Fisheries and Habitat Conservation

Climate Change and
FHC

Environmental Contaminants

Fisheries and Aquatic
Resource Conservation

Habitat and Resource
Conservation

Welcome to Fisheries and Habitat Conservation

The Fisheries and Habitat Conservation Program is unique within the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in its abilities to apply a dual approach to natural resource management; it focuses on both helping manage species and helping to conserve their habitats. The Program relies on collaboration and joint ventures with State agencies, Tribes, private landowners, industry, other Federal agencies and the public to achieve these conservation goals. In doing so, the Program combines expertise in habitat restoration, contaminant assessment and remediation, genetics, population dynamics and management, fish culture and fish health, fish passage, invasive species management, wetlands, water development and management, wind energy, coastal, instream flow and other disciplines. Fisheries and Habitat Conservation blends these capabilites to provide expert technical assistance to our conservation partners.

FISH PASSAGE PROGRAM’S RESPONSE TO TROPICAL STORM IRENE WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE’RE GOING

South Dakota culvert blowout resulted in a chunk of the road going down-river with it.

On August 28, 2011 - Tropical Storm Irene dropped eight inches of rain in a 24 hour period, resulting in a 500-year flood event in Vermont’s Upper White River Basin. After assessing the damage in the Storm’s wake, the state reported 963 culverts and 277 bridges were damaged or destroyed – isolating 13 towns and impacting 225 municipalities across Vermont. Similar events have been occurring across the United States, including in Duluth, Minnesota, and in the Vermillion and James River watersheds of Eastern South Dakota. In order to protect the American public and their property from these events, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Passage Program(NFFP) is working in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and numerous non-profit organizations on-the-ground in local communities to proactively install flood resistant that are friendly to fish migrating up and down rivers. This type of flood response is ecologically sound and fiscally responsible. The following materials provide a glimpse into the impact of these flooding events and how the partners prevent and respond to these events. For more information, contact Susan Wells, National Fish Passage Coordinator at susan_wells@fws.gov.

Flood Summit 2012 - Hurricane Relief Meets Fish Passage (pdf)

Part 1 - Flooding in Vermont - National Fish Passage Program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgZ9t4E6OJ4

Part 2 - Restoring Streams, Restoring Fish - The National Fish Passage Program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sS-owj1_kc

Part 3 - Restoring Roads, Streams and Fish Through Improved Culverts - The National Fish Passage Program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4lYDTsaLlA

National Fish Passage Program 2011 Annual Report and Future Outlook

Video produced by FEMA on-the-ground in Vermont regarding the aftermath of the storm

Restore & Enhance - 25th Anniversary of the Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
By Matthew Filsinger and Joe Milmoe

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) program was officially established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1987. A group of Service biologists and numerous conservation partners had the vision to look beyond the boundaries of government fee-title holdings and see the need to work cooperatively with private landowners. They recognized that nearly 73 percent of U.S. lands are in private ownership and a vast majority of federal trust species used these areas during their life cycle. Intense stakeholder outreach concluded that the most effective way to achieve conservation success was to provide direct financial and technical assistance.

The Partners program was designed to complement many of the traditional Service easement programs by offering restoration and enhancement agreements for shorter time periods. This gives private individuals options to improve their property for targeted wildlife species and avoid having to make the sometimes difficult decision on a long-term easement contract.

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