Barrier Impacts–
Reduced Access to Vital Habitats

As barriers to animal movement, crossings can reduce access to vital habitats. These vital habitats can be spawning areas, nursery habitat for juvenile fish, foraging areas, refuge from predators, deepwater refuges, or seasonal habitats. With restricted access to vital habitats we would expect populations of affected fish or wildlife to be reduced in size or lost altogether. For important fisheries reduced access to vital habitats can result in a significant reduction in productivity.