A collaborative approach to river herring restoration on Long Island, NY

Long Island, NY is an ecologically important region with a rich maritime history that is home to millions of people, including the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.  The Island’s unique glacial history resulted in the creation of hundreds of small tributaries and embayments, each connecting with the sea.  Historically, these estuarine tributaries supported impressive populations of diadromous fish including river herring, American eel and brook trout.  Development and infrastructure pressures have impeded natural access, and degraded spawning habitat.  Initiatives to restore river herring spawning habitat have been gaining momentum in recent years.  In Nassau and Suffolk counties progress has been fueled by the Island’s three major estuary programs and the regional multi-agency, multi-organizational Long Island Diadromous Fish Workgroup.  Efforts have included identifying and prioritizing projects, building public support for fish passage, organizing alewife surveys, and securing implementation funds. So far, fishways have been installed on three dams, opening up 5.4 km of upstream habitat.  Funding is also secured for passage projects at five additional dams, reconnecting another 10.9 rkm.  Regional collaborative efforts and partnerships have allowed us to better navigate overlapping jurisdictions during project planning and implementation.  Without active collaboration, restoration efforts have been prone to stall for various reasons.