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With partners, protect, conserve, and restore aquatic resources including habitats throughout
the Southeast, for the continuing benefit, use, and enjoyment of the American people. |
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| Welcome to the On-line Newsletter! |
December 2008 |
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Greetings!
The Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership would like to welcome you to our electronic newsletter. This newsletter will be produced quarterly to bring you news, events, important updates on projects in the region, and new restoration tools and information. With this new format we hope to keep our partners and members better informed as we continue our work to protect, conserve and restore our Southeastern aquatic resources.
Let us know what you think and send us your ideas for future articles by e-mail to scott_robinson@dnr.state.ga.us.
Sincerely,
Scott Robinson
SARP Coordinator
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 TWRA Director Myers
to Retire in 2009
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Director Gary Myers recently announced his retirement effective March 1, 2009. This will be a sad day not only for the agency and its staff but also for everyone involved in SARP. Gary has supported and participated in the building of SARP from the late 1990s. In fact, he mentored the group in developing the current partnership approach and habitat plan implementation based on his experiences in helping to build the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. No one involved in that process will ever forget his chiding us to "Establish the targets. Don't forget the targets!" both local and regional.
He is the longest serving state wildlife director in the country with over 30 years of service. No small fete considering he has served at "the discretion of the commission" the entire time. His attention has always been directed to the big picture and he has helped shape many national and international wildlife policies during his tenure. Mr. Myers has also been instrumental in the development of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, and he has served as the southeastern states representative on the National Fish Habitat Board since the Board's inception in 2006.
During his career he has received many well-deserved awards and accolades, both national and regional, but nothing is more meaningful to those of us involved in SARP than the appreciation we all feel for his support and guidance during the formative years of SARP. |
 Project Profile: Buck Creek Restoration
The Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resource (KDFWR) received a National Fish Habitat Initiative grant from SARP in the fall of 2007 for a project on Buck Creek, a Cumberlandian stream in Pulaski County, Kentucky. Buck Creek is a watershed identified in Kentucky's Comprehensive Wildlife Action Strategy (2005) as a priority conservation area in Kentucky. The overall goal is to tailor existing stream restoration efforts to benefit over eleven species of fish and mussels including sport fish, federally listed endangered species, and sensitive species in Buck Creek.
A group of six interested agencies and organization were brought together by The Nature Conservancy to focus separate restoration interests and funding along a 1.3 mile section of Buck Creek, its tributaries, the adjacent floodplain, and adjacent wetlands. Project contributors include The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Pulaski County Soil & Water Conservation District, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources.
This group of agencies and organizations are restoring streams, riparian zones, wetlands, and native vegetation along Buck Creek and its tributaries on an approximately 260-acre tract of land owned by The Nature Conservancy. When completed the group expects to have restored approximately 60 acres of wetlands, 6,000 feet of headwater tributaries, and over 1.3 miles of Buck Creek proper.
Physical habitat requirement specific to target species are also being gathered in Cumberlandian streams where target species exist in good numbers. This data will then be used in the restoration efforts of the project partners to address the specific requirements of the target species needs.
Project partners began restoration work during the winter 2007-08 on two headwater tributaries to Buck Creek. Additional work is now underway on another headwater tributary. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet completed the first phase of construction on two tributaries to Buck Creek. The Kentucky Stream Mitigation Fund (KDFWR) is picking up where KYTC funding stopped to complete the restoration of one headwater tributary. The SARP funded portion of the project is over 30% complete. Restoration work on Buck Creek proper to occur will rely on information gathered from the SARP project.
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National Fish Habitat Action Plan Brief Join the Movement
SARP is one of six official Fish Habitat Partnerships (FHP) under the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. You can show your support for the Plan, and receive e-mail updates of news and current events related to NFHAP, by joining the Partner Coalition. The Partner Coalition was created when NFHAP took shape in 2006, since then the National Fish Habitat Action Plan has gathered support from over 500-plus member agencies and individuals separated into categories of: Federal/Tribal, Interstate/State/City/University and Private/NGO. Stay informed and support the Partner Coalition by joining at www.fishhabitat.org.
NFHAP Board Update
The National Fish Habitat Action Plan Board met most recently in October and discussed amongst other items the introduction of The National Fish Habitat Conservation Act of 2008 Legislation in both the Congress and Senate.
Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Christopher Bond (R-MO), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), and George Voinovich (R-OH), introduced the bill in the Senate on September 24, 2008 and Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI-3rd) Wisconsin and Congressman Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD-1st) (co-sponsor), introduced a similar National Fish Habitat Conservation Act of 2008 bill, to Congress on September 26, 2008.
