The Lower Blackstone River Fish Passage Project seeks a path for achieving diadromous fish passage on the Blackstone River in Rhode Island that benefits the ecosystems, economies, and heritage of the river and the downstream Narragansett Bay and North Atlantic systems.

NBEP convened diverse stakeholders to help bring this long-discussed effort back to life in 2021, and shifted to a funder role in 2022. NBEP continues to fund project partners in 2023.

Funding provided through NBEP and the RI Department of Environmental Management, with convening assistance from the Blackstone Watershed Collaborative, will enable The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island to lead development of a plan by 2024 for passing fish from Narragansett Bay to above the Valley Falls Dam on the Blackstone.

Once complete, this would constitute the largest fish passage project in the Narragansett Bay watershed.

Photo credit: Alison McKellar, Flickr.