Land Management Agencies: Restoring Fish Passage Through Culverts on Forest Service and BLM Lands in Oregon and Washington Could Take Decades

GAO discussed the condition of culverts on fish-bearing streams in Oregon and Washington and the federal efforts to identify and restore culverts that are impeding fish passage on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service lands. This testimony is based on a November 2001 report (GAO-02-136), which described (1) the number of culverts that may impede fish passage on BLM and Forest Service lands in Oregon and Washington, (2) the factors affecting the agencies' ability to restore passage through culverts acting as barrier culverts, and (3) the results of the agencies' efforts to restore fish passage.