When BAD is good: Using best available data to strategically arrest declines of imperilled desert fishes and their habitats

Freshwater species are among the most imperiled in North America.  Desert aquatic habitats in the American West support half of freshwater fish species listed under the Endangered Species Act.  Although individual states have Wildlife Action Plans listing species and habitat conservation priorities within their borders, only recently has a comprehensive strategy surfaced to deter the decline of 179 native desert fishes. The Desert Fish Habitat Partnership’s Framework for Strategic Conservation of Desert Fishes incorporates endemism, conservation status, Heritage rank, existing and projected threats, and inter-jurisdictional conservation needs to rank desert species priorities. Application of the Framework guides on-the-ground projects addressing fish conservation priorities through the National Fish Habitat Action Plan and other funding sources. Validation of this approach occurs thru collaboration with state agencies, Trout Unlimited (TU), the Desert Fishes Council (DFC), and others: TU is adapting its Conservation Success Index to include warmwater aquatic systems; USGS is funding development of a pilot threats assessment of the Lower Colorado River Basin. State agencies and DFC annually track and report status and trends of the most imperiled species.  Data generated thru these efforts will fine-tune Framework priorities and improve detection of key sites for project implementation to benefit native desert fishes.