Fish Ladder Unlocks Lake Erie Access

Four years after its initial completion, Buffalo's innovative fish ladder along the Niagara River is being expanded. Environmental crews are extending special steel baffles along an additional 700 feet of the Buffalo seawall. This phase, building on a pilot section finished in May 2022, is designed to slow strong water currents, enabling tiny emerald shiners to migrate upstream to Lake Erie. The project is slated for completion in December 2026.

This initiative is part of a significant multi-million-dollar federal and state restoration initiative targeting the Niagara River Area of Concern. The expanded baffle system aims to provide emerald shiners full access to Lake Erie, addressing a key objective to repair environmental damage in western New York. These forage fish are vital to the food web, supporting larger fish and birds.

Decades of development had disrupted the shiners' migration routes, with swift currents near Broderick Park acting as barriers. Funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), the project aims to overcome these obstacles. Federal officials indicate this restoration will help resolve the Degradation of Fish and Wildlife Populations Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI).

Numerous other restoration projects are progressing concurrently. The US Army Corps of Engineers is undertaking the Buffalo Outer Harbor Slip #3 Restoration Project, focusing on habitat creation and sediment management, expected to conclude in 2028. The Ralph Wilson Park shoreline is also being redeveloped to add shallow-water habitat. Additional GLRI-funded projects, such as those at Spicer Creek Wildlife Management Area and Grass Island, have already restored significant acreage of shallow-water habitat and coastal riverbed over the past decade.