1. NOAA Restoration Center
The National Fish Habitat Action Plan– A National Plan to Conserve Fish (and Shellfish) Habitat
Kay A. McGraw, Ph.D.
NOAA Restoration Center
Silver Spring, MD.

2. Topics What is NFHAP? Why is it important? How does it work?
Science and Data Team – Assessment Tool
How you can be involved

3. What is NFHAP? Nationwide strategy Voluntary Science-based objectives
Analyze data on fish (and shellfish) habitat (location and condition)
Identify priority areas and actions
Apply to both freshwater and marine fish (and shellfish) habitat
The National Fish Habitat Action Plan, or NFHAP for short, is an unprecedented plan being developed to reverse declines of America’s fish and shellfish habitats. A growing number of fisheries professionals, state and federal agencies, tribes, foundations, conservation and angling groups, businesses, and industries have joined together in this effort. The plan is similar to that undertaken for waterfowl and their habitat in the 1980s through the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. NFHAP will use existing and emerging science-based tools to target priority areas and implement needed projects The plan funds and supports projects that are developed voluntarily by willing partners and stakeholders. These voluntary projects will supplement the existing foundation of regulatory programs that protect aquatic habitats from pollution and degradation.
NFHAP also recognizes the need to evaluate and report each project’s performance and demonstrate overall results to Congress, partners, and the general public.
The plan focuses on fish and their habitats as keystones for the full range of aquatic biodiversity and aquatic habitats in the United States. This includes freshwater and marine species, including shellfish.
“…to protect, restore, and enhance the nation’s fish and aquatic communities through partnerships that foster fish habitat conservation and improve the quality of life for the American people.”
The call to action came from the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (a chartered Federal advisory group). The Council recognized the challenges in the way we were managing fish and fish habitat across the nation. To address these, they recommended taking a partnership-driven approach to conserving and restoring fish habitat. As their model, they used the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, which has made tremendous progress thanks to its strategic focus on critical habitat centers and leveraging partner resources and efforts. The Waterfowl Management Plan has proven that steady but limited government funds can be leveraged into hundreds of millions of private funding to restore waterfowl habitat on a broad scale.
Additional Info: Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council members:
Jim Anderson, Executive Director, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission;
Douglass Boyd, Board Member, Coastal Conservation Association;
Kenneth Haddad, Executive Director, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission;
Larry Killien, Past President, States Organization for Boating Access;
Michael Nussman, President and CEO, American Sportfishing Association;
William Taylor, Professor and Chair, Michigan State Univ. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife;
John Cooper (ex-officio), President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies;
Monita Fontaine, Vice President Government Relations, National Marine Manufactures;
Doug Hansen, Director Division of Wildlife, SD Department of Game, Fish and Parks;
Ryck Lydecker, Assistant Vice President for government Affairs, Boat U.S.;
Jim Range, Government Affairs Advocate, American Fly Fishing Trade Association
Carl Wilgus, Administrator, Idaho Department of Commerce;
Jeff Crane, President, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation
Sheri Griffith, Director, America Outdoors;
Dean Kessel, Vice President of Operations, BASS;
John Morris, Founder, Bass Pro Shops;
John Sprague, Past President, Marine Industries Association of Florida;
Dale hall (ex-officio), Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

4. NFHAP MISSION
“…to protect, restore, and enhance the nation’s fish (and shellfish) and aquatic communities through partnerships that foster fish habitat conservation and improve the quality of life for the American people.”

5. The Plan And shellfish Signed on April 24, 2006 by: Carlos Gutierrez
Secretary of Commerce
Lynn Scarlett
Acting Secretary of the Interior
John Cooper
President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
John Baughman
Executive Vice President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

6. Why NFHAP? The Problem – Fisheries and Their Habitats are at a Crossroads
Oyster reefs are the most impacted of any marine ecosystem in the world (85% loss globally)!!
~ 90% of native mussel species are endangered, threatened, or of special concern
51% of crayfish species are at risk
80% of freshwater gastropods are at risk (many extinct)
40% of our commercial and recreational fisheries are declining
37% of our freshwater fish species are in trouble
High rate of aquatic habitat loss in U.S. and globally;
Between 1986 – 1997 a net loss of 644,000 acres of wetlands
~50 – 60% of the U.S. population lives within 50 mi. of a coastline
~ 20% of inland species are imperiled;
~ additional 37% are at risk;
PNW – 80% of known commercial fish stocks in decline

7. The Concept Local projects Regional strategies and priorities
National attention and funding

8. Five important lessons
Address real problems not symptoms
Process oriented
Provide increased and sustained investment for long term success
Monitor and be accountable for scientifically sound and measurable results
Share information and knowledge

9. Action Plan Objectives
Conduct condition analysis of all fish (and shellfish ) habitats within the United States by 2010.
Prepare a Status of Fish Habitats in the United States in 2010, and every five years thereafter.
Establish 12 or more Fish Habitat Partnerships throughout United States by 2010.
Protect all healthy and intact habitats by 2015.
Improve the condition of 90 percent of priority habitats and species targeted by Fish Habitat Partnerships by 2020.

10. Developing and Implementing an Assessment Tool (NFHAP Science and Data Team)

11. Historic View of “Habitat”

12. Purpose of the Assessment Tool
To characterize aquatic habitat condition…
…so the information can be used to make good decisions
….. regarding the protection, restoration, or enhancement of aquatic habitats.

