Use of Habitat Intrinsic Potential in Western Oregon to Prioritize Aquatic Restoration

As funding for aquatic restoration projects continues to decline, it becomes imperative to focus limited money in areas where it will have the largest biological benefit.  To accomplish this, the BLM in Western Oregon developed an innovative restoration prioritization approach that blends the concept of habitat intrinsic potential (IP) density with land ownership patterns at the 6^th field sub-watershed scale.  This was done for Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, and Steelhead Trout.  The resulting tool represents a prioritization scheme that can be customized by landowner and by species, to help focus restoration projects in areas believed to be of highest importance to one or more species of interest, for all of Western Oregon.