Habitat Feature Stories
- American Shad: Making a Comeback
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The Habitat Conservation Division is helping shad recover using authority we have under several laws. (Photo of shad migration at Conowingo Dam courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Program)
- Deep-Sea Coral Protection in Mid-Atlantic
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Sep 27: NOAA Fisheries announced a proposed rule to designate a deep-sea coral protection area in the Mid-Atlantic.
- Exeter's Great Dam Removal
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Sept 8: On Friday, September 9, the town of Exeter, New Hampshire celebrates the removal of the Great Dam and the restoration of the Exeter River.
- Protecting Habitat: Going Where the Wind Blows
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Aug 10: Offshore wind turbines are enormous. As the agency responsible for conserving and managing the oceans, we want to know how this pursuit of “green” energy will affect the fish and their habitats.
- NOAA Announces New Partnerships to Restore Habitat
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NOAA is announcing $8.9 million in funding for three Great Lakes habitat restoration partnerships.
- Fish and Ships Get Safe Harbor
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July 25: This summer marks the end of an era for the waters around the Statue of Liberty. New York and New Jersey’s harbor deepening project will complete improvements.
- Celebrating the Cultural Significance of Salmon
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On a beautiful Saturday in May, we gathered with members from the Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Passamaquoddy Tribe
- Protecting Shorelines and Habitat on Craney Island
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June 2: Even large-scale shoreline stabilization projects can provide healthy fish habitats that support healthy fisheries.
- Little River Dedication Ceremony
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May 23: On a sunny Monday morning, a group of around 100 people assembled at an unlikely spot, the West Gloucester Water Treatment Plant, to celebrate the restoration of the Little River.
- Celebrating River Herring
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Apr 21: Nearly 400 years ago, the Mayflower touched down near Plymouth Rock, tucked deep into western shore of Cape Cod Bay. Without Town Brook, and its runs of river herring, Plymouth Colony might not have succeeded.
- Repairing Aging Infrastructure and Protecting Fish
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To protect important fish habitats including spawning and feeding areas, the Habitat Conservation Division reviews bridge plans and provides recommendations. (Photo credit: Maine DOT)
- Saving Seagrass: Protecting Essential Habitat
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Jan 11: All aquatic habitat is important. All types of aquatic habitat have value. So when there are competing interests, how do you decide what to protect? (Photo credit: NOAA/DOC)
- Shortnose Sturgeon Return to Historic Habitat
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Endangered shortnose sturgeon have rediscovered habitat in the Penobscot River that had been inaccessible to the species for more than 100 years prior to the removal of the Veazie Dam in 2013. (Photo courtesy of G. Zydlewski).
- Fish Passages Play Role in Hydropower Licenses
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Our Habitat Conservation Division reviews hydropower licenses and works with these facilities to ensure that their operations are not harming diadromous fish and their habitats. (Photo Credit Bill McDavitt/NOAA)
- Fishways: Crucial Connections from River to Sea
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Have you ever seen a fish ladder or a fish lift? Do you know how one works? For many people the answer to both is “no.” If you live along the coast or on a river, there may be a fish ladder or lift near you.
- Protecting Deep-Sea Corals: A Success Story
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Like their shallow-water counterparts, deep-sea corals are very fragile and can be easily damaged or destroyed. In collaboration with fishermen, and using their fine-scale habitat knowledge, deep-sea corals received much-needed protection
- Habitat Restoration Success: Nasketucket Bay
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On a brilliant summer day in late July, the Buzzards Bay Coalition and array of partners celebrated the largest land conservation effort in the Buzzards Bay watershed in 25 years. (Photo credit: Buzzards Bay Coalition)
- Salmon Smolts Survive the Dam but Die Downstream
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New research reveals that dam passage can leave smolts with long-lasting injuries that make them vulnerable to predators far downstream. Photo credit: Larry Shaw. NEFSC/NOAA
- Protecting Habitat in a Changing Climate
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Certain habitats are essential for the survival of many marine species. For example, cod and lobster thrive in cold water, and seagrass beds provide important shelter (photo credit: Tim Watts)
- Council Approves Deep-Sea Corals Amendment
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At the June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting, members voted unanimously to approve an amendment to protect deep-sea corals from being damaged by fishing gear in the Mid-Atlantic.
- Considering Habitat: Offshore Wind Farms
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America’s first offshore wind farm will begin construction this summer in state waters off Block Island, Rhode Island.
- Penobscot River: Un-Build It and They Will Come
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On a rare mild day in early April, engineer Don Dow and fisheries biologist Dave Bean from NOAA Fisheries Protected Resource Division in Orono, Maine, inspected the construction of an estimated $3.2 million nature-like bypass ...
- Conserving the Choptank River
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Rivers are lifelines. For thousands of years, we have relied on rivers for drinking water, irrigation, transportation, and food.
- A Different Approach to Erosion Protection
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Protecting estuarine shorelines from erosion due to wind and wave energy has traditionally been accomplished through the use of hardened structures such as vertical sheet bulkheads, stone revetments, groins and sills.
- Critical Habitat for North Atlantic Right Whales
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NOAA proposes to expand critical habitat for endangered North Atlantic Right Whales
- Fish Use Rocky Habitats to Hide and Seek
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Marine rocky habitats provide Essential Fish Habitat for many fish species – places where fish can feed, breed and grow. They are among the most structurally complex habitats in the ocean.
- Narragansett Bay Estuary: Diverse Habitats
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A little state with a lot of coastline and 147 miles of fish and shellfish habitat
- Where the Road Meets the Water
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Working with Federal Highway Administration to build roads that reduce impacts on fish habitats
- Fish as Habitat?
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Under federal fisheries law prey species like alewife and blueback herring are considered part of the habitat
- Shallow Water Bottom Habitats are Important
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New NOAA Fisheries regional report shows importance of 8 different habitat types for 16 fish and invertebrate species
- Two Habitat Focus Areas Selected
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The Choptank River watershed and the Penobscot River watershed selected for focused protection and restoration work
- Responsible Beach Re-nourishment
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Finding sources of sand while protecting habitat for fish and other marine life
- Funding Available to Support Habitat Restoration
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Today, NOAA announced that $6.6 million is available to support habitat restoration efforts in Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland and Virginia
- What's a Riparian Area?
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We are working with many partners to protect these special areas
- Work Begins to Remove Whittenton Pond Dam
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Once the project is complete, river herring will have access to spawning habitat in the Mill River, Lake Sabattia, Watson Pond, and the Canoe and Snake Rivers for the first time in 200 years.
- Tidal Freshwater Marshes Underappreciated
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Important role in life cycle of commercial and recreational fish
- Natural Disasters and Stewardship
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The long road to recovery after Super Storm Sandy. NY's Cedar Beach before the storm and...
- Astounding Increase in Herring Numbers on Acushnet
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Since 2007, when two fishways were installed on Mass' Acushnet River, 1,140% increase in migrating herring
- Cobscook Bay Boiling Tides: New Energy Source?
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A tidal power turbine generator being deployed near Lubec, Maine. NOAA considers habitat impacts
- Planned Fish Passage Improvements on Hudson
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Mar 7: Improvements in water quality over recent decades have enhanced fish habitat
- Where the River Meets the Sea
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Jan 24: Damaged by Oil Spill and Other Activities, NOAA Works with Partners to Restore the Buzzards Bay Estuary
- New Opportunities to Improve Fish Passage
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Dec 24: During hydropower project relicencing, NOAA works with partners to help improve access to important fish habitat