13. Conduct an initial assessment Develop an assessment framework
Compile and evaluate existing data
Conduct an initial assessment
Develop an assessment framework
Implementing the NFHAP Assessement Tool

14. Importance of Assessment to NFHAP
Comprehensive, objective tool for nation-wide comparison
Identification of healthy and degraded aquatic systems
Identification of key disturbance factors
Scientific information at hierarchical levels for different agencies, organizations

15. Three Geographic Subdivisions
Inland
Marine
Coastal

16. Overall Habitat Assessment Tool Plan
Classify all of the Nation’s Waters
Score Their Condition – Using Series of Condition Variables Summed into an Index
Grade Them By Best Theoretical Possible and Best Currently Available in Classified Group
Apply Appropriate Habitat Measures to Remedy Problems or Apply Protective Measures to Maintain Condition

17. Why Classify?
Allows for meaningful comparisons and condition assessment
Provides a context for protection and improvement
Allows for experiences and methodologies to be shared between similar systems

18. Examples—Inland Classification Variables
Regional geology
Landforms
Regional drainage patterns
Biota
Climate

19. Examples—Coastal/Marine Classification Variables
Depth contours
Tidal height e.g.,intertidal,subtidal)
Bottom type (e.g., mud, sand, cobble)
Salinity regime
Biota (coral reef, oyster reef, salt marsh, sea grass, mangrove, etc.)

20. Focus on Key Processes (Emergent Properties)
Connectivity
Hydrology
Channel and Bottom Form
Material Recruitment
Water Quality
Energy Flow in Aquatic Communities

21. Hierarchies of Classification and Assessment
Freshwater (upland)
Habitat -- (Cowardin??)
Process level factors (6)
Individual variables
Coastal/Marine
Habitat (CMECS– Coastal Marine Ecological Classification Standard)
Process level factor (?)

22. Inland Assessment Framework: Built from basic, spatial aquatic unit
Mapped for the Nation
Physical, biological characteristics that can be associated with the unit or surrounding landscape (i.e., catchment)
Part of spatial hierarchy, so information can be analyzed and reported at different spatial scales

23. WWF Freshwater Ecoregions

24. National Hydrography Dataset plus (NHD+)
NFH Assessment Basic Unit
National Hydrography Dataset plus (NHD+)
Available nationwide
Confluence to confluence stream segments
Local and network catchment boundaries
Catchment characteristics (i.e., area, slope, precipitation)

25. TNC Ecological Drainage Units (EDUs) (244)
NFH Assessment Spatial Extents
WWF Ecoregions (45)
Catchments (2,595,196)
TNC Ecological Drainage Units (EDUs) (244)

26. Urban Land Use Agricultural Land Use 0 - 20% 21 - 40% 41 - 60%% %
No EDUs
Agricultural Land Use
0 - 20% % % % %
No EDUs

27. Anthropogenic Disturbances by EDU
Cattle
Mines
Agriculture
Population
Road density
Total P yield
Imperviousness
Very low
Low
Medium
High
Very High
No EDUs

28. Results at Different Spatial Extents
Watersheds in
Cape Fear River
- Piedmont EDU
WWF Freshwater Ecoregions
EDUs in
Appalachian Piedmont

29. Ecological Region Layer

30. Coastal Assessment Framework

31. North Atlantic Coastal Watersheds

32. CAF Data Sets Shellfish Harvest Classification
Physical and Hydrologic (P&H)
Agricultural Census
Agricultural Pesticides Use
Fertilizer Use
Land Use / Land Cover
Socioeconomics
Population and Population Density
Eutrophication
Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR)
Pollution Sources

33. Examples of coastal indicators
Loss of habitat
Shore line type (e.g., amt. of shore armoring)
Dead zones and low D.O.
Contamination of bottom sediments
Harmful algae blooms (frequency and extent)
Status and trends of commercial fish stocks
Number of species at risk or extinct

34. CAF Data Examples Shellfish growing areas – Eutrophication
Closures
pollution sources
Abundance
Harvest data
Eutrophication
Loss of SAV
Effects on fish/shellfish
Impacts on human use (swimming, boating, etc)
Coastal Population and Density

35. Middle Atlantic Watersheds
Great South Bay

36. Land Use—Great South Bay
Great South Bay Land use and population

37. Avg. Annual Nitrogen and Phosphorous loads in Chesapeake Bay Watershed (point source discharges—kg/yr)

38. Development Pressure Around the Chesapeake Bay (and a 40% increase projected for 2003 -2008

39. Condition Analysis
Build a Habitat Index based on layered (hierarchal) Individual Habitat Variables that can be improved.
Score each Classified Unit against others in the Classification.
Two Scale Scores
Series of sub-scores that can be improved on
100
Best Theoretical Possible
Best Currently Available

40. Help – find your niche http://fishhabitat.org © fishhabitat.org
"Candidate" Fish Habitat Partnerships
Find your niche
Partner profile
Find your niche
Help – find your niche
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41. Acknowledgments Susan-Marie Stedman, NOAA OHC
Gary Whelan, Michigan Dept. of Nat. Res.
Dr. Dana Infante, Mich. St. Univ.
Dr. Dayong Wu, Mich. St. Univ.,

42. Finis
Oympia oysters by
Cory and Catska Ench,
Port Angeles, WA