In 2018, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), partnering with federal, state, and local agencies, companies, and organizations, awarded grants for a variety of upcoming projects to restore freshwater streams and other important habitat across the USA.
NFWF stream restoration projects were funded by the Bring Back the Natives program, Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund, and Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF).
Bring Back the Natives Grants
Improving Habitat Connectivity and Quality for Cutthroat Trout in Meadow Creek (MT)
Removing Sawpauh Mill Dam to Restore Fish Passage in Oostanaula Creek and the Hiwassee River (TN)
Comprehensive Watershed Restoration and Stream Reconnection in the Clearwater and Grande Ronde Watersheds (ID, OR)
Restoring Stream Connectivity for Eastern Brook Trout in the Upper Rappahannock Watershed (VA)
Barrier Removal in the North Creek Basin to Restore Fish Passage (OR)
Restoring Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Habitat in the Upper Teton River (ID)
Instream Habitat Restoration in the East Verde River to Increase Resiliency of a Gila Trout Fishery (AZ)
Westslope Cutthroat and Bull Trout Habitat Restoration in the Blackfoot River Watershed (MT)
Habitat Restoration for the Amargosa River Pupfish in San Bernardino County (CA)
Eradication of Invasive Vinca to benefit Spikedace and Loachminnow in Aravaipa Canyon (AZ)
Reintroduction of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout to Road Beaver Creek (CO)
Assessment of Connectivity and Invasion Threat to Restore Greenback Cutthroat Trout in Colorado
Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Grants
Restoring Stream Connectivity for Eastern Brook Trout in the Upper Rappahannock Waterhsed (VA)
Grantee: The Piedmont Environmental Council
Improve native eastern brook trout habitat in Virginia’s Upper Rappahannock watershed in partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation by replacing culvert structures with an open-span bridge. The project will reconnect 2 miles of intact brook trout habitat and restore
200 linear feet of riparian habitat.
Fish Passage Improvement and Culvert Replacement in the Upper Sinnemahoning Creek Watershed (PA)
Grantee: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
Replace four culverts at priority locations for native brook trout populations in the upper Sinnemahoning Creek watershed. Project will result in 4 miles of stream opened to fish passage and restored.
Stream Restoration and Brook Trout Habitat Improvement in the Cohocton River (NY)
Grantee: The Nature Conservancy
Improve two culverts, conduct streambank restoration on a key tributary, and increase river management capacity training and continuous water quality monitoring to inform strategic interventions in the watershed. Project will improvebrook trout habitat and increase connectivity to and between already identified high-quality eastern brook trout habitat.
Stream and Habitat Restoration in Kings Branch Flat Creek Greenway Natural Area (MD)
Grantee: South River Federation
Restore a rapidly eroding 3,270 linear foot stream bank and enhance non-tidal wetlands, thereby reconnecting the floodplain. Project will reduce nutrient and sediment pollution loads, benefit local residents and visitors by protecting hiking trails in the Kings Branch Flat Creek Greenway Natural Area, and restore lost habitat and stream functions.
Expanding Green Infrastructure, Urban Stream and Tree Canopy Restoration in Hopewell (VA)
Grantee: Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Implement large-scale stream restoration and wetland enhancement on an eroding stream channel, re-establish floodplain wetlands adjacent to the stream channel, plant 250 urban trees, and create “conservation corners” to install green features in residential areas with poorly draining soils. Project will engage more than 250 community volunteers and develop Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences for students to takes advantage of the large-scale stormwater management project proximity.
Securing and Expanding Brook Trout Habitat in the Cacapon and Potomac South Branch (WV)
Grantee: Trout Unlimited
Strengthen and expand stronghold patches of brook trout by restoring in-stream and riparian habitat, mitigating barriers to aquatic organism passage, and increasing the number of agricultural producers implementing streamside best management practices. Project will restore riparian forest buffers and fish passage, recruit 200 volunteers to assist in environmental stewardship projects, and provide conservation planning and technical assistance to 30 new landowners.
Reconnecting and Restoring Brook Trout Habitat at Public Road-Stream Crossings (VA)
Grantee: The Piedmont Environmental Council
Replace restrictive culverts with improved stream-simulation road-stream crossings for full aquatic organism passage in Piedmont. Project will improve instream habitat by restoring 0.30 riparian acres of habitat, reconnecting 4 miles of stream, and removing two barriers to fish passage.
Identifying and Designing Restoration in Tier II Eastern Brook Trout Patches (PA)
Grantee: Tioga County Conservation District of Pennsylvania
Identify, prioritize, design and permit habitat restoration projects within two Tier II eastern brook trout patches, the Tioga River and Babb Creek. Project will enhance the ability of the Tioga County Conservation District to implement effective priority habitat restoration and sediment reduction projects, motivate individuals and local governments to implement projects, and increase benefits to water quality and eastern brook trout habitat.
