Local watershed associations: Crucial allies in habitat restoration

A watershed association, defined as a locally led, inclusive, consensus-based group focused on the environmental health of local streams, represents a potentially valuable partner for a state fisheries biologist. You are more effective together: The watershed association’s members need help understanding the basic physics, chemistry, and biology relevant to their watershed and its streams; the fisheries manager needs the monitoring, early-warning, hands-on labor, education, publicity, and political assets offered by the watershed association. The purpose of this talk is to suggest relationships and types of projects in which a fisheries manager-watershed association partnership could potentially benefit the fish community of a particular watershed.