Barrier removal

Reconnection Report Card — New York Priority Waters 

Crews work on a new road stream crossing on the Stony Kill, which flows into the Hudson River estuary. It was one of seven barrier improvement projects TU crews completed in New York Priority Waters watersheds in 2024.

Trout Unlimited’s staff and municipal partners continue to work diligently to complete a wide-spanning list of New York priority culvert surveys and replacements.

The reconnection of fragmented and dammed rivers resides at the core of our strategy to improve habitat for New York’s wild trout. With our small but mighty team, we reconnected over 30 miles and replaced seven culverts in2024 while employing a seasonal field crew to survey several hundred more to be considered for future replacement.  

Here are some stats & photos on the projects completed this year around TU’s Priority Waters in New York: 

Adirondacks- Brewery Road   

Beaver River Watershed – Lake Ontario Tributary  

Total Reconnection – 2.96 Miles  

Adirondacks – Long Pond  
Beaver River Watershed – Lake Ontario Tributary  

Total Reconnection – 10.70 Miles 

Saranac-Goldsmith  
North Branch Saranac – Lake Champlain Tributary  

Total Reconnection – 1.60 Miles  

Taconic Range-Haddock  
Stony Kill – Hudson River Estuary

Total Reconnection – 3.50 Miles  

Taconic Range-George  
Fitting Creek – Hudson River Estuary  

Total Reconnection – 6.16 Miles  

Upper Susquehanna- Ives  
Wylie Brook – Upper Susquehanna Tributary  

Total Reconnection – 3.41 Miles  

Upper Delaware-Mellis  

Mellis Brook – East Branch Delaware Tributary  

Total Reconnection – 3.57 Miles