Fish Passage Workgroup

The Fish Passage Workgroup is committed to restoring creek, stream and river habitats in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by re-establishing historical fish migration routes, with the goal of opening an additional 132 miles for fish passage every two years.

Meetings

About

The members of the Fish Passage Workgroup are dedicated to the restoration of creek, stream and river habitats in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Dams and other obstructions block the natural migration of fish to their historic spawning habitats. By removing physical obstacles, key species like American shad and herring are able to return to their spawning grounds, as well as increasing available habitat for resident fish. The workgroup promotes projects involving the removal of dams or the creation of fishways when dam removal is not feasible. Whenever possible, projects are integrated with local watershed management or restoration plans. To date, the Fish Passage Workgroup has worked to open over 2,000 miles of streams and rivers for the passage of fish in the Bay watershed.

Jurisdictional Coordinators

District of Columbia: Rese Cloyd, DC Department of Energy and Environment rese.cloyd@dc.gov 

Delaware: Vacant

West Virginia: Rachel Harrison, WV Division of Natural Resources rachel.m.harrison@wv.gov 

Maryland: Jim Thompson, MD Department of Natural Resources jim.thompson@maryland.gov

Virginia: Alan Weaver, VA Department of Wildlife Resources, alan.weaver@dwr.virginia.gov

New York: Ian Blackburn, NY State Department of Environmental Conservation ian.blackburn@dec.ny.gov

Pennsylvania: Dave Dippold, PA Fish and Boat Commission ddippold@pa.gov

Projects

Recommendations for Aquatic Organism Passage at Maryland Road-Stream Crossings

Complete

Informed by discussions, stakeholder meetings and multiple rounds of revisions by state, federal and non-governmental partners, this document presents recommendations to promote stream continuity, aquatic organism passage and in some cases, terrestrial wildlife passage at new and replacement road-stream crossings in Maryland.

Publications

Our Watershed Agreement Goals & Outcomes

Vital Habitats Goal

Our Members