County receives $16.6 million for new culverts

Washington County is a big winner in a recent round of federal funding for culvert replacement, netting more than $16.6 million in grants to replace 11 undersized culverts. Along with presenting an increased flood risk, the existing culverts impede the passage of native fish species such as wild Atlantic salmon and alewives.
"Most of these projects are located in areas that have salmon and sea-run fish populations," says Eric Ham, the senior environmental manager with the Maine Department of Transportation (DOT) who took the lead in applying for one batch of the funds. "Therefore, they should have pretty immediate positive effects for these species."
The funds mark the first time the U.S. DOT's Federal Highway Administration has distributed funds for culvert replacement, with the total award package across the country amounting to $196 million. Maine received $35 million in all, with half of those funds awarded to Washington County.

A lifeline for at-risk fish
Washington County made it to the top of the priority list for culvert replacement owing to its unique ecosystem across multiple spectrums. A combination of the potential impact for fish habitat restoration, the population's reliance on fishing and economic distress elevated the county to the position of highest concern in the state.
As a community, Washington County is the fifth most "fishing intensive" community in the nation, according to the batch grant application from the Maine DOT and Department of Maine Resources (DMR). Fishing is considered to be an integral part of life for many residents, who rely on it for both income and sustenance.
The county's relationship with fishing goes back for at least 13,000 years when Wabanaki tribes harvested from the vast numbers of salmon and alewives migrating to breed along the area's numerous waterways. Since then, according to state data, the population of alewives has declined by almost 99%. "This represents a major loss of ecosystem function, impacting birds, sharks and tunas, marine groundfish species in the Gulf of Maine and charismatic marine mammals," the DOT application reads.
Along with alewives, wild Atlantic salmon are a key focus for the grant monies. The Gulf of Maine is the only habitat where the endangered fish has an active population, following the loss of, and ensuing failure to revive, the populations in Long Island Sound and central New England. Of the Gulf of Maine population, only about 1,000 breeding adults are monitored in a given year, according to state data.
Alewives and salmon aren't the only fish that will benefit from having easier access to mating grounds and food. All of the state's 12 diadromous fish, or fish that migrate between salt and fresh water for breeding, will be able to travel more easily through the larger culverts. This means fish such as the blueback herring, American shad, American eel and sea lamprey, each of which has experienced population declines in the state, could be kept from the endangered species list.

Culverts designed to handle flooding in the future
The replacement of undersized culverts in the state has been an ongoing project for the Maine DOT, owing to the negative impact of stream blockages to fish populations. Culvert replacements that "use habitat connectivity design (HCD) concepts and stream crossing design monitoring to contribute to species survival and recovery" have special expedited review status in the state under the Maine Atlantic salmon programmatic agreement (MAP), according to the DOT.
As a result, the Maine DOT has replaced or retrofitted 31 culverts in the state with designs that are larger and more conducive to fish passage. The initiative was enough for the department to be the first in the nation to receive the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Recovery Champion award in 2016. The culverts that will be replaced next will follow the department's established HCD.
Aside from improving the migration and spawning habitat access of diadromous fish, the culverts have infrastructure benefits for the public that will minimize the potential for flooding. Noting scenarios of "specific extreme weather events and anticipated sea level rise," the DOT outlines that the new culverts will be able to handle increased peak flow events for the next 75-100 years, "mitigating damage to structures that endangers the safety of the traveling public."

Sites throughout the county
Of the more than $16.6 million awarded to Washington County, $8.9 million was allocated for seven culverts, representing the batch the DOT and DMR applied for. An additional $7.75 million was awarded to the Passamaquoddy Tribe for the replacement of four culverts in a separate joint application with the DMR.
Four of the seven culverts in the larger batch are located in Wesley: at Beaver Dam Stream, New Stream, Joe Meadow Brook and an unnamed tributary to Pineo Brook. Two others are in Day Block Township, and the last is located in a tributary to the Dennys River in Meddybemps. The matching funds for the projects will come from the Maine State Highway Fund. The total project cost for the seven culverts is $12.5 million.
In nearly all cases, the seven culverts are in areas designated either as an Area of Persistent Poverty by the U.S. DOT, a low income area in the 80th percentile or above compared to the state, or an Opportunity Zone.
Of the Passamaquoddy Tribe's awarded funds, the four replaced culverts will "open up 7,631 acres of alewife spawning habitat that could support over 2 million alewives and over 45 miles of spawning and migratory habitat for sea run species," says Sean Ledwin, director of the DMR's Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat.
The replacement of the Chase Mill Stream culvert in East Machias will open approximately 38 miles of upstream habitat for salmon, sea lamprey, American eel, blueback herring and American shad, contributing to expected population increases for each species. It will also open Gardner Lake and Second Lake to alewives, opening 5,844 acres of new habitat. "At a density of 400 alewives an acre, this habitat has the potential to produce over 2.3 million alewives," Ledwin says.
In Perry, removing the existing Boyden Stream culvert will open 2.6 miles of upstream habitat for the previously named diadromous species. At the same time, it will open 1,787 acres of spawning habitat for alewives in Boyden Lake, contributing to a potential population in the lake of 700,000.
Willow Brook in Pembroke is "an important coastal stream" that runs directly through the heart of the town. The stream originally had three barriers to fish passage; one was recently replaced with an HCD culvert, another is on the list for the DOT to address and the third will be replaced with these funds. "In combination with Maine DOT's work upstream, this project will open 2.3 miles of valuable spawning habitat for coastal anadromous species like rainbow smelt, Atlantic tomcod and sea run brook trout," Ledwin says, referring to ocean based species that spawn in freshwater.
The last culvert the Passamaquoddy Tribe will be addressing is at Sipp Brook in Perry. Replacing this culvert will open four miles of upstream spawning habitat for anadromous fish. In addition, the current culvert contributes to the existence of brackish water on either side of it. Removing it will enable the restoration of the flow of tidal waters, improving overall habitat health.
"For Passamaquoddy, the connections to sustenance, culture and traditions are inextricably linked with healthy, abundant runs of migratory fish species," say Ralph Dana and Chris Johnson of the tribe's Environmental Department in a statement. There are economic, social and recreational benefits to restoring the fish runs, they add.
"Our approach to restoration, and the desirable outcomes anticipated, are not limited to Indigenous people only," Dana and Johnson write, expressing their appreciation for the cooperative efforts to replace the culverts. "The Passamaquoddy Tribe recognizes the interconnectedness of all things within our territory, and we will continue to collaborate with and work alongside all restoration partners that are willing."