Lake sturgeon congregate below the Menominee dam and hydroelectric facility, one of several barriers on the Menominee River where effective up and down stream fish passage is being planned. - Photo by Rob Elliott

Throughout this past year, the Green Bay Fishery Resources Office staff have continued their involvement in a working group to scope out alternatives and develop a preferred plan for providing needed and effective up- and down-stream fish passage at the Menominee and Park Mill dams on the Menominee River, a tributary to Lake Michigan. 

Members of the work group include representatives from the Wisconsin and Michigan DNRs, National Park Service, River Alliance, the Service’s Green Bay Ecological Services Office, and dam owner North American Hydro. 

The group meets every other month and communicates regularly via conference calls and e-mail to complete assignments and work through the process of planning for and designing feasible means for providing fish passage at these dams. 

Because these dams also serve as critical barriers to sea lamprey migration, the passage facilities are needing to incorporate trap and sort facilities capable of selectively passing target fish species, such as lake sturgeon, while continuing to block undesirable species.  

Recently the group has been working with Curt Orvis, FWS Fish Passage Hydraulic Engineer from Hadley Massachusetts, to develop conceptual drawings for several fish passage devices and facilities capable of meeting all objectives identified by the group.   These conceptual plans will then be used to estimate costs associated with various options.

Enhanced access by native fish species to historically important habitats currently or potentially blocked by existing and newly planned barriers continues to be a needed component to an integrated approach to maintenance, rehabilitation and restoration of native fish populations.

Considerations include access and safe passage to critical habitat by all life stages while precluding passage of undesirable invasive species such as sea lamprey. 

Contact: Rob Elliott, USFWS, Green Bay FRO, robert_elliott@fws.gov