Land Management Agencies: Restoring Fish Passage Through Culverts on Forest Service and BLM Lands in Oregon and Washington Could Take Decades
Abstract
The Bureau of Land Management, within the Department of the Interior, and the Forest Service, within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, manage over 41 million acres of federal lands in Oregon and Washington, including 122,000 miles of roads that use culverts--pipes or arches made of concrete or metal to allow water to flow from one side of the road to the other. Many of the streams that pass through these culverts are essential habitat for fish and other aquatic species. When culvert openings are too high above the streams for fish to jump into or culverts are positioned at a grade too steep for fish to ascend, they pose barriers to fish attempting to access their natural rearing and spawning habitat. Passage through culverts is particularly important to anadromous fish, such as Coho and Chinook salmon (some of which are threatened or endangered), which are spawned in freshwater streams, but must travel to the ocean to mature, then travel back to the streams to spawn. The two agencies are concerned about the condition of the culverts on fish bearing streams on their Oregon and Washington lands because many, either because of deterioration or design, do not provide passage for all life stages (juvenile to adult) as required by current standards.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA396825
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office