Great Plains NFCAs

Figure 3. Broad-scale native fish conservation areas (NFCAs) identified according to distance and compositional similarity among highly ranked regions of the prioritization assessment performed by Labay and Hendrickson (2014).

The Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative is now supporting efforts by various partners and stakeholders to utilize this multi-species, watershed-based framework to facilitate cooperative planning and collaborative conservation of aquatic resources within the GPLCC’s multi-jurisdictional landscape.

The objective is to identify priority conservation actions and research needs for focal fish species and priority watersheds of the GPLCC through a series of watershed-specific workshops to obtain expert input, select focal management zones, identify potential conservation actions, and identify priority data and science needs that must be addressed in order to guide conservation actions.

Texas NFCAs

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is supporting efforts by the NFC project team to utilize the same multi-species, watershed-based framework as performed in the Great Plains Initiative to facilitate the NFCA Approach within the Texas geography.

Various, ecoregion- or biotic province-based workshops are being planned in conjunction with coinciding regional stakeholders and partners. An example is a Chihuahuan Desert workshop process being planned for Fall of 2016. A project description is coming soon.

Project objective was to identify priority conservation actions and research needs for focal fish species and priority watersheds of Texas through a series of watershed-specific workshops to obtain expert input, select focal management zones, identify potential conservation actions, and identify priority data and science needs that must be addressed in order to guide conservation actions.

Rio Grande NFCAs

Through support from Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative (SRLCC), Desert Fish Habitat Partnership (DFHP), Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI), and Siglo Group, a NFCA prioritization was completed that identifies focal watersheds for preservation of freshwater fish diversity within Rio Grande watershed.

This multispecies, watershed-based conservation prioritization is now being used to facilitate cooperative conservation of aquatic resources within the basin, supporting local implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan through stakeholder planning and facilitation workshops.

This project is intended to advance the cooperative conservation of Rio Grande basin rivers and native fishes, and provide a catalyst for development of watershed-based conservation partnerships that will implement a proposed network of Native Fish Conservation Areas in the basin.