The National Fish Habitat Partnership Unveils its List of 10 “WATERS TO WATCH” in 2014

The National Fish Habitat Partnership (www.fishhabitat.org) today released its 10 “Waters to Watch” list for 2014—a collection of rivers, streams, estuaries, lakes and watershed systems that will benefit from strategic conservation efforts to protect, restore or enhance their current condition. The 10 Waters to Watch represent a detailed snapshot of this year’s locally driven, voluntary habitat conservation efforts in progress implemented under the National Fish Habitat Partnership by 19 regional Fish Habitat Partnerships across the country.

The objective of the 10 Waters to Watch partnership projects is to conserve freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats essential to the many fish and wildlife species that call these areas home. Such projects are the foundation of the National Fish Habitat Partnership. Throughout 2014, through the work of partners, the 10 Waters to Watch projects will demonstrate how conservation efforts are turning around persistent declines in the nation’s aquatic habitats.

“These projects are a model for how fish habitat conservation should be approached,” said Kelly Hepler, Chair of the National Fish Habitat Board. “Often times these projects bring partners together that otherwise may not work together. These efforts are all about working across boundaries and jurisdictions with a wide array of partners involved, working for the greater good of habitat conservation.”




The 2014 “Waters to Watch” list and associated Fish Habitat Partnerships:

1) Bear Creek, Colorado: Western Native Trout Initiative

2) Boardman River, Michigan: Great Lakes Basin Fish Habitat Partnership

3) Eel River Delta, California: California Fish Passage Forum


4) Lake Bloomington, Illinois: Reservoir Fish Habitat Partnership


5) Milltown Island Estuary, Washington: Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership 


6) Montana Creek, Alaska: Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership

7) Muddy River, Nevada: Desert Fish Habitat Partnership 


8) Nash Stream, New Hampshire: Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture


9) Tolomato River, Florida: Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership/Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership


10) Twelvemile Creek Watershed, Alaska: Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership

Since 2007, approximately 80 “Waters to Watch” partnership projects have proved that on-the-ground conservation activities and science-based strategies can make a difference in improving fish habitat. 



For more information on project maps and descriptions of the 10 Waters to Watch list for 2014, visit:
http://fishhabitat.org/waters-to-watch/2014. Log on to http://ecosystems.usgs.gov/fishhabitat/ to use the National Fish Habitat Partnership’s interactive habitat data mapper.

About the National Fish Habitat Partnership:

Since 2006, the National Fish Habitat Partnership has been a partner in 417 projects in 46 states benefiting fish habitat. The National Fish Habitat Partnership works to conserve fish habitat nationwide, leveraging federal, state, tribal, and private funding resources to achieve the greatest impact on fish populations through priority conservation projects. The national partnership implements the National Fish Habitat Action Plan and supports 19 regional grassroots partner organizations.

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First-of-its-kind Status of Fish Habitats Report Gives "Fish Eye View" of National Waters

The National Fish Habitat Board today released a first-of-its-kind status of fish habitats in the United States report as envisioned in the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, an effort to protect, restore and enhance our nation’s aquatic habitats. The report titled THROUGH A FISH’S EYE: The Status of Fish Habitats In The United States 2010 summarizes the results of an unprecedented, nationwide assessment of the human effects on fish habitat in the rivers and estuaries of the United States.

THROUGH A FISH’S EYE provides an important picture of the challenges and opportunities facing fish and those engaged in fish habitat conservation efforts. Urbanization, agriculture, dams, culverts, pollution and other human impacts have resulted in specific areas of degraded habitat where restoration is most likely needed to bring back the healthy habitats and fishing opportunities that once existed. Addressing degraded habitat also requires reducing or eliminating the sources of degradation mentioned in this report, through best management practices, land use planning, and engaging landowners, businesses and local communities in the effort.

The assessment detailed in the report assigns watersheds and estuaries a risk of current habitat degradation ranging from very low to very high. These results allow comparisons of aquatic habitats across the nation and within 14 sub-regions. The results also identify some of the major sources of habitat degradation that plague waterways across the nation.

