Wildlife Management Institute highlights progress made in aquatic connectivity thanks to NAACC

For aquatic organisms that need to be able to swim freely through river and stream systems in order to survive, dams and culverts represent major barriers to movement, but they're not the only barriers. Sometimes a lack of coordination among the people who are trying to reconnect aquatic systems presents as much of an obstacle.

Launched in 2015 with support from the North Atlantic LCC, the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) is working to take down barriers for aquatic organisms by first addressing barriers between the people who care about them. With a standard protocol for conducting road-stream crossing assessments, online tools for prioritizing upgrades based on ecological benefits, and a database of road-stream crossing encompassing all 13 Northeast states, the NAACC provides both shared resources and a network of partners to take on the enormous task of restoring aquatic connectivity across the region.

In the September issue of its Outdoor News Bullet, the Wildlife Management Institute highlights examples of how this network is enabling real progress on the ground to survey and prioritization road-stream crossings for upgrades and removals. 

View the full article on the WMI website.