County/ODFW Fish Passage Agreement is first of its kind in Oregon

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, April 21, 2010

On April 8 Washington County's Road Operations and Maintenance Division became the first transportation agency in the state to enter into a Fish Passage Programmatic Agreement with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. This agreement allows the county to undertake roadway stream crossing projects without project-by-project regulatory approval. It benefits the county by providing a well-defined approval pathway and predictable design and construction requirements for bridge and culvert projects requiring ODFW fish passage approval.

County staff has been working to develop and implement fish passage programmatic approvals for nearly a decade. Washington and Clackamas counties along with the Association of Oregon Counties partnered with ODFW in developing a programmatic agreement for transportation agencies that have a proven track record of successfully designing, installing, and maintaining stream crossing projects which meet all fish passage laws. A shared goal was to ensure the agreement could be used as a model by other transportation agencies.

Over the last ten years, Washington County road maintenance projects have successfully replaced transportation structures which blocked fish access with structures that meet both engineering and environmental goals, providing new habitat of nearly sixty miles for all fish, including trout and salmon species. County Commissioners adopted Best Management Practices for road maintenance in 2000. Five years ago, the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service gave its approval under the Endangered Species Act of the county's updated BMPs. Washington County remains one of only a few transportation agencies in Oregon to have been granted this federal approval.

Washington County Operations Division continues to explore other programmatic approaches for projects with environmental components, reflecting their commitment to road maintenance practices which preserve, protect and restore the environments that support natural resource-based economic activity, native flora and fauna, rural lifestyles and recreational opportunities.

For more information about Washington County's environmental practices related to road maintenance, contact Janet Oatney, Senior Environmental Resource Specialist, at 503-846-7652 or [email protected].  

Related: County/ODFW Fish Passage Agreement (PDF)
             Dairy McKay Fish Passage Assessment (PDF)
             Best Management Practices for Routine Road Maintenance (PDF) 
             Culvert Replacement Program

Washington County is committed to building and maintaining the best transportation system, ensuring the safety of all roadway users, and to operating the county roadway system in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner.

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