Unassessed Waters Initiative (PA) - IV
Grantee: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
Conduct 1,000 fish surveys on previously unassessed streams, coordinating priorities, data collection, and data management. Project will provide data on previously unassessed streams in order to ensure proper stream classification, which is vital to successfully protecting Pennsylvania’s water resources.
Reconnecting Floodplains and Stream Restoration in the Upper Sassafras (MD)
Grantee: Shorerivers
Produce a fully permitted stream and wetland restoration design that addresses an eroding 4,800 linear foot stretch of forested perennial stream in the headwaters of the Sassafras River. Project will result in designs for a stream that receives runoff from surrounding highways and a weigh station, as well as 370 acres of surrounding agricultural land.
Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) Grants:
Planning for Two Fish Passage Projects in Southeastern Connecticut (CT)
Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound
Project Area: Whitford Pond Dam, Whitford Brook, a Mystic River tributary, Stonington, Alewife Cove Dam, Fenger Brook, an Alewife Cove tributary, Waterford, Connecticut
Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound will develop engineered designs for fishways at Whitford Pond Dam in Stonington and at Alewife Cove Dam in Waterford, Connecticut. The project will set the stage to provide 4.2 miles of access to spawning, rearing, and refuge habitat along two riverine migratory corridors valuable to Long Island Sound diadromous and freshwater fish such as alewife, blueback herring, brook trout, American eel and American shad.
Showing posts with label fish restoration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fish restoration. Show all posts
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Raritan River Dam Removal Projects
The removal of old dams from the Raritan River in New Jersey will allow migrating fish to fully access the middle and upper portions of the river for the first time in more than a century.
The dam removal project is being done and financed by El Paso Corp. (now Kinder Morgan, Inc.), under the terms of a landmark agreement secured last year by the DEP as compensation to the public for harm to natural resources caused by past pollution facilities operated by or affiliated with El Paso.
This second Raritan River dam to be removed is known as the Roberts Street Dam and was previously known as the Dead River Dam. It straddles Bridgewater and Hillsborough townships. Its removal will open up a large segment of the Raritan River for fish spawning.
The elimination of the Roberts Street Dam will further increase water flow and habitat improvements realized from removal of the Calco Dam in Bridgewater last summer, which was the first phase of this three-step process.
The removal of all three targeted dams will open up 10 miles of migratory fish habitat along a stretch of the Raritan that twists through a highly diverse residential, commercial and agricultural portion of Somerset County that includes Bridgewater, Hillsborough, Bound Brook, Somerville and Manville.
It also will open up about 17 miles of tributaries, including portions of the Millstone River, to spawning. None of the dams were built for flood control.
The targeted dams include:
The Robert Street Dam, a 6 ½-foot-high sheet piling and concrete dam located at river mile 27.9. It was constructed prior to 1930 for purposes that are not known today. This dam failed and was reconstructed in 1963.
Calco Dam, located at river mile 20.9 and built by the Calco Chemical Co. in 1938 to disperse chemicals from its facility. The dam was essentially a large concrete pipe spanning the river that most recently carried and dispersed wastewater into the river for the Somerset Raritan Valley Sewerage Authority. The authority constructed a new outfall for that purpose. Calco Dam was demolished in 2011.
The Nevius Street Dam, located at river mile 27. The rock and mortar dam was built in 1901 for aesthetic purposes and later retrofitted to provide water to ponds on the Duke Estate. The DEP and El Paso are working on a future plan to ensure the river continues to feed water to these ponds after the dam is removed. Removal is anticipated in 2013.
Fish that will benefit from the removal of the dams are American shad, American eel, herring, and striped bass, which once migrated in prodigious numbers through the gravelly shallows of the Upper Raritan.
The voluntary settlement with El Paso resolved Natural Resource Damage claims made by the DEP against the Houston-based company that stemmed from contamination at EPEC Polymers Inc. in Flemington, Hunterdon County; Nuodex Inc. in Woodbridge, Middlesex County; EPEC Polymers Inc. in Burlington City, Burlington County; and the Eagle Point Refinery in West Deptford, Gloucester County. Investigations and/or cleanups are under way at those sites.
The DEP uses funds secured from Natural Resource Damage settlements toward ecological restoration projects, typically in the same watershed or general area where resource damages occur.
For a copy of the settlement agreement, visit: http://www.nj.gov/dep/docs/elpaso-nrd-settlement.pdf
For more information on the DEP's Office of Natural Resource Restoration, visit: http://www.nj.gov/dep/nrr/
source: NJ DEP
The dam removal project is being done and financed by El Paso Corp. (now Kinder Morgan, Inc.), under the terms of a landmark agreement secured last year by the DEP as compensation to the public for harm to natural resources caused by past pollution facilities operated by or affiliated with El Paso.
