With that as background, AFS applauds the latest NFHP accomplishment—the December 20th release of additions to NFHP’s “Waters to Watch,” a list assembled with input from the 20 NFHP “regional fish habitat partnerships” working on the front lines to implement the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. As explained on the NFHP website, the annual “Waters to Watch” list is a collection of rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, and shores that will provide healthier fish habitat after some focused attention from one of the regional partnerships. The 10 new waters include a California ocean embayment, a Minnesota lake, an Arizona reservoir, and an Indiana river.
Thanks to the combined actions of concerned community groups, non-profit organizations, local watershed groups, Native American tribes, and state and federal agencies, these special places are being improved by planting stream-side vegetation, improving passage, and protecting bodies of water from the effects of industrial processes, agriculture, and livestock. Collaborative efforts at the more than 100 waters identified since 2007 will yield local benefits plus lessons and practices to be deployed elsewhere.
You can follow NFHP activities in your area by visiting the sites noted above, identifying your regional fish habitat partnership, and engaging in the very public process of protecting and restoring fish habitat.