Across the country, millions of barriers are fragmenting rivers, blocking fish migration, and putting communities at higher risk to flooding. Improving fish passage is one of the most effective ways to help conserve vulnerable species while building safer infrastructure for communities and improving climate resilience. The National Fish Passage Program restores rivers, protects wildlife, and rebuilds economies.

Latest Stories and Topics

Stories
A huge culvert spanning a creek with a woman inside with outstretched arms and people walking on the road above
Habitat Restoration
Alaska's Largest Culvert Frees Tyonek Creek
A whale of a culvert now spans lower Tyonek Creek just south of the Native Village of Tyonek, Alaska. The 45-foot wide, 22 foot tall, and 120-foot-long culvert is the biggest fish passage culvert in Alaska.
Mouth open on goldish silvery fish in murky water
Endangered Species Act
Healthy habitat for hitch
Recovering populations of Clear Lake hitch isn’t just a goal for the Robinson Rancheria Pomo Indians of California; it’s critical to their culture and way of life.
The orange arm of a construction excavator reaches into a river to break apart a dam
Habitat Restoration
Of herring and humans
Taunton residents lived with the specter of dam failures for decades, as structures that once harnessed the Mill River’s power fell into disrepair. A wake-up call in the early 2000s led to a restored waterway that not only increases public safety but also offers river herring and other migratory...
man standing on a flooded road
History and Culture
A fix for flooding and fish passage
After more than a decade, two culvert replacement projects will provide peace of mind to a small northern California coastal Tribal community and restore fish passage to the Klamath River.
A salmon photoshopped to appear to be wearing glasses and singing into a microphone
Migratory Species
I'm a fish (Gonna spawn till I die): an original song by the Fish and Wildlife Band
Catch this release of I'm a fish (Gonna spawn till I die), an original FWS song about the importance of migratory fish, healthy fish habitats and aquatic connectivity.
A biologist places a juvenile freshwater mussel into a river
Wildlife Wonders
First-Ever Freshwater Mussel Reintroduction in Texas
The San Antonio River Authority and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released freshwater mussels raised by Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery into the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River, marking the first time hatchery-produced freshwater mussels have ever been reintroduced into the wild in Texas.
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Our Services

We provide financial and technical assistance to support projects that improve fish passage - the ability of fish and other aquatic wildlife to move freely throughout their life . 

The National Fish Passage Program is a national leader connecting watersheds and people. The program has decades of experience implementing projects in collaboration with federal agencies, Tribes, states, and our non-profit partners. We work with communities to remove obsolete and dangerous barriers, permanently eliminating public safety hazards and restoring river ecosystems. The resulting infrastructure benefits communities by reconnecting aquatic habitat, increasing flood resilience, and saving money in long-term repair and replacement costs.

Since 1999, the National Fish Passage Program has:

  • Worked with over 2,000 local communities, Tribes, and private landowners across the country.
  • Removed or bypassed over 3,500 barriers to fish passage fish passage
    Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.

    Learn more about fish passage     .
  • Reopened access to over 64,000 miles of upstream habitat for fish and other wildlife.

$200 Million Dollar Investment in Rivers, Wildlife, and Communities

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included an additional $200 million for restoring fish and wildlife passage by removing in-stream barriers and providing technical assistance under the National Fish Passage Program. The funding is distributed over five years, providing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in our nation’s rivers, streams, and communities.

Find a National Fish Passage Program project in your neighborhood.

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Fish Passage Technical and Planning Assistance

The National Fish Passage Program provides financial and technical assistance for projects that improve the ability of fish or other aquatic species to migrate by reconnecting habitat that has been fragmented by a barrier such as a dam or culvert. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists...

Our Library

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Explore our library of fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.

Learn more about fish passage resources, stories, and projects. 

Projects and Research

The National Fish Passage Program works with local communities on a voluntary basis to remove barriers and restore rivers for the benefit both fish and people. Fish passage projects address issues related to climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change and serve disadvantaged communities while spanning the nation geographically and addressing a wide array of diverse aquatic resource issues. 

Explore our past successes and future projects featuring investments in Tribal lands, climate resiliency, imperiled species.