Aligning dam removals and road culvert upgrades boosts conservation return-on-investment

摘要

Highlights?Both dam and road crossing projects are needed to restore fish migration routes.?The most efficient conservation strategy includes removing both types of barriers.?Focusing on a single barrier type restricts benefits to a subset of fish community.?Increased coordination and communication among conservation actors is needed.AbstractDams and road culverts fragment river ecosystems worldwide by restricting the movement of aquatic species. In many watersheds, a diverse set of actors coordinates the removal of these barriers. Non-governmental organizations often focus on small dams and road culverts, while large dam removal projects are coordinated by federal agencies or coalitions of partners. Here we evaluate the return-on-investment of these strategies by exploring a continuum of methods for selecting barrier removal projects, ranging from a focus on many small barrier removal projects to a