Conservation
Crowley Holdings takes on conservation and restoration work with the same care we bring to civil construction. That includes replacing undersized or aging road-stream crossings with stream-simulation and aquatic organism passage (AOP) culverts—structures that let fish and other aquatic life move through the crossing while keeping the roadway stable above them. It also includes stream and meadow restoration, such as elk exclusion fencing that gives riparian plants room to recover.
We partner with conservation organizations, tribes, and public agencies on sensitive sites. That often means working within seasonal windows, protecting important species, and using low-impact methods on remote roads and in living streams. We assemble and install engineered culvert systems, including Contech aluminum box culverts, and place streambed material so the channel inside the structure behaves like the natural creek.
Projects
Paradise Creek Culvert Replacement and Aquatic Organism Passage Improvement Project
Location: Paradise Creek, Fort Apache Indian Reservation, Apache County, Arizona
Status: Completed
Contracted by Trout Unlimited, in partnership with the White Mountain Apache Tribe Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
On upper Paradise Creek, three undersized culverts were restricting fish passage and cutting off habitat for Apache trout, a species culturally significant to the White Mountain Apache Tribe and found nowhere else in the world. Reconnecting that habitat helps Apache trout use the stream at every life stage and makes the Paradise Creek watershed more resilient to drought and fire.
Crowley Holdings removed the three existing road crossings and installed Contech aluminum structural plate box culverts at the upper, middle, and lower crossings. Each structure is 21 feet 10 inches in span and 8 feet 5 inches in rise, with a full metal invert. Together they total 110 linear feet: 40 feet at the upper crossing and 35 feet each at the middle and lower crossings.
The replacements follow stream-simulation design, based on U.S. Forest Service guidelines. Inside each Contech culvert, streambed simulation rock and channel rock were placed so the bed matches the natural creek. That gives aquatic organisms a continuous path through the crossing while the forest road remains in service above.
The project was designed by Oxbow Ecological Engineering. Crowley Holdings completed construction in coordination with Trout Unlimited and the White Mountain Apache Tribe, including measures to protect Apache trout during the work. B&B Crane served as a subcontractor.
Thompson-Burro Meadow Restoration – Elk Exclusion Fencing
Location: Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, Apache County, Arizona, southwest of the Big Lake Recreation Area
Status: Ongoing
Contracted by Trout Unlimited, in partnership with the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests
Crowley Holdings is building a temporary elk exclosure as part of the Thompson-Burro Meadow Restoration Project. The fencing protects sensitive riparian and wet meadow habitat so vegetation, including willows, can grow and help rebuild the stream banks, while leaving access open for ongoing in-stream restoration.
The work covers 15,457 linear feet of steel pipe-rail fencing across six segments, with four pedestrian gates and four stream crossing panels designed to let woody material pass during high flows while keeping elk and cattle out. B&B Crane is a subcontractor on this project.