dangerous low-water crossings. Culvert tubes squeeze channels until the water shoots through at unnatural speeds. Dams cut off fish from food and breeding grounds. It can be tough to get a handle on what’s happening and where it’s happening. The barrier removal tool builds on a Missouri Department of Conservation inventory of barriers across the state. TNC is part of the “With so much work to be done, it’s essential to pinpoint where we’re needed most.” statewide Stream Connectivity Partnership that updates the tool with the latest information. If we help replace a low-water dam with a free-span bridge that lets fish travel underneath, we adjust the list. We also use the tool to see how many barriers are in a given stream. That allows us to see the most disconnected watersheds in the state. When paired with TNC’s Resilient River Explorer tool, we can identify the
most important streams and figure out how many barriers are present. We can then work with partners to reconnect our most biologically critical streams. These tools also make it easier to sequence barrier removal for maximum connectivity, and we can report river miles gained by removing the barrier. That helps us see how projects align with our goals. “We use the SARP Barrier Removal Tool all the time to prioritize barriers for removal,” says Rob Hunt, TNC director of resilient waters in Missouri. “With so much work to be done, it’s essential to pinpoint where we’re needed most.” Resilient Land Mapping Tool: TNC scientists spent more than a decade mapping a network of landscapes across the United States that offer the best opportunities to withstand climate impacts. Not only do these places have a mixture of unique topographies and geologies, but their makeup includes pathways, or “natural highways,” for plants and animals to move among microclimates. The mapping tool looks at the country as a whole for proactive, big-picture thinking. If we can support this network of climate- resilient, connected lands and waters, we can help nature adapt to rising temperatures and shifting conditions by creating safe havens for thousands of species. The publicly available tool lets anyone click through layers of data and zoom in on specific sites. Our teams use that as a roadmap to design the strategies and projects that protect these areas. Using the tool makes the starting point plain, so we can get to work.
Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) Barrier Removal Tool: Thousands of barriers chop up waterways throughout Missouri. Concrete slabs built over streams form unreliable, often
THIS PAGE Trout surface at the Maramec Spring Fish Hatchery. © Doyle Murphy/TNC
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