 Hi, my name is Barbara Cherry, I'm a wildlife biologist at Maine Audubon. I'm here today to talk to you about constructing StreamSmart Road Crossings. StreamSmart Road Crossings connect fish and wildlife habitat while protecting roads and public safety. This innovative construction practice helps us prepare for the large and frequent storms that have been washing out roads around Maine and in the northeast. Maine Audubon, along with our partners, hosts professional training workshops around Maine on StreamSmart Construction Principles. This video is intended to demonstrate construction options and methods as an extension of our StreamSmart workshops. Statewide surveys have found that about 40% of Maine's stream culverts are severe barriers to fish and wildlife movement and an additional 50% of culverts are potentially barriers at least part of the year. Free-flowing streams are critical for fish survival as well as other animals that live in and around streams such as turtles, salamanders, and mink. Most of the barriers are due to culverts that are undersized or perched above the stream bed which fragments habitat, degrades water quality, and makes roads vulnerable to washouts and flooding. StreamSmart Road Crossing construction addresses both these problems and provides a long term on the ground solution. The golden rule of StreamSmart Construction is to let the stream act like a stream by making the road invisible to the stream. When designing road stream crossings, be sure to follow the four StreamSmart rules of thumb. 1. Span the stream. This means replace undersized crossings that pinch the stream and restrict stream flow with crossings that span the stream. 2. Set the elevation right. Pipes should be set below the stream bed. 3. Slope matches the stream. Pipes should be set to match the natural slope of the stream. 4. Substrate in the crossing. 5. Use natural stream bed materials in the structure or an open bottom structure. This video is designed for road construction professionals and anyone responsible for road stream crossings. The first section will demonstrate how to assess a stream crossing and take the field measurements needed to develop a preliminary conceptual design for a road stream crossing. The following sections will illustrate different StreamSmart Road Crossing techniques and provide recommendations for when and where to use each type. We will walk you through each step of construction, from controlling water to placing the new structure to stabilizing the site. You can view each section separately or watch the video as a whole. Support for the production of this video comes from Poland Spring, the Sewol Foundation and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. StreamSmart is a collaboration of the following partners. Thank you for joining me. We hope you find this video informative and practical. For more information about StreamSmart practices, go to our website, mainautobahn.org, and search for StreamSmart.