The purpose of the fish passage project is to restore free access for migratory fish to upstream habitat in the Mississippi River. Ultimately this restored access will lead to a healthier re-connected river system and an increase in the size and distribution of native migratory fish populations.

Because the fish passage projects at Melvin Price Locks and Dam and Lock and Dam 22 will be the first on the Upper Mississippi River, another goal is to monitor, evaluate and learn from these projects.  This knowledge will be applied to future fish passage projects.

The Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) is a vital part of our national economy and a valuable ecological resource. The system includes the Upper Mississippi River from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Cairo, Illinois; the Illinois Waterway from Chicago to Grafton, Illinois; and navigable portions of the Minnesota, St. Croix, Black and Kaskaskia Rivers. The UMRS ecosystem refers to the entire floodplain area and associated physical, chemical, and biological components, and the UMR-IWW navigation system refers to 1,200 miles of 9-foot navigation channel, 37 lock and dam sites, and thousands of channel training structures. The 1,200 miles of 9-foot channel created by the 37 locks and dams allow waterway traffic to move from one pool to another providing an integral regional, national, and international transportation network.