larger sediments (sand, gravel, cobble, boulders) will be stored above the dam site. A 100-foot channel will be excavated in the sediment behind the dam, mimicking pre-dam conditions. Larger storms will be expected to bring these stored sediments downriver. All measures necessary to protect the water-supply infrastructure and water quality will be taken throughout the project. In addition, two bridges will be modified, some levees will be upgraded, and one new levee will be installed to protect private property. Giant reed (Arundo donax) will be removed along the river, which will both improve habitat and increase river flow, because Arundo outcompetes native plants for water. The dam site will become a gateway for hikers into Matilija Canyon and the wilderness upstream.

The Los Angeles District of the Corps and the WPD are proud of the speed with which the project has advanced and of the recognition it has received: It was chosen from among Corps projects worldwide (in the U.S. and 93 other countries) for the Corps' National Planning Team of the Year Award for 2004, and also received the Merit Award for Project Delivery Team of the Year for 2005. "If current momentum is maintained," said Hughes, "we will be under deconstruction in 2009, with three years to complete."

Much more money will be needed to get the job done, of course, including $8 million more to complete preparations. As a Corps project, it requires federal funding. The WPD Board of Supervisors has requested $2 million in the year 2007 federal budget, but what funds, if any, might be forthcoming from Washington is not certain. As of late March, the President's budget included $400,000 toward the dam's removal and the river's restoration. Project advocates hope Congress will provide support as well.

"It's a constant battle to keep the money coming, to keep the work going," said Jenkin. Nevertheless, the Corps and the WPD expect to be ready to begin deconstruction in 2009. To raise the $100 to $130 million needed for that work will be difficult, but not impossible. "I think we have extremely strong political support at the local level," Jenkin said. Buxton said the high level of support assures that the project will go ahead.

Word of the prospective dam removal has spread and visitors have come from as far away as Korea and Japan, where new dams are being built, but removal of some obsolete ones is also being considered. Paul Jenkin accepted an invitation to travel to Japan, where he visited rivers that had been killed by dams, but also kayaked on a living river. "It's amazing to see the contrast with a dead river," he said. "It's not easy to paint a picture of how dead most of our rivers have become, as many of the current generation have never experienced a living ecosystem."

Sue Hughes, meanwhile, has been taking groups of people up into the canyon to see how beautiful it is, and to imagine what great hikes and bicycle rides will be possible when the river again flows free from the mountains to the sea.

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