Project Name 
Charles Mill Dam Removal: Improved safety for a socially vulnerable Indiana community. 

Location  
IN, Grant 

Project Funding 
$ 325,000  

Project Description 
This project will remove the Charles Mill Dam in the Mississinewa River at Marion, Indiana. This removal will open up the Mississinewa watershed above a large recreational and flood control reservoir. The removal of the Charles Mill Dam barrier will allow fish and wildlife to migrate freely and will reconnect 965 miles of stream. Obsolete or poorly designed dams, culverts, stream crossings, and levees keep fish, and other aquatic species from moving freely to feed, migrate, and reproduce.  These challenges put fish populations at risk and undermine the health of the rivers.  
 
The National Fish Passage Program combines technical expertise with a track record of success. 

Implemented primarily through the Service's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Offices, the National Fish Passage Program provides financial and technical assistance to partners across the country. Since 1999, the program has worked with over 2,000 local communities, Tribes, and private landowners to remove or bypass over 3,400 barriers to fish passage and reopen access to over 61,000 miles of upstream habitat for fish and other animals. Staff have expertise in fish migration and biology as well as financial, engineering, and planning assistance to communities, Tribes, and landowners to help them remove barriers and restore rivers for the benefit both fish and people. 

Fish passage project proposals can be initiated by any individual, organization, government, or agency. However, proposals must be submitted and completed in cooperation with a Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office. (Please note that fish passage projects being used for federal or state compensatory mitigation or required by existing federal or state regulatory programs are not eligible for funding through the National Fish Passage Program.) 

CONTACT A FISH PASSAGE COORDINATOR IN YOUR AREA TO GET STARTED. 

Programs

The Fish Passage Program works with local communities on a voluntary basis to restore rivers and conserve our nation’s aquatic resources by removing or bypassing barriers. Our projects benefit both fish and people.

Facilities

Established in 1981, the Carterville Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (FWCO) is located in southern Illinois and serves the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. In 2015, the Carterville FWCO established a substation in the southern outskirts of the Chicago metropolitan...

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