The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the agency=s partners will pool $4.8 million in 2004 to remove 91 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 in 26 states.
Service funds for the popular Fish Passage Program, amounting to $2.8 million, will be supplemented by another $2 million in matching funds from a wide array of partners ranging from civic and conservation organizations, local and State governments and other Federal agencies.
ASince 2001, the Fish Passage Program has removed 158 barriers across the country,@ said Interior Secretary Gale Norton. AThe Service, working with local communities and partner agencies, is using a voluntary, non-regulatory approach to restore natural flows and fish migration. Rivers are running their natural course, habitat has been restored, and the fish are coming back.@
AOur partners in this program enable us to really stretch taxpayer=s dollars,@ Director Steve Williams said. AThat gives us a budget that lets us do far more than we could if we were in this alone. It=s all voluntary, and it remains one of the most popular programs.@
Fish Passage works to remove obstructions in waterways that prevent fish from reaching spawning grounds or historic habitat. Projects can be as small as inserting culverts under roads or railroad tracks or as large as the removal last February of the 95-year-old Embrey Dam near Fredericksburg by a military explosives team.
Many of the small dams targeted for removal date as far back as the American and Industrial Revolutions. Those dams were built either to accommodate early barge traffic or to provide power or irrigation for a young country. As times changed, many of the dams were abandoned but remained in place, serving only to block populations of fish and contributing to their gradual decline.
Completion of the 2004 projects will open 19,364 acres and more than 3,048 miles of waterways for fish, contributing to larger populations and more recreational fishing opportunities.
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 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 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 and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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STATE | Expected Funds | Expected Matching | Miles |
Project Waterway | Received | Funds | Opened |
ALASKA | $505,860 | $40,000 | 126 |
| Anchorage Bowl Inventory | $20,998 | na | |
| Kenai Peninsula Inventory | $20,554 | na | |
| Matanuska-Susitna Inventory | $25,000 | na | |
| Cannery Creek | $10,000 | 8 | |
| Chena Slough | $50,000 | $30,000 | 15 |
| Muskrat Creek | $35,000 | 1 | |
| Lake Miam | $4,000 | 12 | |
| Chijuk Creek | $5,000 | 15 | |
| Lower Ship Creek | $25,000 | 1 | |
| Upper Piledriver Slough | $50,000 | 5 | |
| Sinona Creek | $5,000 | 9 | |
| Moose Creek | $22,387 | 25 | |
| Two Moose Creek | $15,000 | 18 | |
| Question Creek | $2,500 | $10,000 | |
| Morgans Landing | $25,000 | 5 | |
| Stariski Creek | $35,421 | 5 | |
| Pullen Creek | $35,000 | 2 | |
| Kern Creek | $60,000 | 3 | |
| Rabbit Slough | $60,000 | 2 | |
ARIZONA | $136,400 | 10 | |
| Haigler Creek | $52,000 | 2 | |
| West Turkey Creek | $11,200 | 1 | |
| Black Draw | $13,200 | 2 | |
| Canyon Creek | $60,000 | 5 | |
CALIFORNIA | $27,000 | ||
| Shasta River | $27,000 | ||
FLORIDA | $90,000 | 5 | |
| Oyster Lake | $50,000 | ||
| Barrier Inventory | $10,000 | $5,000 | na |
| Little Rocky Creek | $30,000 | 5 | |
GEORGIA | $115,000 | $68,000 | 16 |
| Rock Creek - Chattahootchie NF | $50,000 | $6,000 | 4 |
| Dill Creek - Chattahootchie NF | $50,000 | $50,000 | 8 |
Falling Creek - Oconee NF | $15,000 | $12,000 | 4 |
IOWA | $52,000 | $38,200 | 22 |
Shellrock River | $52,000 | $38,200 | 22 |
IDAHO | $28,336 | $51,000 | 28 |
| Jacknife Creek | $13,000 | 5 | |
| Squaw Creek | $2,336 | 5 | |
| Togoggan Creek | $13,000 | $51,000 | 18 |
ILLINOIS | $60,300 | $15,799 | 69 |
| Big Rock Creek | $60,300 | $15,799 | 69 |
MAINE | $160,000 | Not in total below | 500 |
| Penobscot River | $75,000 | $50,000,000 | 500 |
| Penobscot River Inventory | $45,000 | na | |
| Sheepscot River | $40,000 | 25 | |
MARYLAND | $85,000 | $1,000 | 12 |
Wicomico Creek | $40,000 | 12 | |
Raven Rock Creek | $30,000 | ||
Chester River Fishway Evaluation | $15,000 | $1,000 | na |
MICHIGAN | $96,060 | $263,500 | 18 |
Northern Lower MI Watersheds | $55,500 | $150,000 | 10 |
Carp River | $40,560 | $113,500 | 8 |
MINNESOTA | $100,000 | $200,000 | 65 |
| Red River | $100,000 | $200,000 | 65 |
MISSOURI | $82,300 | $64,700 | 31 |
| Osage River Basin | $64,700 | $64,700 | 17 |
| Ditch 11 - Mingo NWR | $17,600 | 14 | |
MONTANA | $157,000 | $367,040 | 1935 |
| Red Rock Lakes NWR | $55,000 | $20,000 | |
| Tongue River | $50,000 | $10,000 | 35 |
| Clear Creek | $13,000 | 2003 two-year project | na |
| Blackfoot River | $39,000 | $337,040 | 1900 |
NEBRASKA | $8,800 | na | |
| Spaulding Dam | $8,800 | 2003 two-year project | na |
NEVADA | $89,000 | $50,000 | na |
| Truckee River | $89,000 | $50,000 | na |
NEW YORK | $56,000 | ||
| Peconic River | $56,000 | ||
OKLAHOMA | $222,000 | $208,000 | 10 |
| Little River Tributaries | $222,000 | $208,000 | 10 |
PENNSYLVANIA | $144,000 | $159,000 | 88 |
| Susquehanna River Tributaries | $64,000 | $100,000 | 30 |
| Ridley Creek | $20,000 | $59,000 | 8 |
| Conodoquinet Creek | $10,000 | 25 | |
| Conococheague Creek | $50,000 | 25 | |
TEXAS | $17,500 | $41,470 | 12 |
| Brundett Lake | $17,500 | $41,470 | 12 |
UTAH | $100,000 | $50,000 | 10 |
| Provo River | $100,000 | $50,000 | 10 |
VERMONT | $35,000 | $100,000 | 5 |
| Lake Champlain Basin | $35,000 | $100,000 | 5 |
WASHINGTON | $338,312 | $238,170 | 29 |
| Pants Creek | $45,400 | $18,410 | 1 |
| Cedar Creek | $80,000 | $30,000 | 1 |
| Washington Culvert Inventory | $55,000 | na | |
| St. Andrews Drive | $74,600 | $60,000 | 9 |
| Satsop Clogualium Road | $40,112 | $129,760 | 5 |
| White Salmon River | $43,200 | 13 | |
WEST VIRGINIA | $12,000 | ||
| Shenandoah River Fishway Evaluation | $12,000 | na | |
WISCONSIN | $29,022 | $72,000 | 27 |
| Vaughn Creek | $16,900 | $10,000 | 2 |
| Pike River | $12,122 | $62,000 | 25 |
WYOMING | $90,000 | 30 | |
| Mill Creek | $25,000 | 20 | |
| Bull Lake Creek | $45,000 | 2003 two-year project | na |
| Popo Agie | $20,000 | 10 | |
TOTALS | $2,836,890 | $2,027,879 | 3,048 |
