NOAA-funded projects are reconnecting tributaries and restoring habitat in the Snake River Basin, helping threatened salmon and steelhead complete one of the longest migrations in the lower 48 states.
NOAA funding helped the Yakama Nation and partners remove a causeway in Richland, Washington, that had wreaked havoc on Yakima River salmon and steelhead populations. Now, fish have a better chance of surviving migration in and out of the river.
Results from two fish passage studies will help NOAA, in partnership with resource agencies and universities, strategically implement fish passage and restore watershed health in the Altamaha River Basin.
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, NOAA is seeking proposals for fish passage projects that will reopen migratory pathways and restore access to healthy habitat for fish around the country.
With NOAA funds, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians will remove 12 fish passage barriers at road-stream crossings on their traditional lands. They will also investigate fish passage options for lake sturgeon at two hydroelectric dams.
With $9.5 million in NOAA funds, the Nooksack and Lummi tribes are restoring habitat for Spring Chinook using engineered log jams to recreate healthy river processes.
Habitat restoration efforts on the Penobscot River in Maine will help Atlantic salmon population recover and support ancestral traditions of the Penobscot Nation.
Forty-six projects will reopen migratory pathways, restore access to healthy habitat for fish, and build tribal capacity to develop and implement fish passage projects.
With $2.5 million in funding through NOAA, the Ipswich River Watershed Association and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries will address dams blocking fish passage and posing flood risks to towns.
