The NFHAP: Goals, Progress, and Future Needs

The National Fish Habitat Action Plan serves as an historic opportunity to take a partnership-driven, landscape-scale, science-based, non-regulatory approach to fisheries conservation on a long-term sustained basis.  The goals of National Fish Habitat Action Plan focus on protecting, restoring and enhancing fish habitats across the spectrum of aquatic systems.  The National Fish Habitat Action Plan is being implemented through a number of key activities: organizing a system of Fish Habitat Partnerships; mobilizing strong grassroots support; measuring and communicating the status of aquatic systems; and, providing national leadership and coordination to conserve fish habitat.  Four National Fish Habitat Action Plan objectives were to be completed by 2010; all were achieved by this date.  This includes conducting a national condition analysis of fish habitat, establishing 17 Fish Habitat Partnerships, and preparing a report on the status of fish habitat in the United States.  However, many challenges remain.  First and foremost is increased funding for fish habitat conservation efforts.  There are also needs for an equitable process to allocate these funds to the Fish Habitat Partnerships, as well as establishing national measures of success so that outcomes from fish habitat conservation actions can be assessed for effectiveness and valuable lessons shared.