Great Lakes Fishery Commission

FishPass Updates

Updated November, 2024

Dear partners and stakeholders:

On behalf of the FishPass team, I am pleased to provide an update from October 2024.

NOTE: A time-lapse camera has now been installed to capture FishPass construction progress. Check it out here.

Construction:

  • The upstream portion of the sheet pile cofferdam, which allows the new dam to be safely constructed in a dry working environment, was completed and the area enclosed was dewatered (Figure 1). Work is nearly complete on the remaining portion of the sheet pile cofferdam that traverses the existing dam and extends downstream of the dam. Vibration and settlement on the existing dam and nearby properties are continuously monitored and no thresholds have been exceeded. In the coming month, excavation of sediments inside the upstream cofferdam will commence as well as earthwork for the new arc-labyrinth weir structure.
  • Prior to full dewatering of the area inside the upstream cofferdam, staff from the GLFC and Grand Traverse Band of Ottaway and Chippewa Indians recovered fish entrained in the cofferdam pool and relocated an assortment of yellow perch Perca flavescens, Northern pike Esox lucius, rock bass Ambloplites rupestris, and largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides back into the river upstream of the dam.
Aerial view of the Union Street Dam FishPass construction site, taken on October 30, 2024, at 12:03 PM. The site shows significant progress, with heavy equipment, including excavators and cranes, visible on the construction area. Sheet piling sections divide parts of the river, and exposed riverbed sections are visible due to water diversion. In the background, urban buildings, trees with autumn foliage, and a view of the bay under an overcast sky are visible.

Figure 1. Image from the FishPass time-lapse camera: October 30, 2024 – 3:00 PM showing the sheet pile cofferdam upstream of the dam (right side of image) and continued installation of the downstream portion (left side of image).

Research:

  • The Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) hired Muhammad Usama Ashraf as a Post-doctoral Fishery Research Scientist to compile the functional (and theoretical) capabilities, uncertainties, and configurations of fish sorting / guidance technologies and to use this information to prioritize technology configurations for initial testing at FishPass. Usama recently received his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy.
  • 21 October – Staff from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) re-initiated work on a two-year study initiated in 2023, Spatio-temporal drift patterns of larval fish in the Boardman/Ottaway River. Field crews resumed field activates that ceased in August due to low observed larval abundance. During October-December the team deploys D-frame nets at varying times of day and night at six sites, and egg mats at five locations in the lower river. The goal of the study is to address the current knowledge gap on the composition and phenology of downstream fish embryo and larval drift in the Boardman/Ottaway River.
  • 29-30 October 2024 - The FishPass Advisory Board met in Travers1e City to discuss construction progress, research coordination, commissioning research plans, and progress updates from ongoing research and assessment activities.

Outreach:

  • 01 & 03 October – Dan Zielinski (Great Lakes Fishery Commission [GLFC]) presented on FishPass to the Board of the Conservation Resource Alliance and to the Leadership Grand Traverse - Natural Resources Day.
  • FishPass staff and project partners hosted several on-site tours of the construction site throughout the month for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Detroit District leadership, Senator Damoose, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of the Interior regional leadership.

Upcoming:

  • 05 November – Dan Zielinski will provide an update on FishPass construction to the Boardman/Ottaway River Network (BORN).
  • 07 November – GLFC staff will present a talk titled “Diving into FishPass” to the Natural Resources Council in Lansing, MI.

In the News:

Previous Updates