Conservation of fish and wildlife resources in the 21 century must overcome at least two major hurdles. The first is the mismatch between species ranges and administrative boundaries. Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) help overcome this obstacle by bringing together federal and state agencies with non-governmental organizations to address conservation problems at population-relevant scales. The second […]
In 2015, the Little Tennessee River watershed became the nation’s first Native Fish Conservation Area (NFCA). NFCAs are watersheds that are managed for the conservation and restoration of native fish and other aquatic species, allowing compatible uses. The Little Tennessee River watershed spans three states (Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee) and features a diverse set […]
In 2016, Michigan State University and the Hawaii Fish Habitat Partnership (HFHP) partnered to develop a state-wide prioritization approach to inform the selection of focus watersheds for conservation action given future changes in climate. Using the planning software Zonation, we integrated products developed by the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP), including an ecological stream classification […]
Efficient conservation can require making strategic decisions across large landscapes. For example, two Fish Habitat Partnerships – Desert Fish Habitat Partnership (DFHP) and Western Native Trout Initiative – fund conservation and restoration projects across western United States. DFHP alone serves 11 states and nearly 180 native fish species. Because they serve large landscapes, the partnerships […]
Conservation networks are important tools to help preserve biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems. We developed an approach to conservation planning that prioritized stream segments with high biological value within and complementary to currently protected lands. Using two conservation networks, we compared efficiencies of 1) conservation priorities assigned using our approach to priorities based solely on habitat […]