Ohio dam removal reopens 39km of Cuyahoga, 15 fish species return
The removal of the Brecksville Diversion Dam on Ohio's Cuyahoga River in 2020 has led to a significant ecological recovery, reopening 39 kilometers of habitat and allowing 15 new fish species to return, according to a USGS study. While 12 of these species are native, the study also highlights the risk of three nonnative species spreading upstream, posing a challenge for river restoration projects. Plans are now underway to remove the larger Gorge Plant Dam further upstream.
Why it matters
This case study demonstrates the immediate ecological benefits of dam removal for river restoration and native fish recovery, offering valuable insights for similar projects globally, particularly within the Great Lakes basin. However, it also underscores the critical challenge of managing the potential spread of invasive species when reconnecting river systems.
An 18-metre concrete dam on Ohio’s Cuyahoga River once stopped migrating fish from reaching important spawning areas for more than a century. Today, aquatic life is quickly returning to the river. Researchers from the US Geological Survey, working with state biological agencies, have released new long-term monitoring data showing a major ecological recovery. After the Brecksville Diversion Dam was removed in 2020, scientists found 15 fish species that had not previously been detected in the lower Cuyahoga River, a major tributary that flows into Lake Erie.The study, titled "Beyond barriers: Fish assemblage recovery following dam removal on the Cuyahoga River, a Lake Erie tributary", was published in the journal Restoration Ecology (DOI: 10.1111/rec.70436) and is available through the USGS Publications Warehouse. Lead author Matthew Ross Acre and a research team from several agencies studied fish populations using four decades of survey data collected from 1984 to 2024.
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