Aquatic Organism Passage at Road-Stream Crossings

Alan Yamada, Program Leader

Kim Clarkin , Project Leader

August 3, 2001

The multi-agency and interdisciplinary oversight team met in March, and articulated overall objectives and approaches that will guide product development. In general, the team recommended an integrated watershed-scale approach to planning, and an emphasis on natural stream channel simulation in crossing design. The group restated a commitment to considering all organisms that use road crossings as pathways, in whatever degree of detail is possible given the state of the art.

The technical team is beginning work on national inventory/assessment protocols. We are looking carefully at the inventories already in use by FS regions along the Pacific Coast; all of these methods rely on FishXing software for hydraulic analysis of crossings where it is not immediately obvious whether fish can pass or not. A literature search is underway for recent information not yet incorporated in FishXing about movement needs and swimming capabilities of fish. To address the lack of information on bull trout, the project is attempting to link up with researchers who have the capability to conduct swim performance tests.

The present state of knowledge about passage needs and capabilities of aquatic organisms other than fish will be researched and documented. A detailer is currently being sought to conduct that research.

Mark Hudy, Eastern Regions Aquatic Ecologist, has indicated interest in testing the inventory's applicability in the eastern half of the country. Our intent is to have procedures in review Jan-March 02, and ready for field-testing in summer '02.

A brainstorming session with a script-writer is scheduled for August 30th, to develop a video aimed at increasing understanding of the problem of crossings as barriers within the FS.

The geomorphology working group has developed an outline for a paper on "Geomorphic Considerations for Crossing Location and Design". It will cover watershed and channel processes that frequently result in impeded fish passage, as well as design methods to fit a crossing structure into the natural channel with as little potential for damage as possible. The paper should be out in draft in April 2002.