Overall, 27 percent of the miles of stream in the lower 48 states are at high or very high risk of current habitat degradation and 44 percent are at low or very low risk. Twenty-nine percent of stream miles in the lower 48 states are at moderate risk of current habitat degradation.

Fifty-three percent of estuaries (by area) are at high or very high risk of current habitat degradation, while 23 percent of estuaries are at low or very low risk of current habitat degradation. Marine habitats of the United States tend to be most degraded near the coast, where they are most affected by human activity.

The goal of the national assessment was to estimate disturbance levels to fish habitats in rivers and estuaries from information about human activities occurring in the watersheds and the local areas affecting each aquatic habitat. This approach is supported by a large body of scientific research showing that human disturbances to the land transfer to receiving waters and contribute to disturbance in downstream fish habitats in rivers, estuaries, and the ocean.

While the specific analytical approaches used to assess habitats in the lower-48 states, Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. estuaries differed slightly, the end product of each analysis was similar—an estimate of the risk that discrete habitat units will be degraded due to current human activities on the landscape.

“This report identifies areas where those efforts are most needed and points to areas where fish habitat is most likely still intact and should be protected to maintain its value for fish and other aquatic organisms. Resources for fish habitat conservation are limited, especially for the next few years,” said Kelly Hepler, Chairman of the National Fish Habitat Board.

“Fish Habitat partnerships ensure coordinated work around specific habitat challenges,” said Eric Schwaab, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “This information will help bring strategic focus to conservation efforts and allow rigorous measurement of results.”

“This report clearly illustrates the need for strategic use of existing resources through partnerships that can identify the most effective use of funds and help the nation as a whole make progress in fish habitat conservation,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Director, Rowan Gould. “There are many major threats to the health of fish habitat and the National Fish Habitat Action plan helps to focus and leverage available funds, pool technical expertise and enlist new partners to address the challenges to fish habitat.”

Key findings from the THROUGH A FISH’S EYE: The Status of Fish Habitats In The United States 2010 include:

Habitats with a very high risk of current habitat degradation include those in or near urban development, livestock grazing, agriculture, point source pollution or areas with high numbers of active mines and dams. Specific locations that stand out as regions at high risk of current habitat degradation include: the urban corridor between Boston and Atlanta; the Central Midwestern states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio; the Mississippi River Basin, including habitats adjacent to the lower Mississippi River in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana; habitats in eastern Texas; and habitats in Central California and along the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington.

Areas that stand out as being at very low risk of current habitat degradation include rural areas in New England and the Great Lakes states; many habitats throughout the Mountain, Southwest and Pacific Coast states; and most of Alaska. It should be noted that not all water and land management issues could be addressed in the assessment, so some of the areas mapped as at low risk of current habitat degradation actually may be at higher risk due to disturbance factors not assessed. For example, most arid regions of the western United States were found to be at low risk of current habitat degradation.

Estuaries in the mid-Atlantic have a very high risk of habitat degradation related to polluted run-off and other effects of the intense urbanization and agriculture in this area. The estuaries of Southern California also have a high risk of current habitat degradation for similar reasons. Estuaries in the north Pacific and downeast Maine have a low risk of current habitat degradation.

The release of this report is also accompanied with the release of a map viewer, which offers the maps that are in the report in greater detail. The National Fish Habitat Action Plan map and data web tool (www.nbii.gov/far/nfhap) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey's Biological Informatics Program under guidance of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan Science and Data Committee. This tool not only enables users to see multiple views depicting the condition of stream and coastal habitats across the country, but also means that users can access more detailed information at finer scales, as well as the option to download data files and map services.

To read the report in its entirety or download a PDF, visit www.fishhabitat.org or go to http://fishhabitat.org/images/documents/fishhabitatreport_012611.pdf.

NFHAP Meets Objectives Set for 2010 & More

The National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP) met its ambitious objectives for 2010. When the Action Plan was enacted in 2006, the following four objectives were set to be completed by 2010:

> Conduct a condition analysis of all fish habitats within the United States by 2010.

