Transcript McGraw, K. A. - South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium

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.
Topics
● What is NFHAP?
● Why is it important?
● How does it work?
● Science and Data Team – Assessment
Tool
● How you can be involved
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
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.”
And shellfish
The Plan
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
http://www.fishhabitat.org
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
The Concept
●Local projects
●Regional strategies
and priorities
●National attention
and funding
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
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.
Developing
and
Implementing
an Assessment Tool
(NFHAP Science and Data Team)
Historic View of “Habitat”
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.
Implementing the NFHAP
Assessement Tool
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
Three Geographic Subdivisions
Inland
Coastal
Marine
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
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
Examples—Inland
Classification Variables
Regional geology
Landforms
Regional drainage patterns
Biota
Climate
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.)
Focus on Key
Processes
(Emergent Properties)
Connectivity
Hydrology
Channel and Bottom Form
Material Recruitment
Water Quality
Energy Flow in Aquatic Communities
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 (?)
Individual variables
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
WWF Freshwater Ecoregions
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)
NFH Assessment
Spatial Extents
WWF Ecoregions (45)
Catchments
(2,595,196)
TNC Ecological Drainage Units (EDUs) (244)
edutnc052907_lower48
Urban
Land Use
finalscorequatile5.urbanscor
- 20%
10 very
low
- 40%
221low
- 60%
341medium
- 80%
461high
581very
high
- 100%
no
NoEDUs
EDUs
edutnc052907_lower48
Agricultural
Land Use
finalscorequatile5.agricultur
- 20%
10very
low
- 40%
221
low
- 60%
341
medium
- 80%
461
high
581
very
high
- 100%
no
NoEDUs
EDUs
Anthropogenic Disturbances by EDU
edutnc052907_lower48
finalscorequatile5.total
1Very
verylow
low
2Low
low
3Medium
medium
4High
high
5Very
veryHigh
high
NoEDUs
EDUs
no
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Urban
Cattle
Mines
Agriculture
Population
Road density
Total P yield
Imperviousness
Results at Different Spatial
Watersheds in
Extents
Cape Fear River
- Piedmont EDU
WWF Freshwater Ecoregions
EDUs in
Appalachian Piedmont
Ecological Region Layer
Coastal Assessment
Framework
North Atlantic Coastal Watersheds
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
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
CAF Data Examples
●Shellfish growing areas –
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
Middle Atlantic Watersheds
Land Use—Great South Bay
Avg. Annual Nitrogen and Phosphorous
loads in Chesapeake Bay Watershed
(point source discharges—kg/yr)
Development
Pressure Around the
Chesapeake Bay
(and a 40% increase
projected for 2003 2008
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
Best Theoretical Possible
0
Best Currently Available
Series of sub-scores that can be improved on
100
Help – find your niche
http://fishhabitat.org
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.,
Finis
Oympia oysters
by
Cory and Catska Ench,
Port Angeles, WA