Tularosa River Crosser - After

Flood events washed out the material around a low-water crossing on the Tularosa River in the Gila National Forest in southwest New Mexico. This worn infrastructure divided the critical habitat of the endangered loach minnow, a tiny desert fish, so U.S. Forest Service’s National Stream and Aquatic Ecology Center got to work on a replacement, involving the Federal Highway Administration, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Passage Program. This new crossing is made from articulated concrete mats, which are more flexible and provide a more controlled velocity better suited for loach minnow.