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Getting Across: Aquatic Organisms and Road-Stream Crossings, General Overview
About this film
USDA Forest Service Video VH-607B Getting Across: Aquatic Organisms and Road-Stream Crossings, General Overview Many culverts act as dams, or have water depths and flow velocities that otherwise block the passage of fish and other aquatic organisms. Not only does the health and diversity of the watershed depend on free passage upstream and downstream, but the Endangered Species and Clean Water Acts mandate free passage for aquatic species. This video explains why and how fixing culverts at road-stream crossings will restore habitats. This video provides a slightly more detailed, but still non-technical overview of aquatic organism passage at road-stream crossings, with more emphasis on solutions than the shorter introductory version (VH-607A). Emphasis is on the importance of culverts duplicating the natural stream, by matching the width, gradient and bottom characteristics as closely as possible to the existing stream. In addition to benefiting wildlife and habitat, the closer the culvert simulates the stream, the better the culvert will perform over its design life, causing less erosion, sedimentation and backwater effects during storm events.
Directors & creators
USDA Forest Service
Subjects
fs.usda.gov;public.resource.org
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