Application of the National Fish Habitat Assessment as a conservation planning tool in the Southeastern US

The National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP) and the associated science framework highlight the need for consideration of landscape-scale processes in the planning and design of fish habitat protection and restoration projects.  To support this approach, the National Fish Habitat Assessment examines the influence of various landscape sources of stress on the health of aquatic systems and provides predictive capabilities that support conservation planning at multiple spatial units.  To enhance uses of this tool in implementing the NFHAP in the southeast, the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership is developing a conservation framework that identifies conservation best management practices (BMPs) that address specific sources of fish habitat impairment identified through the National Fish Habitat Assessment.  Through this pilot project, sources of fish habitat impairment and associated conservation BMPs are being compiled for specific Ecological Drainage Units of Texas and made available via a web-based platform, along with relevant data and information on species occurrence, critical habitats, existing conservation priorities and initiatives, and recent and ongoing fish habitat protection and restoration projects.  This presentation will discuss planned uses of the framework in support of fish habitat protection and restoration efforts in the southeast.