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
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.
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.
