The Berrien Springs fish ladder is located approximately 23 miles upriver from Lake Michigan. It is the first dam that fish need to negotiate a ladder to continue their upstream migration. American Electric Power produces electricity at this dam. Competed in 1975 at a cost of $692,500, it was the 2nd major fish ladder completed in the state after the completion of the 6th Street Dam fish ladder on the Grand River in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The ladder design for Berrien Springs is called a “pool-weir”. Fish enter the lower end of the ladder and ascend it by jumping over the weir walls. This is the only ladder on the St. Joseph River that is a pool-weir since it allows for a sea lamprey barrier in its design. Because of the design, the public can view fish jumping the weir walls at the 90 degree turn in the ladder.

Modifications are just now being completed on the upper part of the ladder. These modificaitons will allow video or manual counting through a viewiing window of the fish using the ladder, and allow for greater water fluctuations in Lake Chapin without endangering fish passage. Future modifications to this ladder include a modern trapping facility in order to collect samples easily, and the installation of more weir walls in the lower end of the ladder to increase water velocities for attraction.