SESSION D:

Title: Trains, Planes, Automobiles… and Fish: The Fish Passage Story at Maine DOT

Authors: Charles S. Hebson, PhD, PE and Richard Bostwick, PWS
Maine Department of Transportation, 16 State House Station, Augusta ME. (207)624-3100. Charles.Hebson@maine.gov. Richard.Bostwick@maine.gov

Abstract:

In the process of providing safe and efficient transportation facilities to the citizens of Maine, the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) assumes myriad environmental responsibilities. For some time now, it has generally been recognized that highway culverts can pose obstacles to the movement of fish in small streams. Over the past several years MaineDOT has met this challenge by developing policy and technical guidance for addressing fish passage problems at highway culverts. Maine is a recognized leader among state Departments of Transportation in the effort to design and build fish-friendly culvert crossings of small streams. This paper presents background on the development and content of MaineDOT fish passage policy, highlights of technical design guidance employed in MaineDOT projects, and examples of recent projects that have been built to enable fish passage through highway culverts. The current documents are in their second editions and undergo regular revision in light of experience and developments in the state of practice. Looking forward, the movement towards the holistic goal of stream simulation as opposed to traditional hydraulic solutions for “fish passage” hold interesting implications for MaineDOT. Current MaineDOT practices are placed in the context of developing thought in stream simulation and future changes in MaineDOT practice.