On National Teacher Day, meet the 2024-25 Kenan Fellows
River and Stream Continuity
1. River (Habitat) Continuity
Project Contacts
Alison Dixon
Housatonic Valley Association (HVA)
Berkshire Outreach Manager
adixon@hvatoday.org
413-394-9796
Jane Winn
Executive Director
Berkshire Environmental Action Team
(BEAT)
jane@thebeatnews.org
413-230-7321
2. Stream Crossings
Where roads and railways cross rivers and streams
Over 900 stream crossings
have been identified in the
Housatonic Watershed in
Massachusetts
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6. It’s not only fish that may have
difficulty moving through crossings
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10. Wildlife can be impeded from using the
crossing due to a variety of culvert problems
11. Importance of Small Streams
• Make up a large percentage
of stream miles
• Cumulatively provide more
habitat than large rivers
• Support species not found in
larger streams and rivers
• High productivity
• Provide important spawning
& nursery habitat for fish
12. Impacts of Sub-Standard Crossings
• Habitat loss and degradation
• Alteration of ecological
processes
• Road kill leading to
population losses
• Population fragmentation
and isolation
• Reduced access to vital
habitats
• Disruption of processes that
maintain regional populations
13. Replacement
• Replace culvert with:
• 1. Bridge
• 2. Oversized (1.2 bankfull width) culvert with river substrate
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18. What can SAM do ?
1. Alert us to any crossing concerns
2. Obtain GPS coordinates for that location
3. Take upstream and downstream pictures of
the crossing (INLET and OUTLET)
4.Send pictures and coordinates to
adixon@hvatoday.org
5.Keep building beautiful bridges that allow
free passage
19. Thank you to our Past and
Present Funders
Natural Resources Damages Fund
For more information visit
www.streamcontinuity.org
Notas del editor
Carrie Banks Riverways Adopt-A-Stream Program Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game River Health 101: Shoreline Survey Training for Stream Team Volunteers
A Stream Crossing is anywhere a road, railway, driveway, path, etc crosses a river or stream. The goal of the surveys is to determine what impact these crossings have on fish and wildlife
Imagine this is Brookie’s watershed that she covers in any given year. Moving around for spawning, feeding, visiting the neighbors, hiding from high flow events or seeking a cool spot to hang out in.
Brookie’s movements in the watershed would be restricted and she would be cut off to vital habitat areas she may need to utilize in her life time
Inlet or Outlet Drop Physical Barriers Debris Accumulation Excessive Velocities Absence of Bank Edge Areas Flow Contraction (Turbulence) Insufficient Water Depth Discontinuity of Channel Substrate
As a reminder of why we care so much about small streams!
It was replaced with a bottomless arch culvert with a 40-foot span across the river channel. The natural streambed mimics the substrates, flows, and depths of the surrounding stream. In addition, a low-flow channel is able to naturally form.