This second Raritan River dam to be removed is known as the Roberts Street Dam and was previously known as the Dead River Dam. It straddles Bridgewater and Hillsborough townships. Its removal will open up a large segment of the Raritan River for fish spawning.
The elimination of the Roberts Street Dam will further increase water flow and habitat improvements realized from removal of the Calco Dam in Bridgewater last summer, which was the first phase of this three-step process.
The removal of all three targeted dams will open up 10 miles of migratory fish habitat along a stretch of the Raritan that twists through a highly diverse residential, commercial and agricultural portion of Somerset County that includes Bridgewater, Hillsborough, Bound Brook, Somerville and Manville.
It also will open up about 17 miles of tributaries, including portions of the Millstone River, to spawning. None of the dams were built for flood control.
The targeted dams include:
The Robert Street Dam, a 6 ½-foot-high sheet piling and concrete dam located at river mile 27.9. It was constructed prior to 1930 for purposes that are not known today. This dam failed and was reconstructed in 1963.
Calco Dam, located at river mile 20.9 and built by the Calco Chemical Co. in 1938 to disperse chemicals from its facility. The dam was essentially a large concrete pipe spanning the river that most recently carried and dispersed wastewater into the river for the Somerset Raritan Valley Sewerage Authority. The authority constructed a new outfall for that purpose. Calco Dam was demolished in 2011.
The Nevius Street Dam, located at river mile 27. The rock and mortar dam was built in 1901 for aesthetic purposes and later retrofitted to provide water to ponds on the Duke Estate. The DEP and El Paso are working on a future plan to ensure the river continues to feed water to these ponds after the dam is removed. Removal is anticipated in 2013.
Fish that will benefit from the removal of the dams are American shad, American eel, herring, and striped bass, which once migrated in prodigious numbers through the gravelly shallows of the Upper Raritan.
The voluntary settlement with El Paso resolved Natural Resource Damage claims made by the DEP against the Houston-based company that stemmed from contamination at EPEC Polymers Inc. in Flemington, Hunterdon County; Nuodex Inc. in Woodbridge, Middlesex County; EPEC Polymers Inc. in Burlington City, Burlington County; and the Eagle Point Refinery in West Deptford, Gloucester County. Investigations and/or cleanups are under way at those sites.
The DEP uses funds secured from Natural Resource Damage settlements toward ecological restoration projects, typically in the same watershed or general area where resource damages occur.
For a copy of the settlement agreement, visit: http://www.nj.gov/dep/docs/elpaso-nrd-settlement.pdf
For more information on the DEP's Office of Natural Resource Restoration, visit: http://www.nj.gov/dep/nrr/
source: NJ DEP
Monday, April 30, 2012
Bull Trout Restoration
Over the last two centuries, bull trout populations have declined across North America. The bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, once thrived in the Columbia River Basin and coastal rivers of Washington and Oregon, extending north into British Columbia and Alberta.
Bull trout are members of the genus Salvelinus, which also includes Arctic char, brook trout, and lake trout. Like its relatives, male bull trout exhibit brilliant colors during the spawning season. Bull trout migrate during summer, traveling up to 150 miles from lakes and rivers upstream to their natal headwaters to spawn.
A variety of factors have been cited in the decline of bull trout. Habitat degradation and fragmentation, migratory fish passage obstacles, poor water quality, the effects of climate change, bounty fishing, and the introduction of non-native fish species.
Currently, American bull trout populations are scattered across portions of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada. They populate several river systems including the Klamath,Columbia and Snake River Basins. In 1998, bull trout were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
In 2011, bull trout were re-introduced into the Clackamas River after a nearly 50-year absence. The reintroduction team included representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S.Geological Survey, and Mt. Hood National Forest. The project was one of several bull trout restoration programs that are ongoing in western river systems.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Maryland Trout Stream Restoration
In Maryland, wild brook trout now have access to a few more miles of coldwater stream habitat. During the summer of 2011, the Savage River Watershed Association (SRWA) held an event to celebrate completion of the Savage River Headwater Dam Removal and Stream Restoration Project.
The project restored natural stream conditions along a 600 foot section of the upper Savage River to improve habitat for Brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, Maryland’s only native freshwater trout species.
In 2006 the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) listed brook trout as a "Species in Greatest Need of Conservation" leading to the development of a brook trout Fisheries Management Plan.
The plan includes a focus on the upper Savage River resource, which includes over 100 miles of interconnected streams. The area makes of 25% of all Maryland wild brook trout habitat.
The restoration project included the removal of an obsolete dam on the upper Savage River. During the 2008-2010 summer seasons, biologists with Maryland DNR’s Inland Fisheries Management Division monitored water temperatures above and below the dam.
