The Experience of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture in Establishing Habitat Conservation Objectives and Priorities – How It Was Done and How They Have Been Helpful

The National Fish Habitat Action Plan calls for a landscape-scale approach to fisheries conservation. The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV) was established to assist in implementing key tenets of the action plan.  In recognition of the need to halt the range-wide decline of brook trout, the EBTJV spearheaded a range-wide status assessment of brook trout in the Eastern United States.  More than 11,000 watersheds located throughout a seventeen state area were assessed and classified based on the percentage of habitat sustaining brook trout.  The outcomes from the assessment allowed the EBTJV to establish range-wide and regional habitat objectives and assign priority designations to each watershed that needed protection, enhancement, or restoration.  This prioritization system is grounded in each watershed’s proximity to those that are currently supporting healthy brook trout populations or have a high likelihood of sustaining stable populations.  Established habitat objectives provide focus for EBTJV partners’ efforts and allow for tracking progress toward the EBTJV's goals. The identification of priority watersheds for protecting, enhancing, and restoring brook trout habitat has resulted in other conservation organizations using this information to facilitate decisions on where to focus their conservation actions.  This magnifies the scope of the efforts that are being directed towards watersheds where the biggest impacts can be made.