Fishers & Farmers Partnership: Engaging Landowners for Stream Protection

Fishers & Farmers Partnership for the Upper Mississippi River Basin has been a partnership of the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) since March 2010.  NFHP was born in 2001 after modeling what was done for waterfowl in the 1980s through the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.  NFHP is non-regulatory, voluntary, locally and regionally science-based, and driven by grassroots partners.  It focuses on protection, restoration, and enhancement in key watersheds.  The 17 NFHP partnerships are self-identified, self-organized, self-directed, and are organized around geographic areas, keystone species and system types.

Fishers & Farmers Partnership’s exists to support landowner-led projects that add value to farms while restoring aquatic habitat and native fish populations.  Fishers & Farmers was initiated by biologists and visionaries from federal, state, and non-governmental organizations in both agricultural and natural resources fields.  The Partnership is unique because it puts landowners in the lead; funds only collaborative, watershed-based projects; and works for more flexibility from conservation agencies than is the norm.  When projects are completed, stories are told, so others are inspired and the work spreads across the Upper Mississippi River Basin to improve farms and aquatic habitat.