The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the City of Buffalo celebrated the completion of an innovative $13.4 million fish passage at Freedom Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 23. The project helps the emerald shiner—one of the Great Lakes' most important fish—overcome the powerful currents of the mighty Niagara River to move upstream after spawning, despite decades of man-made ecosystem impacts.
Funded entirely by the EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Emerald Shiner Fish Passage ensures a critical food source for larger fish and wildlife. It directly supports the $5.1 billion Great Lakes recreational fishery and brings the region one step closer to the goal of delisting the Niagara River as a Great Lakes Area of Concern.
“Through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, EPA is teaming with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to restore habitat and rebuild native forage fish like the emerald shiner—the foundation of the Niagara River and Lake Erie food web,” said EPA Great Lakes National Program Office Director Teresa Seidel. “This is cooperative federalism in action, delivering measurable results that keep water clean for people and wildlife and move the Niagara River Area of Concern toward delisting.”
To learn more, read the full press release on USACE’s website: Innovative $13.4M Niagara River Fish Passage Completed, Revitalizing Critical Great Lakes Food Web