MAINE, USA — When the Federal Highway Administration announced the recipients of grant awards for improving fish passages via culverts, Maine received 18% of the $196 million allocated to various states and tribal governments.
The Maine Department of Transportation has now received more than $35 million for 27 transportation infrastructure sights across the state that directly effect Maine’s fish population.
“The grant opportunity that we applied for and that we received will actually add a bunch of these and increase the budget to be able to do more of these and add some in different locations,” said Eric Ham, senior environmental manager, about the culverts.
The DOT says it has to make an effort in accordance to the Endangered Species Act to protect aquatic wildlife. These protections are over species such as the endangered Atlantic salmon and the Alewife fish which is important in the lobster trade as it is used as bait.
“Alewife in particular are a really important source of bait for the lobstermen and fisheries, which is actually a huge driver of Maine’s economy,” said Lars Hammer, resource management coordinator with the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
Hammer also noted the importance of updated culverts in the fish’s fight against ecosystem changes.
“This will increase their resilience to climate change in the face of things like rising sea levels and increased frequency of storms like we’ve seen this summer here in Maine,” said Hammer.
DOT officials showed NEWS CENTER Maine an updated culvert in Sidney.
“You end up putting really nice stream substrate through the structure, stuff that matches the stream outside of the structure, as well as building banks and features of the channel that mimic the natural habitat that fish and other aquatic wildlife use,” said Ham.