County Awarded $1.5 Million Grant For Fish Passage Program

Crawford County has received a $1.5 million grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service that will remove two Huzzah Creek fish passage barriers and replace them with bridges at John Coleman and Seller roads.

District 1 Commissioner Rob Cummings said April 30 it was the only grant awarded in Missouri.

Cummings recognized District 1 Foreman Danny Brown’s efforts to secure the grant.

In the last 10 years, Crawford County’s road districts have received between $15 to $17 million in grant funding.

According to USFWS, removing the barriers “will restore natural hydrological conditions and provide open passage to an additional 25 miles of stream habitat.”

The project will benefit spieces like the endangered eastern hellbender, endangered mussel, mussel hosts species and game species. 

“Local communities will benefit from reduced maintenance costs, increased safety, and greater public and emergency vehicle access during high-flow events,” USFWS said.

The fish passage program is part of a $200 million investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021.

“Clean free-flowing waterways are vital to wildlife, people and ecosystems,” USFWS said. “But across the country, millions of barriers fragment rivers, block fish migration and put communities at higher risk to flooding.”