NOAA is recommending more than $87 million in funding for 23 fish passage projects.
NOAA is recommending more than $87 million funding for 23 projects selected through the Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal funding opportunity.
These projects will help restore access to healthy habitat for migratory fish across the country through efforts including: on-the-ground fish passage restoration, engineering and design, future project development, and building the capacity of new and existing partners to design projects and manage multi-faceted restoration efforts.
Copper River Watershed Project will remove two culverts and design seven additional culvert removals in Copper River delta. This flood-prone area has seen multiple 100-year flood events in recent years. Removing the culverts will reduce the risk of structural failure and maintain community access to emergency services and resources. ($1,410,000)
California Trout will remove and replace a bridge on the Santa Margarita River. The new, 575-foot bridge will be sized to accommodate a 500-year flood event, increasing community climate resilience. The new bridge will also provide access to 12 miles of upstream habitat for endangered Southern California steelhead. ($3,257,851)
California Trout will plan and design the removal of a rockfall barrier and obsolete fishway in Big Chico Creek. The project will reconnect access to more than 8 miles of high-quality habitat for Central Valley Spring Run Chinook and Central Valley steelhead, including cold water habitat that is critical for climate resilience. ($1,414,823 in first year; up to $9,949,795 total over 3 years)
The Nature Conservancy will address two barriers on Jalama Creek that are high priority for Southern California steelhead. They will completely remove a weir at one site. At a second site, they will build a roughened channel to address passage at Jalama Road bridge. The effort will open access to more than 12 miles of habitat. ($2,185,330)
Trout Unlimited will support the removal of nine barriers on the Eel, Noyo, Navarro, and Big Rivers by constructing seven projects and designing two additional projects. The work will benefit endangered Central California Coast coho salmon (a NOAA Species in the Spotlight) as well as threatened Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho, California Coastal Chinook, and Northern California steelhead. ($6,222,830)
The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments will remove the Kinneytown Dam Facility on the Naugatuck River. The project will open 29 miles for blueback herring, American shad, and alewife on the mainstem river, and an additional 28 miles of tributaries for American eel. It also includes developing public access points to improve opportunities for using the river. ($1,835,630 in first year; up to $15,000,000 total over 3 years)
The Idaho Office of Species Conservation will improve fish passage in the Upper Snake River. It will address four culverts at Poison Creek, Kinnikinic Creek, George Creek, and Big Cedar Creek. Improving access to these tributaries will provide important cold water habitat for species like Chinook salmon and steelhead. ($4,208,805)
The Atlantic Salmon Federation will address fish passage barriers in the Penobscot River watershed to support the largest run of Atlantic salmon (a NOAA Species in the Spotlight) in the United States. They will completely remove two dams and install fish ladders at two other sites to open sites that are currently complete barriers to fish passage. ($7,554,797)
The Maine Department of Marine Resources will design and implement a fish lift at Woodland Dam on the St. Croix River, providing access to 600 miles for all migratory fish and 60,000 acres of habitat for alewife. By benefitting species like alewife, American shad, and American eel, the project is expected to result in increased prey for whales, dolphins, groundfish, and saltwater sportfish. ($600,000 in first year; up to $14,826,500 total over 3 years)
The Ipswich River Watershed Association will restore access to 238 miles of habitat in the Ipswich and Parker River watersheds, tributaries to the Great Marsh Area of Critical Environmental Concern. They will address five dams: Ipswich Mills, Larkin Mill, Willowdale, Howlett Brook, and South Middleton Dams. The effort will benefit river herring, American shad, and American eel. ($2,359,186)
The Town of Braintree will remove two dams in the Monatiquot River watershed. The dam removals will create immediate access to habitat for alewives and other migratory species. They will also increase community resilience by reducing the flood elevation by up to 9 feet and eliminating the threat that dam failure poses to a commuter railroad and highway. ($2,000,000)
