Chena Slough with Barrier

The value of healthy habitat is vital to well managed aquatic resources, continuing ecological, recreational, commercial, and subsistence contributions to our Nation’s prosperity.  Fish and Wildlife Conservation Offices are committed to providing the most innovative approaches to fish habitat conservation.  We apply scientific data to focus efforts on preserving high-priority watersheds and restoring critical aquatic habitat (in-stream and wetland) and re-opening fish passage.  We also participate in the National Fish Habitat Action Plan and the National Fish Passage Program.      

FWCOs are shifting existing resources and applying new resources to become habitat based.  In 2008 alone, we conducted 1,249 habitat assessments of 231,400 wetland acres, 515,392 upland acres, and 9,392 in-stream miles; removed 94 barriers and reopened 28,751 acres and 641 stream miles to fish passage; and restored 64.7 in-stream miles, 65.6 riparian miles, and 63.6 upland acres.

Chena Slough After Barrier Removal

To help us achieve our goals, we’ve adopted a new way of thinking more comprehensively and strategically about what we do: Strategic Habitat Conservation (SHC). With this approach, on-the-ground actions are guided by planning and design that is directly linked to the improvement of our Trust Resources and are measured through monitoring and research. SHC has a broad scope. As a result, multiple internal and external partners are working toward explicitly stated habitat conservation objectives.