Habitat restoration, Resilience and risk mitigation

This project will remove the low head dam on Otter Creek in Vigo County, Indiana.  This 10ft tall, 300 ft wide dam, once removed, will reconnect 152 miles of stream for fish and aquatic wildlife to migrate freely. Obsolete or poorly designed dams, culverts, stream crossings, and levees keep fish, and other aquatic species from moving freely to feed, migrate, and reproduce.  These challenges put fish populations at risk and undermine the health of the rivers. 

Quick Facts:

Project StatusComplete
Location IN, Vigo
NFPP Project Funding$109,000
Restoration TechniquesLow Head Dam Removal
Accomplishments152 Stream Miles Reopened
Project Partner LeadEcosystems Connections Institute
Primary Species BenefitedSmallmouth Bass
Markle Mill dam on Otter Creek, a tributary to the Wabash River
Otter Creek after the removal of Markle Dam

The National Fish Passage Program combines technical expertise with a track record of success. 

Implemented primarily through the Service's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Offices, the National Fish Passage Program provides financial and technical assistance to partners across the country. Since 1999, the program has worked with over 2,000 local communities, Tribes, and private landowners to remove or bypass over 3,400 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
and reopen access to over 61,000 miles of upstream habitat for fish and other animals. Staff have expertise in fish migration and biology as well as financial, engineering, and planning assistance to communities, Tribes, and landowners to help them remove barriers and restore rivers for the benefit both fish and people. 

Fish passage project proposals can be initiated by any individual, organization, government, or agency. However, proposals must be submitted and completed in cooperation with a Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office. (Please note that fish passage projects being used for federal or state compensatory mitigation or required by existing federal or state regulatory programs are not eligible for funding through the National Fish Passage Program.) 

 CONTACT A FISH PASSAGE COORDINATOR IN YOUR AREA TO GET STARTED. 

Facilities

A gill net set out on the river on a foggy morning
Established in 1981, the Carterville Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (FWCO) is located in southern Illinois and serves the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. In 2015, the Carterville FWCO established a substation in the southern outskirts of the Chicago metropolitan...

Programs

A person is walks through a large wide culvert that passes under a gravel road. A small river runs through the culvert.
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...