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Ohio River Basin Fish Habitat Partnership – What is it and where do you fit in?
Midwest Region, January 29, 2009
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That was the title of a recent presentation at a joint meeting of the Indiana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and the Indiana Lakes Management Society.  Rob Simmonds, Project Leader for the Carterville National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, gave the presentation as part of a plenary session on the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. The Ohio River Basin Fish Habitat Partnership (ORBFHP) is one of several candidate Fish Habitat Partnerships (FHPs) across the country.  These FHPs are the “primary work units of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.”  We are currently developing a strategic plan for the Ohio River Basin and will follow up with an assessment of the aquatic resources in the basin.  The goal of each partnership is to determine the best possible actions to take in the best possible places to achieve the greatest measurable improvements possible to our resources of interest.  We are continuing to refine our resources of interest through our planning process but generally speaking “will focus our conservation, restoration, and enhancement efforts on habitat for fish and mussels in the watersheds of the Ohio River Basin where priority habitat can be protected and in watersheds where habitat restoration is feasible…”  The real strength to accomplish this will come from our collection of partners.  In the case of the ORBFHP, we have over 100 individuals on our distribution list from a variety of state and federal agencies, universities, NGOs, and others who are all interested in maintaining and improving habitat in the basin.  Regardless of an individual’s particular interest (e.g., sport fish, endangered species, clean drinking water), most of the issues and solutions are the same.  Many people are involved in ongoing activities and there are numerous sources of funding in the basin, our goal is to strategically focus those resources and to bring in additional resources so that collectively we can make a bigger difference than we would have done individually.  We have groups working on strategic planning, science and monitoring, outreach, and other areas, so there is room in the Ohio River Basin Fish Habitat Partnership for all.

Contact Info: Rob Simmonds, 618-997-6869, rob_simmonds@fws.gov



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