> Identify priority fish habitats and establish Fish Habitat Partnerships targeting these habitats by 2010.

> Establish 12 or more Fish Habitat Partnerships throughout the United States by 2010.

> Prepare a “Status of Fish Habitats in the United States” report in 2010 and every five years thereafter.

Through a cooperative arrangement with Michigan State University, the NFHAP Science and Data team completed a full habitat condition analysis of all streams in the lower 48 states. The Michigan State University team also completed initial habitat risk assessments for rivers in Hawaii and Alaska.

On the coastal side, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have completed a complementary habitat risk assessment for coastal waters in the lower 48 states and southeastern AK. These assessments are the first of their kind, portraying the condition of habitat nation-wide and at the individual river level.

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NFHAP Inducted into Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame
NFAHP has been inducted into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame for 2011. The Action Plan joins 41 other groups inducted since 2000 including the other three 2011 inductees Fargo-Moorhead Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited, Kennebec Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation. The Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame (http://www.freshwater-fishing.org/) is located in Hayward, WI.

Keep Your Eyes on These "10 Waters to Watch" in 2010

The National Fish Habitat Action Plan today announced its “10 Waters to Watch” for 2010 at the Jim Range National Casting Call event in Washington, DC.

The annual “10 Waters to Watch” list, assembled by the nation’s leading authorities on aquatic conservation, is a collection of rivers, streams and shores that will be cleaner and healthier habitats for the many fish and wildlife species and people who call these areas home. They are representative of freshwater to marine waters across the country including lakes and reservoirs that are improving through the conservation efforts of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan — a bold initiative to reverse persistent declines in aquatic habitat.

The Action Plan’s “10 Waters to Watch” Initiative was first unveiled in 2007 through its Fish Habitat Partnerships. Since 2006, the Fish and Wildlife Service has provided $8.5 million to support 188 on-the-ground projects in 36 states, leveraging $20 million in partner match, to address the priorities of the Fish Habitat Partnerships, along with funding from several other state and federal agencies and NGO’s.

“Our approach—teaming federal, state and local partners—is helping to bring these waters back to life in most cases…in a faster more strategic way,” said Kelly Hepler, Chairman of the National Fish Habitat Board. “By watching these 10 models of our nation’s aquatic conservation efforts, we can see real progress in treating the causes of fish habitat decline, not just the symptoms. Through sound science and on-the-ground partnerships, these select projects can be held high as a vision of what quality habitat should be, which affects all people throughout the United States.”

The 10 Waters to Watch in 2010

Bobs Creek, Pennsylvania
(National Fish Habitat Partnership – Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture)
This project will benefit brook trout populations in Wallack’s Branch of Bobs Creek, PA by removing fish barriers and creating in-stream habitat. Modifications to five small structures (including small dams), which currently reduce free movement of trout within the stream in Wallack’s Branch, will allow fish to move without impediment through the stream.

Diamond Lake, Iowa
(National Fish Habitat Partnership – Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership)
This project focuses on improving water quality by shifting the lake to a clear water state using water-level management to consolidate bottom sediments, re-establish aquatic plants, and control common carp populations. The restoration of Diamond Lake is Iowa’s inaugural shallow lake restoration project providing resource management professionals with experience and expertise for managing shallow lakes. The project also provides stakeholders a demonstration of the restoration potential for other shallow lakes.

Fairbanks and Soda Springs, Nevada
(National Fish Habitat Partnership – Desert Fish Habitat Partnership)
Anthropogenic landscape alteration has resulted in the loss of habitats vital to Ash Meadows speckled dace and Ash Meadows pupfish and has resulted in the alteration of hydrologic processes that create and maintain those aquatic habitats. This project supports the restoration of Fairbanks and Soda Springs as a component of the larger Upper Carson Slough restoration across the northern extent of Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.

Georgetown Creek, Idaho
(National Fish Habitat Partnership – Western Native Trout Initiative)
The Georgetown Road Relocation Project is a multi-year project to remove approximately two miles of road from the bottom of Georgetown Creek (including three impassable culverts) to improve aquatic and riparian habitat, water quality, and fish passage in the canyon. The project will restore water quality and riparian and in-stream habitat through the removal of the old road and the building of a fish ladder.

