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America's Fish and Fisheries - Shared Through the Camera Lens - A 2015 AFS Fish Film Festival
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| Over 60 short films will be featured during the first ever AFS Fish Film Festival. America's Fish and Fisheries - Shared through the Camera Lens - A 2015 AFS Film Festival showcases films that focus on the connections between people, fish and fisheries, the unique life cycles and habitat needs of different species, and how resource practitioners and ordinary people are helping conserve fish and their habitats across the nation. The films are from a variety of perspectives-including commercial and sport fishermen, subsistence users, researchers and managers, volunteers, landowners, and even fish themselves. Films will be shown during the conference on Tuesday, August 18 -Thursday, August 20th. Films will be grouped into themes covering general conservation topics, habitat protection and restoration, fisheries enhancement, sport fishing, fisheries management, and fisheries research and education. This festival offers a new way to share and understand the work and craft of AFS members and other fisheries professionals and stakeholders. It will provide an exciting vantage point to view successes and challenges in fisheries conservation, and most importantly grow appreciation for and awareness of our nation's fisheries and the many ways in which we're connected to fish and all the goods and services they provide. The festival is hosted by the Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership, Western Native Trout Initiative, Sitka Conservation Society/ Sustainable Southeast Partnership, and The Salmon Project. Tuesday, August 18, 2015: 8:00 AM-5:20 PM - click here for day 1 schedule
Wednesday, August 19, 2015: 8:00 AM-5:20 PM - day 2 schedule
Thursday, August 20, 2015: 8:00 AM - 5:20 PM - day 3 schedule
For full conference information, click here.
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"Ten percent of the big fish still remain. There are still some blue whales. There are still some krill in Antarctica. There are a few oysters in Chesapeake Bay. Half the coral reefs are still in pretty good shape, a jeweled belt around the middle of the planet. There's still time, but not a lot, to turn things around."
~ Sylvia Earle
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2015 10 Waters to Watch
Sun Creek (Oregon)
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| Sun Creek originates on the southern slopes of Crater Lake National Park and was historically a tributary to the Wood River in the Upper Klamath Basin. Due to agricultural land use, there have been extensive channel alterations over the last century, and Sun Creek is no longer connected to the Wood River. A population of federally threatened bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) inhabits Sun Creek, and with aggressive management from Crater Lake National Park (CLNP), bull trout populations have increased in abundance tenfold in the last two decades. This project will reconnect Sun Creek to the Wood River, creating a migratory corridor for the isolated bull trout population and expanding available habitat for redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) already present in the Wood River. To accomplish this objective, a new Sun Creek stream corridor will be established, flow in the new channel will be increased by permanently transferring water instream, and diversions will be screened to prevent fish entrainment in irrigation ditches. Project partners include the Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust; Crater Lake National Park; National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; Natural Resources Conservation Service, Klamath Falls Service Center; Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; Oregon Department of Forestry; Oregon Department of Water Resources; Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board; The Klamath Tribes; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Forest Service, Fremont-Winema National Forest; and two landowners. Click here for more information. |
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SARP Hosts Series on New Southeast Aquatic Habitat
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Targets and Science Needs
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| SARP is hosting a four-part webinar series on the revision of the Southeast Aquatic Habitat Plan's (SAHP) targets and science needs. The goal of the series is to discuss new targets for each of the eight objectives identified in the Plan. The SAHP was developed by SARP and partners in 2005 to maintain, restore and conserve the quantity and quantity of freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats to support healthy, sustainable fish and aquatic communities, and to sustain public use of water resources for the benefit of citizens in the southeastern region and the entire nation. It describes a long-term regional plan to restore and conserve aquatic habitats in the 14 states that comprise the southeastern United States.
The webinar schedule is as follows:
June 17th - Riparian and Connectivity Objectives Discussion. Click here to access the recording.
July 20th - Water Quality and Hydrologic Objectives Discussion. Click here to access the recording.
