The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners today unveiled the first national database that provides a comprehensive inventory of barriers to fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage and will make it available online to managers throughout the United States who are involved in resource planning and habitat restoration.
"This is a real benchmark for people involved in fisheries work and anglers throughout our country," said Steve Williams, Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. "There are thousands of small barriers that weve accumulated through the decades that either no longer serve a purpose, or are badly in need of repair. Were very proud to be a part of this effort."
Known formally as the Fish Passage Decision Support System, the database, available online at
The Services Fish Passage Program, initiated in 1999, works with a huge range of federal, state, local and civic agencies and organizations, to restore fish and other aquatic species by reopening habitat that has become fragmented by artificial barriers. There are an estimated 75,000 dams greater than 6 feet in height and 2.5 million smaller fish passage barriers throughout the United States. Partners in the Fish Passage Program contribute matching funds to the governments share, providing a huge stretch for taxpayer dollars.
The Fish Passage Decision Support System database currently includes the Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams, state dam databases from North Carolina and Tennessee and a list of barriers compiled in the Pacific States Marine Fishery Commissions StreamNet database. Service biologists are also entering data from recent inventory projects and new data on dams, culverts, dikes and irrigation diversions from a number of cooperating agencies and organizations will be added to the system on a continuing basis.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
