Program Contact: Andrea Ania (Andrea_Ania@fws.gov)

Undersized perched culverts were replaced with a single bottomless culvert on Drummond Island, restoring 150 acres of coastal wetland habitat. Photos Michigan DNR (before) and USFWS (after).

Background

The Alpena FWCO administers Fish Passage for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Lake Huron and Western Lake Erie watersheds.

Funding and technical support, which includes information on fish habitat needs and methods to bypass barriers, is provided through this program. The goal of the program is to restore native fish and other aquatic species to self sustaining levels by reconnecting fragmented habitat.

Activities that reconnect fragmented habitat to provide fish passage include: dam removal, construction of fish ladders, and replacement of undersized culverts.

Since 1999, the Alpena FWCO Fish Passage Program has accomplished the following: provided $511,000 to partners for 19 projects, restored 107 river miles for native brook trout and resource conservation species, and assisted with a dam removal feasibility study on the Cass River in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

View completed projects >

Recent Activities

New! Mullett Creek Road Crossing Inventory Completed

Biologists Andrea Ania and Heather Rawlings completed a road crossing inventory of the Mullett Creek watershed on May 12-13, 2009 in Cheboygan County, Michigan. A standardized inventory of the road crossings was conducted, which allows the Mullet Creek watershed sites to be compared to other northern Michigan watershed inventories. Although this is a small watershed, it is an important tributary to Mullett Lake, a large inland lake, and supports a coldwater fishery with brook trout as the dominant fish species. Land use practices, primarily agriculture, have degraded this small watershed through the years, and caused sediment and other contaminates to load into the system. The system is small enough that any improvements made to the watershed, such as opening fish passage, placing larger culverts, and curbing sediment, can have a big impact on the entire fishery. Mr. Perry Smeltzer (Natural Resource Conservation Service) brought this watershed to our attention and the attention of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Fisheries Division) several years ago. This inventory is another tool that can be used for prioritizing restoration sites in northern Michigan. read more >

New! Drummond Island Fish Passage Project Complete

This fall on Drummond Island (Michigan) the Chippewa County Road Commission installed two 8-foot diameter culverts at the Maxton Road crossing on McCormick Creek and the adjoining marsh complex. These culverts replaced two perched, undersized (3-foot corrugated metal) pipes at the road-stream crossing and one undersized (2-foot corrugated metal) pipe at the marsh overflow. This project restored fish access to 1.5 miles of upstream habitat and 150 acres of prime coastal wetland habitat for native northern pike and walleye populations in Potagannissing Bay, while improving hydrologic connectivity within the marsh. read more >

Resource Materials

National Fish Passage Program Fact Sheet (pdf - 1.88 Mb)

Fish Passage Decision Support System Fact Sheet (pdf - 2.25 Mb)

Useful Websites

National Fish Passage Program Website - http://www.fws.gov/fisheries/fwco/fishpassage/

Region 3 Fish Passage Program Website - http://www.fws.gov/midwest/fisheries/topic-fishpass.htm

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