2015-2025 Fish Passage Outcome Management Strategy

Description

This management strategy outlines approaches for achieving the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement's Fish Passage Outcome: Continually increase access to habitat to support sustainable migratory fish populations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed’s freshwater rivers and streams. By 2025, restore historical fish migration routes by opening an additional 132 miles every two years to fish passage. Restoration success will be indicated by the consistent presence of alewife, blueback herring, American shad, hickory shad, American eel and brook trout, to be monitored in accordance with available agency resources and collaboratively developed methods.

As documented in this management strategy, the Fish Passage Workgroup will implement priority projects to remove barriers, replace culverts, install passage structures and monitor for presence of target species. More specifically, the workgroup's objectives are:

1. By 2025, restore historical fish migratory routes by opening an additional 132 miles of river and stream habitat every two years to fish passage, with restoration success indicated by the presence of alewife, blueback herring, American shad, hickory shad, American eel and/or brook trout.
2. Document the return of fish to opened stream reaches by establishing the presence or absence of target species at a select number of projects.
3. Use the Chesapeake Fish Passage Prioritization Tool to implement high-priority dam removal and fish passage projects.