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More People Working for More Fish - A National White Water to Blue Water Plan to Conserve Fish Habitat
Session Organizers: Susan-Marie Stedman and Kay McGraw

Description: In this symposium we will inform attendees about the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (the Action Plan), a national effort to conserve the nations freshwater and coastal/marine fish habitats.  The Action Plan is a an investment strategy blueprint to leverage federal, state, and privately raised funds for building regional partnerships aimed at fixing the nation's most pressing aquatic habitat problems.  This is the most comprehensive endeavor ever attempted to treat the causes of aquatic habitat decline, not just the symptoms.

We will explain the national, regional, and local structure of Action Plan implementation, describe the effort to develop a national "Status of the Nation's Fish Habitats" report, and provide examples of how the Action Plan is being implemented by Regional Fish Habitat Partnerships. This symposium is very appropriate for the Society for Conservation Biology conference because the National Fish Habitat Action Plan applies conservation science to conservation management and is truly a "white water to blue water" endeavor.

The Need
The contribution of recreational and commercial fisheries surpassed $116 billion in 2003; however the value of fish habitat-freshwater and marine-goes well beyond recreational and commercial harvesting of fish.  The biological diversity of America's aquatic habitats is astonishing, and the ecological importance is incalculable in value (e.g., water supply, flood control, buffers against hurricanes and much more).  Although thousands of conservation projects have been completed in both fresh water and coastal/marine habitats, they have not kept pace with impacts resulting from population growth, land-use changes, pollution, and climate change.  The need has never been greater for increased action and improved coordination of fisheries conservation among the diverse array of local, state, federal, and tribal agencies and jurisdictions.
The Action Plan started in 2001 when an ad hoc group supported by the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council explored the notion of developing a partnership effort for fish on the scale of that accomplished for waterfowl in the 1980s through the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The waterfowl plan has worked wonders during the past two decades to increase waterfowl populations by forming strong local and regional partnerships to protect key habitats.

The need for a nationally focused fisheries conservation effort was validated by fisheries experts attending a series of regional meetings held by the Council - they were nearly unanimous in their support for the plan. In 2004 the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), which represents all state wildlife agencies, voted to lead the plan. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries are principal Federal partners. The  National Fish Habitat Action Plan was approved by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies for implementation on March 24, 2006 and signed by the Secretary of Commerce, Acting Secretary of the Interior, and officials from AFWA in April of 2006. Since then, a number of partnerships, including the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV), the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP), and the Western Trout Initiative have emerged as models of the grassroots action envisioned in the action plan.  We have asked representatives of EBTJV and SARP to speak about their involvement in the Action Plan.

The Action Plan has already been unbelievably successful in bringing together fisheries professionals and an unprecedented number of partners with a shared interest in protecting, restoring and enhancing our waterways and fisheries. The strength of this partnership - a unique blend of industry, government, tribal, academic, and conservation groups and individuals - is its diversity and determination to focus national attention and resources on restoring fish habitats.
The Implementation Strategy:
The Action Plan will be implemented through the following four strategies:

* Supporting existing fish habitat partnerships and fostering new ones.
* Mobilizing and focusing national and local support for achieving fish habitat conservation goals.
* Measuring and communicating the status and needs of aquatic habitats.
* Providing national leadership and coordination to conserve fish habitats.
Together, these approaches will lead to actions that are strategically employed and results that can be measured against protection, restoration and enhancement goals.

The objectives of the Action Plan are to:
*Protect all healthy and intact fish habitats by 2015.
*Improve the condition of 90 percent of priority fish habitats and species targeted by Fish Habitat Partnerships by 2020.
*Establish 12 or more Fish Habitat Partnerships throughout United States by 2010.
*Conduct condition analysis of all fish habitats within the United States by 2010.
*Prepare a report, Status of Fish Habitats in the United States, in 2010, and every five years thereafter.

The Science and Data Strategy
The science and data strategy for the National Fish Habitat Action Plan will focus on process-level issues that are causative agents for the decline of fish and other aquatic species populations in freshwater and marine systems. The key to success for the Action Plan is to ensure that partners understand causative factors, as well as scientifically sound and legally defensible alternatives for effectively protecting and improving fisheries and aquatic habitats.  Then they can directly address the key factors, not just symptoms, that are causing the demise of aquatic resources. This strategy provides: 1)  a process to describe and assess all waters and grade their condition; 2) options to address key factors; and 3) methods and mechanisms to properly monitor and evaluate projects.  The latter implies the use of adaptive management in the project, whenever necessary.

The strategy will use an integrated landscape approach that allows appropriate linkages to occur between inland and marine systems for evaluation of the inter-connectedness of aquatic systems from the headwaters to the ocean. A map-based interactive data system will be built using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology so that partners can discern impairments in their local waters, possible approaches to improving their waters, other similar habitat approaches, and monitor progress toward Plan goals.