Brett Riser
Improperly installed and undersized road-stream crossings impair fish passage due to but not limited to perched culverts, undersized crossings, misalignment, and mis-matched stream grades. This results in increased velocities, impassible perch height, and shallow water depth through the crossing. We set out to evaluate fish community changes or a lack thereof as a result of culvert remediation within the Kalamazoo River – Ceresco Reach, a reach of river within the Upper Kalamazoo River. Two wadeable low stream order tributaries were identified as passage barriers due to undersized and/or perched culverts in the lower reaches of each tributary. Fisheries surveys were performed in 2013, 2015 and 2016 within Pigeon Creek and Unnamed Creek (Easterly and Dibble Drain), in order to document pre-project fish community assemblage. One backpack shocker (24 V DC) was used to capture fish in a single electrofishing run below and above each culvert location. Culvert remediation was completed on Pigeon Creek in September of 2016 and on Unnamed Creek in April of 2017. Post remediation surveys to be performed this year with results/analysis to follow.
