Trout Unlimited works with our conservation partners to identify areas where protection and restoration can benefit not only trout and salmon, but also other fish, aquatic species and human communities. TU scientists were instrumental in developing the Native Fish Conservation Area concept, where watershed management is focused on the long-term persistence of native fish communities while allowing for compatible uses.
Native Fish Conservation Areas: Concept
Native Fish Conservation Areas are watersheds where management primarily emphasizes conservation and restoration of native fish and other aquatic species, and their habitats, while also managing compatible recreational and commercial uses. This introductory paper describing the concept of Native Fish Conservation Areas and why this broad-scale approach to conservation is an effective and sorely needed management tool in this day and age.
Native Fish Conservation Areas: Application
This report – NFCAs of the Southwest USA: facilitating landscape-scale conservation of aquatic habitats and freshwater fishes – highlights how the Native Fish Conservation Area concept is being used to deliver conservation in the southwest.
Upper Snake Basin Multi-species Aquatic Assessment
TU and the Federation of Fly Fishers identified potential Native Fish Conservation Areas in the Upper Snake River Basin of Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.
Montana Multi-species Aquatic Assessment
The Montana and northern Wyoming multispecies assessment provides science and data to help inform land management to protect and restore native fish diversity and aquatic habitats across the region.
Eastern Oregon Aquatic Restoration Decision Support Tool
This tool informs process-based restoration decisions across portions of the OR/WA BLM administrative domain.
The Desert Fish Habitat Partnership
The Desert Fish Habitat Partnership, along with its partner the Western Native Trout Initiative, uses multispecies aquatic assessments to highlight the conservation value of watersheds for native fishes within its focal geography that includes 11 states and 180 native fish species.
California Freshwater Conservation Blueprint
TU worked with partners in California to identify key watersheds for emphasizing aquatic conservation based on the location of native fish, amphibians, reptiles, and sensitive invertebrates.
Escalante River Aquatic Assessment
This document describes TU’s compilation of multi-species distribution information and habitat quality maps and outlines a roadmap of conservation strategies and restoration actions for the Escalante River in Utah.
California BLM Aquatic Assessments and Tools
TU modified its Conservation Success Index and Meadow Restoration Fish Assessment Tool to assist the Bureau of Land Management in California to identify key native aquatic species conservation strategies and evaluate proposed actions.