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Adult Upstream Passage on the West Coast

The most common way for adult fish to get past a dam is to use a fish ladder, a water-filled structure that allows fish to pass up and over in a series of steps.

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Chinook salmon jump in frothy white water Chinook salmon jump in frothy white water. Credit: Laura Mahoney/USFWS
Large woody debris in a creek in a forested area The Fivemile-Bell habitat restoration project in the Siuslaw watershed in Oregon. Credit: Siuslaw Watershed Council.
Aerial view of the Nisqually River Basin at sunset Tidal wetlands in the Nisqually River Basin, where restored habitat fosters growth of juvenile salmon and steelhead on their way to the ocean.