According to biologists, peak stream temperatures exceeded 75 degrees F below the impoundment, yet never exceeded 65 degrees F above the impoundment. When stream temperatures exceed 70 degrees F for extended periods, brook trout cannot survive.
The Watershed Association and partners identified the area as a restoration site as the impoundment was not only causing a thermal impact, it also blocked fish passage to a headwater reach along the main stem of the Savage River.
The project involved the engineering and implementation of a natural stream flow that bypassed the reservoir and converted it to a wetland. Natural stream design methods were used to create in-stream structures that add aquatic habitat and provide stream bank stability.
The restoration project allowed fish access to 2.5 stream miles upstream from the preexisting dam, restored natural stream features and decreased water temperatures in the stream.
The former pond area was converted to a wetland, providing wildlife habitat, water quality improvement, and flood storage. The site will serve as a demonstration for stream restoration activities and brook trout habitat improvement projects.
source: Savage River Watershed Association
The project restored natural stream conditions along a 600 foot section of the upper Savage River to improve habitat for Brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, Maryland’s only native freshwater trout species.
In 2006 the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) listed brook trout as a "Species in Greatest Need of Conservation" leading to the development of a brook trout Fisheries Management Plan.
The plan includes a focus on the upper Savage River resource, which includes over 100 miles of interconnected streams. The area makes of 25% of all Maryland wild brook trout habitat.
The restoration project included the removal of an obsolete dam on the upper Savage River. During the 2008-2010 summer seasons, biologists with Maryland DNR’s Inland Fisheries Management Division monitored water temperatures above and below the dam.
According to biologists, peak stream temperatures exceeded 75 degrees F below the impoundment, yet never exceeded 65 degrees F above the impoundment. When stream temperatures exceed 70 degrees F for extended periods, brook trout cannot survive.
The Watershed Association and partners identified the area as a restoration site as the impoundment was not only causing a thermal impact, it also blocked fish passage to a headwater reach along the main stem of the Savage River.
The project involved the engineering and implementation of a natural stream flow that bypassed the reservoir and converted it to a wetland. Natural stream design methods were used to create in-stream structures that add aquatic habitat and provide stream bank stability.
The restoration project allowed fish access to 2.5 stream miles upstream from the preexisting dam, restored natural stream features and decreased water temperatures in the stream.
The former pond area was converted to a wetland, providing wildlife habitat, water quality improvement, and flood storage. The site will serve as a demonstration for stream restoration activities and brook trout habitat improvement projects.
source: Savage River Watershed Association
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
2011 Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Program
The Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Program apportionment for 2011 totals nearly $365 million, of which nearly $55 million is for recreational boating access facilities. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program reimburses up to 75 percent of the cost of each eligible project while State fish and wildlife agencies contribute a minimum of 25 percent, generally using hunting and fishing license revenues as the required non-Federal match.
The Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Program funding is available to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. States receive funds through a formula based on the land and water area of the state or territory and its total number of paid fishing license holders.
Sport Fish Restoration funds come from excise taxes and import duties on sport fishing equipment, motorboat and small engine fuels, and pleasure boats. No State may receive more than 5 percent or less than one-third of 1 percent of the total apportionment.
Fish and Wildlife agencies use the funds to pay for stocking sport fish; acquiring and improving sport fish habitat; providing aquatic resource education opportunities; conducting fisheries research; maintaining public fishing access, administering the aquatic resource education program, and constructing boat ramps, fishing piers, and other facilities for recreational boating access.
The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs have generated a total of more than $13.7 billion since their inception (in 1937 in the case of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program, and 1950 for the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Program) to conserve fish and wildlife resources. The recipient fish and wildlife agencies have matched these program funds with more than $3.4 billion. This funding is critical to continue sustaining healthy fish and wildlife populations and provide opportunities for all to connect with nature.
For more information, visit http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/
The Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Program funding is available to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. States receive funds through a formula based on the land and water area of the state or territory and its total number of paid fishing license holders.
Sport Fish Restoration funds come from excise taxes and import duties on sport fishing equipment, motorboat and small engine fuels, and pleasure boats. No State may receive more than 5 percent or less than one-third of 1 percent of the total apportionment.
Fish and Wildlife agencies use the funds to pay for stocking sport fish; acquiring and improving sport fish habitat; providing aquatic resource education opportunities; conducting fisheries research; maintaining public fishing access, administering the aquatic resource education program, and constructing boat ramps, fishing piers, and other facilities for recreational boating access.
The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs have generated a total of more than $13.7 billion since their inception (in 1937 in the case of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program, and 1950 for the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Program) to conserve fish and wildlife resources. The recipient fish and wildlife agencies have matched these program funds with more than $3.4 billion. This funding is critical to continue sustaining healthy fish and wildlife populations and provide opportunities for all to connect with nature.
For more information, visit http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/
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