Projects and Research

What We Do

We help assess, plan, and conduct habitat restoration, including removing dams and replacing road-stream crossings and culverts with structures that are resilient to high water flows and allow better fish passage at all times of the year. 

Our office provides support and technical assistance to state, tribal, and federal agencies, watershed groups, and private landowners on:

• evaluating fish passage at road-stream crossings
• developing recommendations for removing or replacing road-stream crossings and culverts with structures that are resilient to flooding and allow better movement of fish.
• developing habitat restoration and species monitoring projects
• securing financial assistance for habitat restoration through the National Fish Passage and National Fish Habitat Partnership programs
• assessing status of migratory fish like Atlantic sturgeon, alewife, and blueback herring, as well as invasive species like the snakehead
• using new eDNA sampling methods for detecting and monitoring aquatic species

We also collaborate with others on outreach and education with youth and their families on the unique natural resources of Virginia, such as native brook trout, Atlantic sturgeon, and freshwater mussels, and Virginia’s amazing network of rivers, streams and wetlands which are vital to fish and wildlife, and humans.

Management and Conservation

We work with private landowners and others to improve aquatic connectivity for migratory and inland fishes, and restore stream and wetland habitats for fish and wildlife. We leverage funds and resources through efficient state, federal and private partnerships to accomplish shared habitat restoration goals.

Our Projects and Research

The Service’s National Fish Passage Program provides funding as well as engineering support for habitat restoration projects. The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture and the Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership also help support habitat restoration in Virginia with funding and technical support coordinated through this office. 

Since 1999, our office and our partners have removed over 25 barriers to fish passage , and opened over 1800 miles of rivers. These efforts will contribute millions of dollars in economic value to Americans every year, through increased tourism, fishing, and recreation. These projects also improve water quality, increase safety for people recreating in rivers, and protect public and private property from impacts of flooding.