Fish passage
Highlights
2023
- WSDOT completed 32 fish passage projects within the Federal Court Injunction area in 2023, improving access to 67.39 miles of potential upstream fish habitat
- Since 2013, WSDOT has corrected 146 injunction barriers culverts improving access to 571.18 miles of potential salmon and steelhead habitat
2022
- WSDOT completed 15 fish passage projects statewide in 2022, improving access to 29.1 miles of upstream fish habitat
- Since 2013, WSDOT has corrected 114 fish passage barriers within the case area of the 2013 injunction, improving access to 502 miles of salmon and steelhead habitat
2021
- WSDOT completed 15 fish passage projects statewide in 2021, improving access to 98.2 miles of upstream fish habitat
- Since 2013, WSDOT has corrected 100 fish passage barriers within the case area of the 2013 injunction, improving access to 474 miles of salmon and steelhead habitat
2020
- WSDOT completed 14 fish passage projects statewide in 2020, improving access to 54.28 miles of upstream fish habitat
- Since 2013, WSDOT has corrected 86 fish passage barriers within the case area of the 2013 injunction, improving access to 383 miles of salmon and steelhead habitat
- Projections show an additional $2.4 billion of funding is needed through the 2029-2031 biennium in order to comply with the federal injunction
2019
- WSDOT completed eight fish passage projects statewide in 2019, improving access to 20.45 miles of upstream fish habitat
- Since 2013, WSDOT has corrected 73 fish passage barriers within the case area of the 2013 injunction, improving access to 329 miles of salmon and steelhead habitat
Fish passage background
State highways cross streams and rivers in thousands of places in Washington state, which can impede fish migration. WSDOT has worked for more than three decades to improve fish passage and reconnect streams to help keep waterways healthy.
A single removed barrier can improve fish access for miles both upstream and downstream. When rivers and streams are connected, fish can better access the habitat they need. This is an important component of protecting and restoring fish populations, which can have multiple benefits—including environmental and cultural significance, and for commercial and recreational fishing industries.
Why and where WSDOT does fish passage work
Correcting fish passage barriers contributes to healthy fish and wildlife, including salmon and endangered southern resident orca recovery.
To comply with state fish passage laws, WSDOT started working collaboratively with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1991 to systematically identify and correct fish passage barriers where state-owned highways intersect streams.
Since 2013, WSDOT has worked to comply with the requirements of a U.S. District Court injunction to correct barriers to salmon and steelhead passage within the case area.
WSDOT corrects fish passage barriers using bridge designs and stream simulation culverts that mimic natural stream conditions. These corrections occur as stand-alone projects for high-priority barriers or as part of larger transportation projects.
For more information about the importance of WSDOT's efforts to correct fish passage barriers, refer to Transportation Secretary Roger Millar's blog entry here: The WSDOT Blog - Washington State Department of Transportation: Improving salmon habitat and transportation for generations to come.