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Keeping It Simple:
Easy Ways to Help Wildlife Along Roads


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On or Along Waterways

Highways and bridges take us over scenic bays and rivers and across picturesque lakes and streams. Yet the wildlife and fish sometimes pay a price for our enjoyment of these natural waterways. Highway, bridge, and culvert construction can cause severe impacts to stream habitats - especially when the stream channel has to be relocated. Sediment from construction activities can cloud the waters of a stream, making it harder for fish to find food and occasionally covering fish eggs or mussel beds. De-stabilizing stream banks and removing streambank vegetation can destroy wildlife habitat and eliminate shade-cover for fish and aquatic insects (food for fish, birds, and bats). Improper culvert design can also affect how freely fish can move up and down the stream corridor to successfully carry out their life cycles.

The examples that follow highlight some simple methods state transportation agencies and Western Federal Lands are using to counter the effects of stream relocation and to correct barriers to fish passage. The examples also illustrate the easy things these organizations are doing just to enhance wildlife and fish habitats along waterways. The efforts they're making do more than help protect habitats - they help protect the entire food chain.

Title: Turning Old Bridges into Coral-Reef Fish Habitat
State: Alabama
Title: "Baffling Beavers" Promises Continued Fish Passage Through Culverts
State: Colorado
Title: Bid-plan specifications safeguard "unprotected" wildlife habitat
State: Colorado
Title: Raising groundwater levels helps restore the habitat of a threatened mouse
State: Colorado
Title: Combining sea oats with beach rubble creates nesting habitat for seabirds
State: Florida
Title: Training helps construction crews detect and protect manatees
State: Georgia
Title: Diverting Low-Water Flows to a Culvert Enables Fish Passage
State: Georgia
Title: Small sign helps protect wildlife during routine construction and maintenance work
State: Georgia
Title: Rock vortex weirs give tired fish a break
State: Idaho
Title: Sonar "startle" devices keep herring away from blasting
State: Massachusetts
Title: Streambank "platform" lets fish take cover
State: Michigan
Title: Keeping out carp protects a lake
State: Minnesota
Title: Improving trout habitat with "lunker structures"
State: Minnesota
Title: Small water quality basin is a big gift to future fish
State: Nevada
Title: Preserving natural stream conditions helps bring back trout
State: New Jersey
Title: Oversized culverts with "natural" bottoms give fish a break
State: New York
Title: Stabilizing a stream bank with willows and dogwoods
State: New York
Title: Logs and root wads make a "lifeless" stream habitable
State: New York
Title: Integrating fish ladders into culvert-improvement contracts
State: New York
Title: Fish-ladder "lips" protect trout from parasitic sea lamprey
State: New York
Title: Box-culvert "lip" creates deeper water for fish passage
State: North Dakota
Title: Turbidity barriers - not delayed construction - are protecting North Dakota fish
State: North Dakota
Title: "False Attraction" Gets Beavers to Build Dams Away from Fish-Passage Culverts
State: Oregon
Title: Ledge gives small animals safe passage through stream culverts
State: Oregon
Title: Keeping cattle out of trout streams
State: Pennsylvania
Title: Streambank "walkways" help frogs and other animals
State: Rhode Island
Title: Avoiding in-stream construction when fish are spawning
State: Tennessee
Title: Preserving tree canopy along river means more insects for bats
State: Tennessee
Title: "Rock spurs" stabilize river bank and make fish passage easier
State: Utah
Title: Slightly modifying a culvert-repair contract creates huge benefits for area wildlife
State: Vermont
Title: "Beaver Deceivers" Hide Moving Water from Dam-Building Beavers
State: Virginia
Title: Looking for Mussels in All the Right Places
State: West Virginia
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