Nonh American Jour~I ofFLrhrrirJ Mana##msnr tr437-443, 1989 An Evaluation of Trout Passage through Six Highway Culverts in Montana

• Main Authors: David A. Belford, Willlam, R. Gould
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Esox lucfus (Derksen 1980; staclhcad (anadromous; Arctic; Arctic grayling; Catostomus catostomus; Northern pike; Thymallus arcticus
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.309.9965; http://www.stream.fs.fed.us/fishxing/fplibrary/Belford and Gould_1989.pdf

Abstract.-Combinations of watar vclocity and passape length in highway culvarts were evaluated to datermine conditions that enabled or prevantad the passaga of nonnnadromous rainbow Eout Oncorhynchus mykiss. brown trout Salmo truttu, cutthroat-out 0, clarb, and brook trout Salvelinus fontlnalis. Fish paasagc throa six culverta 45-93 m long was datermined by trapping and elcctrofishinb Water velocities wem mcaeurcd 5 cm above tha bottom (bottom vtlodty) and at 0.6 of tha water depth at intervals batwttn rest sitae throughout the bnpfhs of tha culverts. Nonlinear ragmeion linm epaci6c to species and state of mxual maturity wart fit to the wmbinationa of mean bottom velocity and paasage length represanthg tha most atrenuow conditions that allowed the upstraarh paneage of trout. Bccausc of the similarity of the stranuoua pasap relations among specits, the spawning rainbow trout relation could ba used M the general critarion for pmwe of the trout studied. This relation indicated that fish could swim distances of 10, 30, 50, 70, and 90 m with mean bottom valocitit ~ up to 0.96, 0.8KO.74, 0.70, and 0.67 mh, respectively. Highway culverts often impede or block fish movements. The steep slopes and low roughness coefficients of culverts frequently cause high water velocities to develop that have prevented the passaga of Arctic grayling Thymallus arcticus. longnose suckers Catostomus catostomus, northern pike