Two OKI colleagues are doing their part to improve the lives of stream and river fish, and in doing so, the biodiversity of a habitat.
David Rutter and Dr. Margaret Minzner, Ed.D., both senior environmental planners, are teaching others how to assess bridges and culverts for water blockages, which hinder the passage of fish and other wildlife.
“The health of fish communities are a critical measure of the health of a stream,” Rutter explains. “When the biggest thing limiting a habitat’s number of fish are blockages to their passage, then removal of those obstacles dramatically improves fish populations – including in variety of species and increased numbers — so much so that they are no longer considered impaired.”
Rutter and Minzner qualified to teach others the craft after completing a course taught by experts from the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP), which was held throughout northern Kentucky streams in fall 2023.
SARP is a collaboration of science and natural resource agencies, conservation organizations, and private groups that manage and preserve aquatic resources in the southeastern U.S. The group uses science-based programs to coordinate conservation and restoration activities.
Minzner and Rutter held their first class this past spring and led their second two-day session at Winton Woods Harbor Park in September.
As part of the most recent class, students explored crossings and were taught how to measure the length, width and height of the bridge or culvert, as well as the width of the waterway and any drop-offs at the outfall and inlet of the structure. They also measured the width of the waterway and the depth of pools upstream. Students also took photos of the structures.
Those who complete the course can teach it to other stream and river managers. They can also upload their field data to the National Aquatic Barrier Inventory & Prioritization tool, which provides resources to find federal funding, as well as access to data, planning and geospatial information.
Rutter says many streams are blocked because old bridges, culverts and railroad trestles were built with little or no consideration on how to allow fish and other animals to effectively pass through them.
“Knowing which stream crossings are problematic can help prioritize them for replacement,” Rutter says. “It also informs those replacing these structures to use better designs that preserve or restore the stream’s natural flow.”
Rutter recently told a reporter: “You think, ‘Why should I care about fish and bugs?’ Well, fish and bugs are how we tell how clean our water is. And if fish aren’t present and there are no macro-invertebrates — the insects and other creatures that live in the water — there’s something going on with your water quality.”
Aware of the daunting task ahead, he adds, “There are tens of thousands of bridges in the OKI region alone. We need many trained individuals to gather enough data to use the [prioritization] tool effectively.”
Ideally, Rutter says, those agencies responsible for bridges and culverts would receive this type of training and include stream blockage assessments in their regular inspections, “as they are already on-site yet do not currently assess the impact [of these obstacles] on a stream or river’s habitat.”
When Rutter first described the program to her, Minzner said she instantly saw its value to OKI’s broader work.
“I realized that the program has applicability to a lot of the projects we fund,” Minzner says. “If we are able to get the stream crossing inventoried and prioritized, we can plan to address those issues in advance on various environmental improvement projects.”
They plan to teach two more classes in 2025.
— Jim Pickering
