Culvert assessments involve a team of 2-3 surveyors, trained by the WCTU, taking measurements and recording data about a culvert’s size, length, and the ability for fish to pass through it. As our conservation efforts focus primarily on trout and salmon, ensuring they are able to migrate upstream for both residing and spawning is important to maintaining watershed health, as many ecosystems rely on these fish to stay in balance. The results of the assessment are entered into a database, where they are able to be ranked in order of need for replacement and benefit to local fish populations.

After we receive notice that you are interested in having an assessment performed on a culvert that is on your property, our assessment team leader will work with you to schedule a convenient date and time to do the assessment. This can be done via phone or emails. On the day of the assessment, 2-4 trained Barrier Assessment Team members will arrive at the specified meeting place at the selected time, checking in with you if you desire.

First, the team evaluates the safety of the areas at both ends of the culvert, possibly cutting away the minimal amount of brush needed to allow safe access to each end. After that, the team members will work together to measure and record the dimensions and characteristics of the culvert, the water that flows through it, and any other notes about the current conditions surrounding the culvert.

Pictures are taken of the culvert and any potential barriers to fish passage immediately up- and downstream. The collected data is then analyzed to determine if the culvert is an impediment to fish passage, and the findings are entered into our database, which shows all of the culverts our team has surveyed in Washington to date.

No. While we hope you will take it into consideration, allowing a culvert assessment on your property is strictly voluntary.

No. Landowners do not have to pay for any part of the assessment.

Typically, assessments take around 2 hours to complete, but each culvert and the conditions surrounding it are unique. Some sites have multiple culverts and difficult terrain can stretch assessment times to as long as 4 hours.

While you are not required to be present, you are welcome to observe and ask questions! We appreciate owners sharing their knowledge of the stream, culvert, and their history, as this information can give us valuable insights into what we are seeing. If you choose not to be present during the assessment or are not there when we are finished, we will let you know when we are leaving the site.

While any outdoor activity involving waterways has some amount of danger associated with it, we take a “safety first” approach in every assessment. Our team members never work alone, are equipped with fluorescent vests, and typically have experience navigating rivers and streams. Before beginning work, they take time to evaluate the area, looking for possible dangers in the form of fast or high water, slippery and unstable footing, steep slopes, dead trees, and anything in the waterway that might become dislodged or pose a threat during the assessment, as well as any other possible dangers unique to the area.

While we rarely encounter dangerous conditions during our work, our BAT members are all part of Trout Unlimited, whose insurance policy covers them individually in the unlikely event of an accident or injury that might occur while performing TU-sanctioned functions. While we are passionate about this work, the safety and well-being of every person is of the utmost importance during these assessments.

Yes! Sometimes, due to culverts or other barriers, a fish population can become extirpated, or entirely absent in an area that they used to call home. By removing barriers and improving habitat conditions, fish can often return to their historical ranges naturally.

When we do these assessments, we also take into account whether there are additional barriers to fish passage downstream. We also work our way upstream, knowing that barriers must be cleared from the mouth of a waterway to the headwaters in order to allow fish to move freely throughout it.

Maybe. While we may do some minor clearing of vegetation to access the culvert itself, we try to disrupt the culvert and its surroundings as little as possible. Other modifications are generally not required, but if something does come up, we will request your permission before making any modifications.

Sometimes. Our team starts by performing a “Level A” assessment, following the procedures developed and practiced by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

When a Level A assessment doesn’t allow us to quantify all parameters during our initial assessment, we will ask your permission to return and perform a “Level B” assessment. While they are similar to Level A, they can be more expansive, extending further both up- and downstream from the culvert site.

While the assessment gathers valuable data, it by itself is not enough to know if an upgrade will be recommended. As culverts will be upgraded in order of priority and potential for fish benefit, it may depend on how your culvert compares to others.

There are grant programs available through the Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board (FBRB) members, with the Family Forest Fish Passage Program (FFFPP) from the Washington State Recreation & Conservation Office (RCO) being of particular interest to the holders of small, privately-owned forests. Details and eligibility requirements can be found here: RCO and FFPP Grant Information

No. Landowners are not obligated to make the recommended improvements and action to upgrade the culvert will require your permission. The Washington Department of Natural Resources will contact you to provide information and ask for your cooperation and partnership in this project.

You will also have the opportunity to review improvement plans and refuse the upgrade if they do not meet your needs or expectations. You can also request changes prior to providing final agreement, although changes which do not directly benefit fish will require you to cover their costs.

After we have surveyed your culvert and have a chance to process the data we gathered, the team leader can provide you our findings. While we are happy to share the results of the assessment, some of the terminology may be unfamiliar to you, and our assessment alone is not enough to determine whether or not improvements will be recommended. Follow up questions can be directed to our BAT leadership, whose email can be found here: Barrier Assessment Team Page

The Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board (FBRB) was established by the State of Washington in 2014 to guide the coordination of barrier removal by counties, cities, the State, tribal governments, regional fisheries enhancement groups, conservation districts, private landowners, and others.. Members include:

● Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), providing resources to aid fish barrier removal across the state and developed the assessment procedures we use

● Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), working with both large and small private forest landowners with barrier removal projects

● Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) provides the Family Forest Fish Passage Program (FFFPP) with grants to fund fish barrier removal for small privately-owned forest owners.

● Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), who has been removing fish barriers under state highways for many years

The FBRB also works with county, city and tribal governments to further efforts those entities may be undertaking to improve fish passage on a more local level. There are an estimated 40,000 culverts across the state, approximately half of which are known fish barriers. The Washington Council of Trout Unlimited (WCTU, a non-profit 501(c)3), is assisting in identifying these barriers through our Barrier Assessment Team (BAT). The BAT consists of TU member volunteers trained to perform barrier assessments according to WDFW-specified procedures. We compile our assessment findings in a WDFW database, where they are ranked according to the positive impact expected from barrier removal. The most beneficial are considered for replacement and the owners (private, state, county, municipality or other) are engaged to work toward remediation.

Yes. After the recommended improvements are made to the culvert, the area can be restored to its former state or improved to increase its functionality. Any alterations that would change the replacement site’s functionality would require your approval. As the landowner, you also have the ability to make changes to better suit your needs. If these changes do not directly improve fish habitat, you will need to pay for them.