50 Nebraskaland • August-September 2024
ost everyone knows fi sh can jump. But there
are few species swimming in rivers and streams
in Nebraska that can launch themselves 3 feet
from a pool into a culvert that runs under a
roadway and continue swimming upstream.
Yet in a test run to study the eff ectiveness of fi sh ladders
installed to bridge that gap, a western blacknose dace, a rare
native minnow, was able to navigate a 3-foot drop and keep
swimming up Willow Creek north of Newport. The results
there and on two other streams that feed the Niobrara River
in northeastern Nebraska have Game and Parks Commission
fi sheries and wildlife staff looking to do more to reconnect
streams fragmented by barriers, especially culverts.
Making It Back Upstream
There are more than 16,000 miles of rivers and streams in
Nebraska. And 194,000 miles of roads. The two cross more
than 110,000 times. Exactly how many of those crossings
impede fi sh movement isn't known: There has not been a
formal study.
At most of these intersections, the rivers and streams fl ow
freely beneath a bridge: There are an estimated 55,000 to
75,000 bridges in the state. On the smaller streams, however,
it is often culverts, large or small, that carry the water under
roads. Whether they are round sections of corrugated steel or
square box culverts made of concrete, culverts are much more
economical to install and maintain. When they are installed
level to the stream's fl ow, fi sh can swim through them freely.
Some, however, are level on the upstream side and drop a few
inches to a few feet on the downstream side. When culverts
are too small, increased velocities, even under normal fl ows,
can erode the streambed on the downstream side and leave a
culvert perched.
Some fi sh, including larger creek chubs, are capable
Photos and story by Eric Fowler
A creek chub previously captured by biologists and given a
red mark on its side was recaptured below the fish ladder
on Willow Creek.
M
Fish
Ladders
Something Could
Mean Everything
