Career Achievement Award
The nomination deadline for FP2022 has passed, but the form will remain open for the next Fish Passage Conference.
Congratulations to the 2022 Career Achievement Awardee, Alexander J. Haro! For information about Dr. Haro, please see below.
Distinguished project Award
The nomination deadline for FP2022 has passed, and the form is now closed. It will reopen before the next Fish Passage Conference.
Congratulations to the 2022 Distinguished Project Awardee, “Restoring the continuity of two rivers in southern Poland“! For information about this project, please see below.
Career achievement award
2022 AWARDEE
Alexander J. Haro
Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Dr. Haro is a Research Ecologist and until he recently retired was the Leader of the Fish Passage Engineering Section at the U.S. Geological Survey Eastern Ecological Science Center S.O. Conte Research Laboratory in Turners Falls, Massachusetts, USA. His present work involves migratory fish behavior, design and evaluation of fish passage structures, fish swimming performance, and ecology and management of American eels. This research focuses on restoration and sustainability of migratory (diadromous and riverine) fish populations, and supports effective conservation and enhancement of populations of fish species throughout the northeastern United States, as well as nationally and internationally. Much of the research is applied, involving design, evaluation, and engineering of specific passage structures, but also has strong basic science components of fish behavior, fish locomotion, and energetics, as well as hydraulics, fluid mechanics, structural, civil, and mechanical engineering, and hydrology. Alex provides extensive basic and applied research and advice to state, national, and international agencies, NGOs, and the private sector on fish passage technology and operations. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Conservation, teaching graduate level courses to students in the natural resources and engineering fields and serving as an advisor for several graduate students. Alex received his B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Michigan in 1981, a M.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Rhode Island in 1985, and a Ph.D. from the University of Maine in 1989. His graduate work involved migration and behavior of American eels.
Criteria
The Fish Passage Career Achievement Award recognizes the efforts of an influential professional whose contributions to the field of fish passage have enhanced fisheries resources.
Consideration is given to:
- Length of service
- Contributions to the field
- Imagination and innovation
- Partnership and outreach activities
- Support of interdisciplinary efforts
- Leadership
Eligibility
Any biologist, engineer, or program manager with appreciable career experience working in the field of fish passage. Experience may include field work, design and analysis, research, teaching, regulatory work, management, outreach, or program administration. Recipients may be from private industry, academia, tribal organizations, non-governmental organizations, or government agencies. Members of the 2022 Advisory Board and Organizing Committee are not eligible. Nominations for this conference cycle closed on February 14th 2022. Submissions after this date will be considered for the award at FP2023. Please forward and questions about the process to any member of the coordination team.
Selection
The recipient will be selected by the Conference Advisory Board. The recipient’s name will remain confidential until the public award ceremony at the conference.
Past Awardees
- Ben Rizzo (2011)
- Boyd Kynard (2012)
- Kozmo Ken Bates (2013)
- Robert Gubernick (2014)
- Michel Larinier & François Travade (2015)
- Steve Rainey (2016)
- Stephen Gephard (2017)
- Martin Mallen-Cooper (2018)
- Christos Katopodis (2020)
Nomination Form
Distinguished Project Award
2022 AWARDEE
Restoring the continuity of two rivers in southern Poland
Left photo: One of 19 fish passage sites on the Biała Tarnowska River was built in Bobowa, Poland.
Right photo: Project award plaque being received and acknowledged in Poland. From left-to-right: Mr. PRZEMYSŁAW DACA, President of the State Water Holding Polish Waters; Mrs. MAŁGORZATA SIKORA, Director of the Regional Water Management Board in Krakow – State Water Holding Polish Waters; Mr. TOMASZ TOMALA, Head of the Political Cabinet of the Minister of Infrastructure.
For more information, please see their 1-pg project description, a report on the Biała Tarnowska River, and a report on the Wisłoka River.
The Fisheries Engineering and Science Project Award Task Group is seeking submissions for projects that use innovation and technical excellence to achieve ecological gain for fish passage, river connectivity and improved habitat for endangered and native species. An ideal project for the award would be one that exemplifies success and inspires greater application of fish passage restoration. It does not need to be a newly implemented project, in fact, projects that have had enough time to demonstrate effectiveness will more likely meet the evaluation criteria listed below and have the highest chance of being selected. Projects that have been shared widely in professional papers or conference presentations are encouraged. Self-nomination is encouraged. Submissions for additional nominations will be available at a future date.
Criteria
Each nominated project will be evaluated with the following criteria:
- Monitoring and evaluation – Monitoring report / findings and data are required for submittal. Telemetry, fish trapping, physical observations counts, or other monitoring techniques should be used as the basis of the findings. The monitoring report should describe methods and analysis of both pre and post construction.
- Ecological gain for passage and habitat for endangered and native species
- Innovation and technical excellence
- Stakeholder collaboration and community based support
- Education and public involvement
- Effective application of resources (financial and matching)
- Implementation according to design intent and adaptive to field conditions
- Inspirational value
The project award task group will use these criteria to score and rank the projects following a matrix with higher weightings for the performance effectiveness criteria. Priority will be given to projects that have demonstrated effectiveness and fulfilment of restoration goals, as illuminated by a well-designed monitoring plan and system.
Nomination
Submissions should detail how implementation, monitoring, evaluation and financial resources were implemented and used, and the effect on education, public involvement, inspirational value, effective application of resources (financial and matching), stakeholder collaboration and community based support. The project description on the nomination form should minimally include:
- Watershed location and ecological zone of improvements
- Extents of species and ecological zones benefited
- Summary of the stakeholders involved and the collaboration process used across groups (federal, state, local, non-profit, communities)
- Synopsis of research, planning, design, and implementation
- Monitoring plan & report with supporting data (including any reports, peer-reviewed papers, etc.)
- Description of ecological success to date and probable trajectory
- Project cost (if possible)
- Time and resources to monitor and evaluate if the project is meeting its stated goals
Selection
The winning project(s) will be selected by the EWRI-AFS Joint Committee on Fisheries Engineering and Science and notified a few weeks after the nomination deadline. The awarded project(s) and leaders will receive official recognition, tokens of appreciation, and presentation of the award at the Fish Passage 2022 conference in Richland, Washington (USA). The winning project will also be listed on the Fish Passage Conference website and will have the opportunity to present their work through the ASCE-EWRI/AFS-BES Joint Committee on Fisheries Engineering and Science Webinar Series. It is requested that at least one representative of the winning project be present to receive the award at the conference banquet and give a short presentation of the project during the conference.
Call for AWARD NOMINATIONS
The nomination deadlines for the Fish Passage Career Achievement Award has now passed, the form will remain open for FP23 nominations. Submissions for additional nominations for the Distinguished Project Award will be available at a future date, to be announced.
The Career Achievement Award recognizes the efforts of an influential professional whose contributions to the field of fish passage have enhanced fisheries resources.
The Distinguished Project Award is intended for projects that use innovation and technical excellence to achieve ecological gain for fish passage, river connectivity and improved habitat for endangered and native species. An ideal project for the award would be one that exemplifies success and inspires greater application of fish passage restoration. It does not need to be a newly implemented project, in fact, projects that have had enough time to demonstrate effectiveness will more likely meet the evaluation criteria and have the highest chance of being selected. Projects that have been shared widely in professional papers or conference presentations are encouraged. Self-nomination is encouraged.
