The influence of road stream crossings on fish populations and stream habitats has received increased attention over recent years. Many agencies in our area are involved in fish friendly culvert replacements to ameliorate the negative impacts of road crossings. Local partners have replaced or remediated many culverts at road crossings over the last five years. These installations intend to benefit fish species and their habitats; however limited monitoring has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of these installations both at a specific project site and on an overall watershed basis.
In response, the Bad River Watershed Association and the Ashland Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has worked with project partners to develop a monitoring program and draft monitoring protocols that will evaluate how well restoration work in the Bad River Watershed is achieving program objectives.