What is the U.S. Fish  Wildlife Service Fish Passage Program?                  

The Fish Passage Program provides technical assistance and Federal funds to:

Remove, replace, or retrofit artificial barriers; design and construct fishways; support biological surveys of important watersheds; and monitor the effectiveness of these activities. Fish passage projects can be engineered on either private or public lands, but cannot be used on hydroelectric projects licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

All projects are voluntary, and are performed in cooperation with
agencies, private organizations, and landowner partners.

The goal of the Fish Passage Program is to restore native fish and other aquatic species to
self-sustaining levels by reconnecting habitats that have been fragmented by
artificial barriers, where such reconnection results in a positive ecological effect.

In 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated the National Fish Passage Program. The Program uses a voluntary, non-regulatory approach to remove and bypass fish barriers. The Program addresses the problem of fish barriers on a national level, working with local communities and partner agencies to restore natural flows and fish migration. The Program is administered by National and Regional Coordinators, and delivered by Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance Offices, with their 300 biologists located across the Nation. Appropriations for the Program support the Coordinators, in-the-water fish passage projects, and the Fish Passage Decision Support System.