Desert Fish Habitat Partnership: Working Together for the Benefit of Native Desert Fishes

The Desert Fish Habitat Partnership (DFHP) is focused on protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish habitat throughout the West.  Since 2009, DFHP has funded eleven projects including the Myton Diversion Fish Passage Project located on the Duchesne River in Utah, the Alamito Creek Restoration Project located in Texas, and the Weber River Project located in Utah. The Myton Diversion Fish Passage Project highlights DFHP’s involvement with the Ute Indian Tribe, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and the National Fish Passage Program (NFPP) and how we worked together to install a fish passage structure that restored connectivity and allowed for upstream movement of desert fishes. The Alamito Creek Restoration Project highlights DFHP’s involvement with the Trans Pecos Water and Land Trust, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and how we worked together to restore grasslands in Alamito Creek watershed by removing approximately 200 acres of mesquite and other non-natives to improve watershed conditions. The Weber River Project highlights DFHP’s involvement with the Western Native Trout Initiative and NFPP and how we worked together to reconstruct diversions, improve fish passage, remove barriers, and modify culverts benefitting desert fishes and trout.