Painting the National Habitat Picture: The Vision and Potential of the National Fish Habitat Partnership Habitat Assessment

Symposium Introduction: The National Fish Habitat Partnership’s (NFHP) mission is to protect, restore and enhance the nation's fish and aquatic communities through Partnerships (FHPs) that foster fish habitat conservation and improve the quality of life for the American people.   NFHP implements its mission using sound science whose foundation is the National Fish Habitat Assessment (Assessment).  The Assessment will develop a clear image of the condition of all U.S. waters to the shelf by measuring six key processes (Connectivity, Hydrology, Geomorphology, Water Quality, Material Recruitment and Transport, and Energy Flow).   The Assessment purpose are to: identify intact waters and those impaired; to document impaired processes, if any, pointing to appropriate rehabilitation measures; and to measure the NFHP progress.  The Assessment is designed to be a decision support system measuring the processes and their influence on fish and shellfish populations at an individual stream reach, lake, estuary, and inshore habitat areas for all U.S. waters.  Ultimately, information will be provided on the expected range for each process allowing individual fisheries managers to determine how maximize the return on habitat investments.  The papers in this symposium will illustrate the current status of both the National Assessment and more detailed assessments conducted by FHPs.