With support from the North Atlantic LCC and Hurricane Sandy Disaster Mitigation funds the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (www.streamcontinuity.org) has developed a regional crossing assessment protocol and database, scoring systems for aquatic organism passage, and hydraulic risk of failure assessments based on future storm discharge levels. The existing NAACC protocol was developed primarily for freshwater streams and the suite of organisms that occur in these systems. There is strong interest among conservation practitioners to have a method to assess tidally influenced crossings for their potential as barriers to aquatic organism passage. Protocols designed for freshwater streams will not adequately address the passage challenges of bi-directional flow and widely variable depth and velocity of tidally influenced systems. Diadromous fish and other organisms must be able to overcome the enhanced water velocities associated with tidal restrictions to reach upstream spawning habitat. This project will build on the existing North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative’s protocol, database and scoring procedures to extend the applicability of this region-wide program to road-stream crossings in tidally influenced settings.