August 11th (1:00-2:00 PM Central Time) - Invasive Species and Sediment Objectives Discussion
Date/Time To Be Determined - Estuarine, Marine and Physical Habitat Objectives Discussion
We welcome your input and look forward to your participation. For more information, contact John Kauffman, SARP's State Liaison. |
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| Lower He`eia Stream Habitat Restoration Project |
| The Lower He`eia Stream Habitat Restoration Project will improve water quality and increase habitat for native aquatic animal species by removing invasive plants and replanting native Hawaiian species along a portion of the He`eia Stream estuary. The restoration activities will take place at the mouth of He`eia Stream in an approximately four acre area, located at He`eia State Park, dominated by non-native species including invasive mangrove and hau bush to the extent that these species have encroached into and occluded the stream corridor. Invasive plant species from the site will be cut, chipped and composted on site. This re-use of organic material will aid in weed suppression, limit exposure and erosion of bare soils and add nutrients to the soil to prepare for the out-planting of native species during monthly volunteer workdays. Native plant species will be reintroduced in the riparian area to aid in erosion control, filtration of storm water runoff and provide habitat for native species. Volunteers including community members and local service organizations will be instrumental in removing invasive plants to increase habitat for native plants and animals at the project site. Lower He`eia Stream Habitat Restoration Project objectives include:
- Four acres of estuary ecosystem restoration
- Over 5,000 volunteers service hours expected in 2015 and 2016
- More than 10,000 native plants to be installed for erosion control
- Increased production of recreationally and commercially important fish including jacks, mullet, flagtails, shrimp and prawns.
- Increased understanding of mangrove removal effectiveness in Hawai`i
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| Invasive riparian vegetation in Heeia estuary channel. |
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| Invasive riparian vegetation in Heeia estuary channel. |
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2015 10 Waters to Watch Ulele Springs, Florida
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| Estuarine Basin at Ulele Springs. Photo credit: Tom Ries, Ecosphere Restoration Institute. |
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| The National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) has unveiled its list of 10 "Waters to Watch" for 2015, a collection of rivers, streams, estuaries, lakes, and watershed systems that will benefit from strategic conservation efforts to protect, restore or enhance their current condition. Among those waters selected is Ulele Springs on the Hillsborough River, Florida, which was nominated by the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP). The restored Ulele Springs is providing native wetland vegetation and provide habitat for fish and mammals. To date, numerous native fish and wildlife has been observed within the basin, which is staring to mimic the anticipated species richness and diversity of a natural spring run entering an estuarine ecotone.
To read the complete award announcement and to learn more about the Ulele Springs Project, click here. |
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2015 10 Waters to Watch Kilchis Estuary, Oregon
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The Kilchis Estuary on the coast of Oregon was nominated by the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership because of the importance of the project in restoring freshwater and tidal connections, providing off-channel rearing habitat for salmonids, and restoring historic spruce swamp habitat.
A primary limiting factor for salmonids in the Kilchis system is the availability of off-channel habitat in low-lying areas, especially habitat in the saltwater-freshwater transition zone of the estuary (Kilchis Watershed Analysis, Tillamook Estuaries Partnership 1998). The site provides habitat for coho, Chinook and chum salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout as well as a myriad of other wetland species, including colonial nesting waterbirds, migrating waterfowl, juvenile marine fishes and resident mammals. Human alterations of the estuary (e.g., dredging, diking, draining, filling, dairy pasture creation, jetty construction, sedimentation) as well as species loss have resulted in loss of habitats and their associated biotic communities.
Current restoration is aimed at increasing protections for existing salmonid core areas, restoring tidal marsh habitat, re-creating tidal channels and restoring connectivity between tidal sloughs and the Kilchis River. Past restoration efforts have occurred above the project site and complement existing restoration efforts. |
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Lower Kilchis River near Idaville, Oregon.
Photo credit: Fineooth. |
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2015 10 Waters to Watch
Pinole Creek, California
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The Pinole Creek Fish Passage Project will restore access to the upper reaches of Pinole Creek for the current population of Central California Coast Steelhead by modifying the existing box culverts where Pinole Creek passes under Interstate Highway 80 (I-80).
Habitat assessments conducted on Pinole Creek in 2009 indicate sufficient habitat to support anadromous steelhead spawning and rearing if passage issues at the I-80 culvert are remedied. This project will improve access to nearly 7 miles of documented quality steelhead spawning and rearing habitat on the main stem of Pinole Creek.
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