143rd Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society

September 08 - 14, 2013

Approximately 70% of inland angling pressure (21 million anglers) occurs in reservoirs with an annual economic benefit of $21 billion annually. The median age of reservoirs in the U.S. is roughly 50 years. New reservoir construction has been nearly at a standstill for the past decade. Declining habitat quality associated with these aging reservoirs threatens this valuable recreational and economic resource. The Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership is tasked with developing partnerships at the local, state, and regional level to address these habitat issues. The focus of this symposium is to highlight the results of a national assessment of reservoir habitat quality, discuss efforts to establish Best Management Practices for specific impairments on a regional scale, outline partnering efforts, highlight state fisheries programs aimed at reservoir habitat restoration, and detail specific habitat restoration projects that serve as a model for future habitat restoration efforts.  Symposium participants will benefit from discussion of these topics addressing the urgency of the issues and being informed of a path moving forward. Attendees should leave this symposium with the knowledge necessary to successfully encourage their employers to support the efforts to restore reservoir fisheries habitat on a national scale.