Kyle Bradford
Ethan McElwain
Bradley Stewart
Problem Statement
 Barriers influence populations of aquatic organisms by
restricting or altering their movement through the
Lake Champlain Basin.
Purpose Statement
 Our goal is to determine the effect of barriers to
movement of aquatic organisms on the varied habitats
represented in the LCB, and in doing so, determine
and justify impact filter scores which will be used in
the Lake Champlain Regional Relative Eco-Risk
Assessment Model.
Barrier Subcategories
 Dams
 Roads
 Culverts
Dams
 Wetlands
 Dams affect hydrology


Altered flood regime
Siltation
 Open Water
 Dams affecting migratory
fish

Imperial Dam


Salmon
Swanton Dam


Lake Sturgeon
Walleye
Dams Cont.
 Winooski One Dam
 Barrier to salmon
and steelhead
rainbow trout
 In 1993 fish
passage facility
built
Roads
Roads Cont.
 Physical barriers to slow moving animals
 Open space leads to vulnerability
 Attract certain species
 Increased downstream sedimentation
 Scale
Culverts
 Used to allow water to pass underneath roads,
railways, or embankments.
 Raised up disrupts stream connectivity
 Gap is created where water falls
 Aquatic organisms cannot jump up into culvert
 Restricts movement to downstream only
 Gap from raised culverts not the only problem
 Too long, narrow, or steep
Raised vs. “Natural” Culvert
Culverts cont.
 Aquatic organisms cannot migrate upstream to spawn
or reach food sources
 Diminishing species
 Less rich species diversity
 Less than 2% of 465 culverts assessed in VT classified
as “completely passible”
 Brook trout, salmon, mussels, salamander species,
minnows, suckers, smelt, and others (Bates & Kirn
2009)
Impact Link Matrix
Stress
or
Habitat
Develo Forest
ped
Land
Herba
ceous
Agricu Wetla
lture
nds
Open
Water
<6ft
Open
Water
>6ft
Stream Lakes
s and
and
Rivers Ponds
Roads
1
0.5
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
Dams
0
0.5
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
Culver
ts
1
0.5
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
Impact Importance Matrix
Sresso Habitat
r
Develo Forest
ped
Land
Herba
ceous
Agricu Wetla
lture
nds
Open
Water
<6ft
Open
Water
>6ft
Stream Lakes
s and
and
Rivers Ponds
Roads
2
0.5
0
0
2
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
Dams
0
0.5
0
0
2
1
1
2
0
Culver
ts
1
0.5
0
0
1
0.5
0.5
2
0.5
Recommendations/Conclusions
 Further study to determine the magnitude of effects
posed by the barriers within the basin.
 Swanton Dam and Imperial Dam priority for removal.
 Increase signage on roads.
 “Smarter” design of new dams, roads, and culverts.
Image Sources in Order of Occurrence
 http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/calendaritems/Swanton_Dam.pdf
 http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1GTE_Mill_Pond_Dam__Queche
e_VT
 http://www.indiana.edu/~inbsarc//
 http://www.mychamplain.net/forum/winooski-one-fish-lift-started




operation-september-15-2010
http://www.wildlifeandroads.org/decisionguide/2_1_1.cfm
http://jeffircink.blogspot.com/2007/06/news-bulletin-another-turtlesaved.htmll
http://www.cogulus.com/blog/archives/r/Red-Spotted-Newt-294.phpp
http://www.aaroads.com/blog/category/places/north-america/unitedstates/vermont/
http://www.confenv.com/projectsCaseStudiesJapanese.html