Use of the Habitat Assessment to Implement Strategic Habitat Conservation for the Great Plains Fish Habitat Partnership

The Great Plains Fish Habitat Partnership will use our habitat assessment to make significant strides toward developing a strategic methodology of aquatic habitat conservation.  While we initially used information from the State Wildlife Action Plans and query field expertise to identify the habitats of importance for the Fish Habitat Partnership, this was just a beginning.  The National Assessment provided a framework and has shown the potential applicability of using the habitat assessment for focusing work across landscapes.  Having a regional assessment to use, will allow managers and decision makers to drill down into a greater understanding of the overarching stressors and identify important habitats for a particular species.  It is more imperative now, than ever before, that conservation organizations work together and find opportunities to collaborate.  These habitat assessments will assist agencies and organizations by providing a venue to develop better aquatic conservation projects that accomplish more with the limited resources available.