Green River Basin, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming
(National Fish Habitat Partnership(s) –
Desert Fish Habitat Partnership and Western Native Trout Initiative)
Both the Desert Fish Habitat Partnership and the Western Native Trout Initiative have recognized the outstanding aquatic resources of the Green River Basin. Both partnerships support projects, directly and indirectly, that benefit fish populations and habitat in ways that place local projects within a larger basin-wide perspective.

Koktuli River, Alaska
(National Fish Habitat Partnership – Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership)
This fish habitat partnership conservation project was initiated through voluntary actions to ensure public protection of important and intact fisheries. The work on the Koktuli River project will be adequately balanced with considerations of other natural resource uses including uses of land and water resources associated with improved access and human population growth and other future actions that might be considered, for enhancing socioeconomic conditions for local residents and others.

Lake Vermilion, Minnesota
(National Fish Habitat Partnership – Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership)
The purpose of this project is to protect undeveloped shoreline and provide public access to the land and water via a state park, scheduled to open in 2010. The state of Minnesota will acquire 3,000 acres and 4.93 miles of undeveloped shoreline on Lake Vermilion in St. Louis County. Minnesota state parks allow visitors to fish for free. It is expected that this park will quickly become one of the most visited parks in the state, with an estimated 500,000 visitors per year.

Mackeys Creek, Mississippi
(National Fish Habitat Partnership – Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership)
The focus of the Mackeys Creek project involves restoration of a Gulf Coast Strain (GCS) of walleye in a headwater stream of the Tombigbee River. An 80-ft long rock dike was constructed in 2009 with fill material backfilled behind it to restore the natural slope. The bank was seeded, and willow tree shoots were planted to restore riparian habitat. Washed gravel was placed in the adjacent shoal to create a potential GCS walleye spawning site. Plans for 2010 include creating or enhancing additional GCS walleye spawning habitat and stocking hatchery-reared fish.

Wasilla Creek, Alaska
(National Fish Habitat Partnership – Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership)
Wasilla Creek is one of three main creeks draining the core area of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and is home to five species of Pacific salmon. Many partner organizations are working on projects to assure sufficient amounts of clean water, continuous fish passage and overall healthy fish habitats will be maintained within the Wasilla Creek drainage. Significant efforts have been completed and others are in progress to protect and restore salmon habitat in Wasilla Creek.

West Branch, Machias River, Maine
(National Fish Habitat Partnership – Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture)
With stream connectivity functionally restored to the main-stem of the Machias River, current restoration needs are focused predominately in its major headwater tributaries including the West Branch. A range-wide Conservation Success Index indicates that the West Branch Machias River sub-watershed ranks very high in terms of both habitat quality for native Eastern brook trout and future security from anthropogenic threats such as urbanization.

“Whether you measure the effect of these 10 success stories in feet or miles of fish and wildlife habitat conserved, these kinds of concerted actions are what it is going to take to get our nation’s waters back into shape,” said Hepler. “We believe the Waters recognized today will be the impetus for thousands of projects accomplished in the future.”

For more information about the National Fish Habitat Action Plan and Fish Habitat Partnerships, visit www.fishhabitat.org.

Third Annual National Fish Habitat Award Winners Announced

Award ceremony to be held at the Jim Range National Casting Call on April 22, 2010

The National Fish Habitat Board, a group of the nation’s leading authorities on aquatic conservation, will honor exceptional organizations and individuals who are leaders in aquatic resources conservation at the Third Annual National Fish Habitat Awards ceremony on April 22, 2010 at the Jim Range National Casting Call, hosted by the American Fly Fishing Trade Association.

From the nominations submitted by the hundreds of organizations that comprise the National Fish Habitat Partners Coalition and Fish Habitat Partnerships under the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP) (http://www.blogger.com/www.fishhabitat.org), the awardees have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to fish habitat conservation, science and education. They are leading by example, through on the ground achievement, to help resolve the nation’s most significant fisheries problems.

