News

PMEP is pleased to announce the following projects have been selected for funding through the National Fish Habitat Partnership.  These projects represent important conservation priorities of PMEP.  $192,817 has been awarded to the partnership through the Fish and Aquatic Conservation Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the following five projects:

• Seestrom Tidelands Restoration Project
• Columbia-Pacific Passage, Hungry Harbor Restoration
• Neskowin Fish Passage Improvement Project
• Enhancement of Olympia oysters to provide heterogeneous habitat for fish and invertebrates
• A regional scale assessment of fish habitat along the nearshore of greater Puget Sound

Read more about these and other PMEP funded project here.

PMEP-supported Bear River Estuary Restoration is included in the National Fish Habitat Partnership list of “Waters to Watch” for 2020. 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 2012  National Fish Habitat Action Plan. These conservation projects conserve freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats essential to many fish and wildlife species. These activities are fundamental to the overall success of the National Fish Habitat Partnership that was established in 2006.

“The projects, which focus on the protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish habitats across the country, are a sampling of the top priorities of our partnerships,” said Ed Schriever, Chair of the National Fish Habitat Board. “The Waters to Watch campaign provides people an opportunity to learn about our projects in a more in-depth way, which exemplifies collaborative conservation involving many partners.”

The 2020 “Waters to Watch” list and associated Fish Habitat Partnerships

1. Bear River Estuary, Washington (Retrospective) – Pacific Marine and Estuarine Partnership
2. Boone River Watershed, Iowa (Retrospective) – Fishers and Farmers Partnership
3. Chipola River, Florida (Retrospective) – Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership
4. Deep Creek Town Diversion and Warner Basin, Oregon (Retrospective) – Western Native Trout Initiative
5. Maunalua Bay, Hawai’i – Hawai’i Fish Habitat Partnership
6. Minsi Lake, Pennsylvania – Reservoir Fish Habitat Partnership
7. San Juan and Santiago Watersheds, California – California Fish Passage Forum
8. San Luis Obispo Creek, California – Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative
9. Shoshone Springs, California (Retrospective) – Desert Fish Habitat Partnership
10. Tularosa River, New Mexico – Desert Fish Habitat Partnership

PMEP welcomes Bree Yednock, Reserve Manager at the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), to its Steering Committee. Bree has been the Reserve Manager at the South Slough NERR since 2018 after serving as the Reserve’s Lead Scientist and Research Coordinator for four years. Before coming to the reserve, she worked for more than 15 years in the fields of science education and research at various non-profits, academic institutions, and agencies in Oregon, Maryland, Georgia, Maine, and Washington. Her research background ranges from field ecology to molecular biology and includes projects related to population genetics of fishery species, environmental adaptation in marine organisms, and estuarine habitat use of fish and invertebrates. She holds a PhD in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Louisiana, a MS in Coastal Marine and Wetland Studies from Coastal Carolina University, and a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon.