Washington, D.C. - The National Fish Habitat Partnership (www.fishhabitat.org) is excited to announce its list of “Waters to Watch” for 2021. This annual list represents a collection of strategic conservation efforts implemented on rivers, streams, estuaries, and lakes to protect, restore, or enhance fish habitat.

These voluntary, locally-driven projects represent some of the top conservation activities completed or in progress by 20 regionally-based Fish Habitat Partnerships throughout the country. These projects are carried out under the goals and objectives of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. These conservation projects conserve freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats essential to many fish and wildlife species. Projects like the ones represented on this list are fundamental to the overall success of the National Fish Habitat Partnership.

Over 120 Fish Habitat Partnership “Waters to Watch” have been featured since 2007 and demonstrate science-based, on-the-ground conservation efforts protecting or improving fish habitat across the United States. In 2021, the National Fish Habitat Partnership is featuring one retrospective Waters to Watch project, reflecting on the continued progress of a conservation project featured in previous years. The National Fish Habitat Partnership is also proud to kick off our 2021 highlighting of our projects in conjunction with National Hunting and Fishing Day, which was commemorated on September 25, 2021.

“These projects, which focus on the protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish habitats across the country, are a great example of collaborative conservation implemented through the National Fish Habitat Partnership,” said Ed Schriever, Chairman of the National Fish Habitat Board. “The Waters to Watch campaign provides people an opportunity to learn about the on-the-ground work of our partnerships across the country.”

Annually, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides both funding and technical assistance to the 20 Fish Habitat Partnerships across the country to aid in implementing aquatic conservation projects nationwide. The work of the National Fish Habitat Partnership is also supported broadly by many federal, state, local agencies and conservation organizations.

Learn more about the National Fish Habitat Partnership, partner projects happening across the U.S., and how to get involved on our Partnerships page; by visiting the following website: http://www.fishhabitat.org/the-partnerships/.
The 2021 Waters to Watch list and associated Fish Habitat Partnerships:

• Applegate Watershed, Oregon – Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative
• Bear Creek, Wisconsin – Driftless Area Restoration Effort (Retrospective Project - 2012)
• Beaver Lake, Arkansas – Reservoir Fish Habitat Partnership
• Buckhorn Ranch Alum Fork River Saline River, Arkansas – Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership
• Cannon River Watershed (Heath, Rice, and Wolf Creeks), Minnesota – Fishers & Farmers Partnership
• Eklutna River, Alaska – Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership
• Holly Creek, Georgia – Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership
• Jordan Creek, Alaska – Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership
• Lawrence Creek, California – California Fish Passage Forum
• Monatiquot River, Massachusetts – Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership

For more information on project maps and descriptions of the “Waters to Watch” list for 2021, Visit: https://www.fishhabitat.org//waters-to-watch/archive/2021

Visit the “Waters to Watch” page on our website to view our archived projects: http://www.fishhabitat.org/waters-to-watch/archive

Visit http://assessment.fishhabitat.org/, to use our interactive habitat data mapper, supported by USGS.

About the National Fish Habitat Partnership:
Since 2006, the National Fish Habitat Partnership has supported 1,115 projects benefiting fish habitat in all 50 states. The National Fish Habitat Partnership works to conserve fish habitat nationwide, leveraging federal, state, tribal, and private funding resources to achieve the greatest impact on fish populations through priority conservation projects of 20 regionally-based Fish Habitat Partnerships.