The NFHAP Awards will be presented in short program, along with the unveiling of the 2010 NFHAP 10 “Waters To Watch.”

The Winners of the 2010 National Fish Habitat Awards:

Jim Range Conservation Vision Award in support of Fish Habitat Conservation:
Scott Robinson – Coordinator, Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP)
Aquatic resource conservation in the Southeastern U.S. has been improved through the leadership of Scott Robinson, coordinator of the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP). Scott spearheaded the development of the Southeast Aquatic Habitat Plan (The Plan) in order to directly and indirectly improve the quality and quantity of fish habitats in the region.

Directly, Scott’s leadership has resulted in local fish habitat improvement in each of the 14 SARP states through 30 on-the-ground projects between 2006 and 2009. These have impacted stream, river, reservoir, and coastal habitats as well as recreational, sensitive and imperiled species. Indirectly, Scott’s leadership trickles down to in-state research and conservation projects that utilize The Plan. Regionally, Scott is coordinating a systematic regional habitat assessment with the NFHAP Science and Data Committee's habitat assessment, and participates in relevant regional and national aquatic conservation issues such as the Black Bass Initiative and the Reservoir Fish Habitat Partnership. Scott’s work and coordination with other Fish Habitat Partnerships, has been exceptional in regards to the fostering of newly formed partnerships.

Southeast Aquatics Resources Partnership - http://southeastaquatics.net/


Extraordinary Action in support of Fish Habitat Conservation:
Lower Bourbeuse Landowner Committee/Missouri Department of Conservation
Efforts to improve aquatic habitat in the Meramec – Lower Bourbeuse watershed, make for a unique partnership that is rarely found on the landscape. The uniqueness of the partnership comes from the sheer fact that landowners, mostly farmers, drive the aquatic restoration process. A well documented history of established landowner participation in the Meramec Basin-Lower Bourbeuse watershed has proven successful in ensuring healthy streams and healthy farms within the watershed.

A six-member landowner committee governs and guides restoration efforts in the Lower Bourbeuse Conservation Opportunity Area. The committee leads by example, contributing their time and expertise and choosing funding sources for proposal competitions. They host farm tours to encourage neighbor participation. There has been continuous demand for best management practices for agriculture, fisheries, forestry and wildlife to protect, enhance and restore natural resources. Installation of fencing, alternative water systems, and secured cattle crossings keep cattle out of streams, addressing root causes of habitat deterioration. Landowners appreciate what these projects mean for their watersheds and cattle.

Supporting document: US FWS Fish Lines Newsletter (May 2009) Pg. 20
http://www.fws.gov/Midwest/Fisheries/library/R3-Fishlines/2009-may.pdf.

About the Jim Range National Casting Call—Hosted by the American Fly Fishing Trade Association, the Jim Range National Casting Call is an annual two-day event providing a unique opportunity for families, youth, the fly fishing industry and their partners to spend time on the water experiencing first-hand the benefits of collaboration in fisheries management. For more information, visit http://www.blogger.com/www.nationalcastingcall.com.

2009 National Fish Habitat Annual Awards Guidelines and Nomination Form

The National Fish Habitat Annual Awards honor exceptional individuals or partner entities who have demonstrated a commitment to fish habitat conservation, science or education. The awards celebrate those who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication, innovation or excellence in aquatic resource conservation. National Fish Habitat Awardees show how individuals can and do make a difference.

The awards are presented annually on the basis of nominations submitted by Fish Habitat Partnerships and the hundreds of organizations that make up the Partners Coalition. From among the nominations submitted by Partnerships and the Coalition, the National Fish Habitat Board selects several of the most meritorious for these nationally recognized awards. Honorable mentions may be made. Deadline to apply is January 16, 2009.

Award Categories
> Exceptional Vision in support of Fish Habitat Conservation
> Extraordinary Action in support of Fish Habitat Conservation
> Scientific Achievement in support of Fish Habitat Conservation
> Outreach and Educational Achievement in support of Fish Habitat Conservation

NFHAP Awards Submission Guidelines

NFHAP Awards Nomination Form