Trout Unlimited will remove or replace eight fish passage barriers to open 55 miles of spawning, rearing, and refuge habitat on high-quality cold water streams in the Great Lakes region. The projects are expected to benefit native Great Lakes species like brook trout and sturgeon. They are also expected to improve climate resilience by reducing flooding and improving threatened infrastructure. ($4,784,222)
The Town of Durham will design and implement removal of the Mill Pond Dam and install a fish ladder on the Oyster Reservoir Dam to improve fish passage on the Oyster River. In addition to reopening access to habitat, removal of the Mill Pond Dam will increase community resilience, as the dam does not currently meet regulations to safely withstand a 50-year storm event. ($290,000 in first year; up to total $3,537,201 over 3 years)
American Rivers will restore priority habitat in the Cape Fear watershed for several migratory fish species, including American shad, river herring, striped bass, Atlantic sturgeon, and American eel. Three dams upstream of a series of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Locks and Dams will be removed, and pre-removal activities will be initiated for two additional dams. ($4,230,464 in first year; up to total $7,145,464 over 3 years)
The Nature Conservancy will replace six undersized culverts with bridges and remove two earthen barriers within the floodplain of the lower Roanoke River. Removal of these eight barriers will benefit migratory species such as blueback herring. It will also provide community benefits by reducing flooding and improving water quality in the watershed. ($3,267,129)
American Rivers will design, permit, and begin construction activities for the removal of Kellogg Creek Dam. The dam currently blocks access to 15 miles of high quality habitat in Kellogg Creek, a tributary of the Willamette River. Removing the dam will provide habitat for threatened Lower Columbia River coho, Chinook, and steelhead. ($7,513,180 in first year; up to $15,000,000 total over 3 years)
Wild Salmon Center will implement nine fish passage projects in four Oregon coastal watersheds. The effort will remove and replace aging culverts, dams, tide gates, and other infrastructure to reopen and reconnect habitat for Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho and Oregon Coast coho. ($3,625,109)
The City of Hoquiam will assess the feasibility of removing the West Fork of the Hoquiam River Dam. The project will also involve installing and testing groundwater wells as an alternative water source for the city. If found feasible, the effort would open 13 miles of habitat for salmon and provide a more reliable water supply for city residents. ($1,231,350)
Trout Unlimited will conduct a planning and feasibility assessment for the removal of Enloe Dam on Similkameen River, a tributary of the Columbia River. The dam has blocked fish passage for 100 years. Its removal would open access to cold water habitat, improve tribal fishing opportunities, and reduce the risk of flooding. ($2,314,610)
Trout Unlimited will replace eight fish passage barriers as part of the Coldwater Connection Campaign, a partnership to reconnect 125 miles of high quality salmon and steelhead streams in Washington’s coastal areas. The project will open more than 7 miles of spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and will increase Hoh tribal community capacity focused on salmon restoration. ($7,071,627)
The Tulalip Tribes will plan and construct 16 barrier removal projects in the Snohomish River watershed. These projects will remove or replace culverts with structures designed to withstand climate change. They will restore connectivity to more than 32 miles of habitat in priority streams for the recovery of salmon. ($9,733,975)
The Wild Salmon Center will design, permit, and remove nine culverts as part of the Coldwater Connection Campaign. The culvert removals will improve access for migratory salmon and improve the durability of public infrastructure. The project was developed with the Quileute and Quinault Tribes and will increase tribal capacity for fish passage restoration. ($10,396,280)
The Yakama Nation will remove the Bateman Island Causeway, located at the confluence of the Yakima and Columbia Rivers. It will complete hydraulic modeling at the Prosser Dam on the Yakima River. These efforts will improve spawning and rearing habitat for Chinook, coho, and steelhead in the river and its tributaries. ($235,161 in first year; up to $3,626,635 total over 3 years)
Commercial fishing in the Valdez, Alaska harbor.
Carrie Selberg Robinson (front row, right) at groundbreaking ceremony for Herring River Restoration Project in Cape Cod, MA.
The Fishadelphia team. Credit: Dr. Talia Young.
Klamath River. Credit: Shane Anderson.