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3/1/11 Massachusetts River & Stream Crossing Standards (Corrected 3/8/12)
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INTRODUCTION
Movement of fish and wildlife through river and stream corridors is critical to the survival of
individual organisms and the persistence of populations. However, as long and linear ecosystems,
rivers and streams are particularly vulnerable to fragmentation. In addition to natural barriers, a
number of human activities can, to varying degrees, disrupt the continuity of river and stream
ecosystems. The most familiar human-caused barriers are dams. However, there is growing concern
about the role of river and stream crossings, and especially culverts, in disrupting river and stream
continuity.
Road networks and river systems share several things in common. Both are long, linear features of the
landscape. Transporting materials (and organisms) is fundamental to how they function. Connectivity
is key to the continued functioning of both systems. Ultimately, our goal should be to create a
transportation network that does not fragment or undermine the essential ecological infrastructure of
the land and its waterways.
With funding from the Sweetwater Trust, Massachusetts Watershed Initiative, Nature Conservancy and
Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration – Riverways Program, the University of
Massachusetts–Amherst coordinated an effort to create river and stream crossing standards and a
volunteer inventory program for culverts and other crossing structures to more effectively identify and
address barriers to fish movement and river and stream continuity. Information was compiled about
fish and wildlife passage requirements, culvert design standards, and methodologies for evaluating
barriers to fish and wildlife passage.
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This information was used to develop performance standards for
culverts and other stream crossing structures.
The first version of the Massachusetts River and Stream Crossing Standards was released in August of
2004. The Standards were developed by the River and Stream Continuity Partnership with input from
an Advisory Committee that included representatives from UMass-Amherst, MA Division of
Ecological Restoration – Riverways Program, Massachusetts Watershed Initiative, Trout Unlimited,
The Nature Conservancy, the Westfield River Watershed Association, ENSR International, MA
Department of Transportation, MA Department of Environmental Protection and the MA Department
of Conservation and Recreation. In developing the standards, the Partnership received advice from a
Technical Advisory Committee that included representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
USGS Biological Resources Division (BRD), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, American Rivers, Connecticut River
Watershed Council, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, a hydraulic engineering
consultant, as well as input from people with expertise in Stream Simulation approaches to crossing
design
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. The standards are intended for new permanent crossings (highways, railways, roads,
driveways, bike paths, etc.) and, when possible, for replacing existing permanent crossings. After the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers referenced the Standards in the Massachusetts Programmatic General
Permit in 2005, a revised version with additional explanatory language was issued on March 1, 2006.
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In developing the Standards the Partnership benefited greatly from work that has been done and materials developed over
the years in Washington State, Oregon, California, and Maine, and by the U.S. Forest Service.
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Special thanks go to Ken Kozmo Bates and Kim Johansen for their review and useful comments on previous drafts of the
Crossing Standards.