No Action was taken on either bill in 2008, but supporters of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan are confident of reintroduction of the legislation in 2009. For more information on The National Fish Habitat Conservation Act of 2008, visit www.fishhabitat.org
Call for Nominations
The National Fish Habitat Annual Awards honor exceptional individuals or partner entities who have demonstrated a commitment to fish habitat conservation, science, or education. The awards celebrate those who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication, innovation or excellence in aquatic resource conservation. National Fish Habitat Awardees show how individuals can and do make a difference.
Awards will be made annually on the basis of nominations submitted by Fish Habitat Partnerships and the hundreds of organizations that make up the Partners Coalition. From the nominations submitted by Partnerships and the Coalition, the National Fish Habitat Board will then select several of the most meritorious for these nationally recognized awards. Honorable mentions may be made. Deadline for submissions is January 16, 2009.
NFHAP Awards Nomination Form (MS word document)
NFHAP Awards Guidelines (PDF) |
Examples of SARP Collaborative Efforts to Protect, Conserve and Restore Our Aquatic Resources:
Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plans
Since 2004, the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) has invested time and money in the development of Aquatic Nuisance Species management plans for each of its member states. Most of these states plans are now complete, but due to federal and state funding limitations, all states are struggling with invasive species management. However, ANS management plans also can be a catalyst for research and development of partnerships throughout the SARP region. In the Southeast, collaboration among multiple experts - or collaboration between agencies in multiple states - to address a problem related to aquatic nuisance species has begun. For example, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana worked together this year to control giant salvinia in a lake on their common borders. While it may be difficult right now to secure federal funding to address ANS management plans directly, there are many opportunities to implement your ANS plans collaboratively with other SARP partners in the region. Continued integration of the management plans and collaboration among partners will yield more benefits. For more information, contact the ANS coordinator in your state.
Instream Flow Network
Rivers require adequate water flows, known as instream flows, to sustain all depending upon them. Throughout the past two centuries, natural flows in most of the rivers in the southeast region have been altered, affecting people and aquatic systems. Protective instream flow policies are needed throughout the region and their importance is addressed in the recently published Southeast Aquatic Habitat Plan. To meet this need, SARP secured funding in partnership with The Nature Conservancy for the Southeast Instream Flow Network (SIFN). SIFN is a combination of stakeholders associated with aquatic ecosystems and water policy in each of the region's 15 states. This summer, SIFN conducted the first of three annual workshops for over 55 stakeholders. Currently, at least one person in each southeastern state is actively pursuing SIFN protective flow study and policy, and the network is linked by email and telephone. It will be working on regional outreach in 2009. For more information, contact Mary Davis, SIFN Technical Advisor (mary.davis@tnc.org) or Marilyn O'Leary, SIFN Coordinator (moleary@mbolcomm.com).
NOAA CRP Projects
In it's continued effort to seek a unified approach to aquatic resource management in the region, SARP and the NOAA Coastal Restoration Program joined together to fund restoration projects by community stakeholders in the priority areas of the Altamaha and Roanoke watersheds. Three projects are currently underway and each is making progress locally and regionally. In the Altamaha watershed, artificial cultch was installed near oyster beds that had been damaged and degraded by barge traffic. Preliminary examination of the area gave state officials strong indication that this project will result in new oyster reef development. In Jockey's Ridge State Park, the North Carolina Coastal Federation will replant marsh grasses and re-establish patch oyster reefs in the Roanoke watershed over the next few months. The restoration will provide barriers to the wind and wave erosion that initially destroyed the marsh. The SARP-NOAA partnership is seeking information on possible coastal restoration needs along the entire southeastern coastline. Contact Marilyn Barrett-O'Leary, project administrator at 225-892-7470 or moleary@mbolcomm.com.
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SARP Steering Committee Meets in Nashville
The steering committee for SARP met November 13-14, 2008, at the Ellington Agricultural Center in Nashville, TN. The group met for two full days of discussion and to enjoy presentations about new projects and studies going on in our region. Presentations included a demonstration by Jean Freeney, manager of the NBII's Southern Appalachian Information Node, about their new web portal; Dr. Steven McNulty of the U.S. Forest Service on the effects of climate change on southeastern watersheds; and Steve Sammons findings on the effects of river discharge on the growth of redbreast sunfish. Steering committee members will be receiving a complete summary of the meetings discussion and events soon.
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