Fish passage is a serious conservation issue in many Michigan waterways. Dams and culverts are often the culprits of segmenting fish populations – they block the passage of fish and other aquatic organisms thus reducing the amount of habitat available.
On Silver Creek (Lake County), a perched culvert prevented all fish passage from the Pine River into Silver Creek meaning rainbow, brown, and brook trout were blocked from more than five miles of critical habitat. Although the site posed no transportation issues, it was a high priority for replacement for both the U.S. Forest Service and Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
From 2007 to 2010, Conservation Resource Alliance and partners worked to obtain funding to remove this barrier and restore fish passage to Silver Creek. The new structure is a precast concrete arch with virtually unlimited space for stream flow beneath the structure.
Learn more at Silver Creek/State Road Project Summary.
This project is a great example of how watershed partners can come together to implement large scale restoration projects. Thank you to our contributors and partners including: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Elmer’s Crane and Dozer, Inc., Lake County Road Commission, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan Department of Natural Resources – Fisheries Division, National Forest Foundation, Pine River Watershed Restoration Committee, U.S. Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Wade Trim, Inc.
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