ALPENA, Mich. — One of the road crossings on Little Crapo Lake Road is a great example of what can happen to fish passages when they’re not well-maintained.

The road crossing is going to be replaced as part of the North Branch Au Sable project, an ongoing effort that’s received funding this year from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The culverts that are supposed to allow passage of fish under the crossing are not adequately sized, said Andrea Ania, a fisheries biologist with the FWS. Ania is based out of Alpena.

“The road is adding a lot of sediment to the stream as it erodes, which can cover spawning substrate and eggs,” she said. “You can’t even see the culverts on the upstream side because the road is slowly eroding.”

The North Branch Au Sable project is just one of numerous projects that received funding this year from the FWS, as well as private sources. The FWS announced last week it had given out more than half a million dollars in the Midwest to help restore fisheries in the region.

“The local partnerships cultivated through Fish Habitat Partnerships in the Midwest allow for more efficient and effective fish passage and habitat improvement projects for our native and game fish species,” said Tom Melius, Midwest regional director of the FWS. “The National Fish Habitat Action Plan guides landscape level conservation for our fisheries resources.”

The projects that receive funding are chosen in February, according to Maureen Gallagher, a spokeswoman for the FWS. “We finally got through the federal budgeting cycle for the year to get the money out.”

Projects all across the country are being funded. Those comprised of multiple states under one heading include the Great Lakes Basin, Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership, Ohio River Basin and a 48-state project called Reservoirs Habitat Partnership.

These, along with individual state projects, are funded through a combination of FWS dollars and “partnership” funding. The total federal-partner funding for Midwest projects this year totals approximately $1.2 million.

For the Farm World area, Iowa has the most projects that received funding, by far, though Ania said the lists are incomplete. They include: Richmond Spring Fish Passage Improvement, which will remove or bypass four fish passage barriers and reconnect 16 miles for fish passage; Yellow River Ford Removal and Low-Water Crossing Installation, which will reopen 69 miles for fish passage; Brush Creek Habitat Restoration and Stream Bank Stabilization, which will restore instream habitat, wetlands and riparian habitat; and Maquoketa River Iowa Fish Habitat Improvement, which will enhance 4.4 instream miles and riparian habitat.

In addition to North Branch Au Sable, Michigan projects include the Butternut Creek Stream Restoration and Dam Removal, which will reopen 13 miles to fish passage and restore instream habitat; Elias Cove Restoration, which will restore instream and shoreline habitat with native coastal wetland plantings; and the Clinton River Area Of Concern-Paint Creek Habitat Restoration.

In Indiana, the North Manchester Dam and Liberty Mills Dam Removal on Eel River will reopen 190 miles of the Eel River and conduct four population assessments and four habitat assessments.

Projects in Ohio include the West Milton Dam Removal Feasibility Study on Stillwater River, which will assess the prospects for dam removal within the Great Miami Watershed.

Others in Ohio are the Sulphur Springs Restoration and Assessment in Solon; and the Archers Fork Multi-celled Culvert Replacement.

In Kentucky, the Kentucky-Bayou de Chien/Jackson Creek Tributary Restoration Project will assess 6.5 miles of instream and shoreline habitat.

In Tennessee, projects include the Further Brook Trout Restoration, Lynn Camp Prong, Great Smoky Mountain National Park; and the Watershed-Based Approach to Channel Stabilization and Sediment Control in Pleasant Run Creek.

More information about the projects, as well as the overall program, is available at www.fishhabitat.org