Goal 1
FOCAL AREA: BIOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY
Goal Statement: The biological integrity of ecosystems that support healthy fish habitat are protected, maintained, or restored.
The purpose of this goal is to promote sustainable watersheds through ecosystem management which includes the long term health of local communities and their economics. Ecosystem management is an integrated approach to management that considers the entire ecosystem, including humans. The goal of ecosystem based management is to maintain an ecosystem in a healthy, productive and resilient condition. Ecosystem based management differs from current approaches that usually focus on a single species, sector, activity or concern; it considers the cumulative impacts of different sectors
Objectives
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Establish a prioritized list of ecological & social indices, benchmarks for ecosystems that support healthy fish habitat
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Obtain and summarize existing ecosystem models to define which models offer the best opportunity for use in the study area
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Contract with experts in the field of ecosystem management to prepare a list of ecosystem indices/metrics and model options.
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Select a high priority watershed to develop and test an ecosystem modeling approach
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Define the information and data requirements for refinement of model outputs.
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Establish a risk assessment model that evaluates threats and prioritizes restoration efforts of fish habitat
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Establish a formal mathematical approach to risk analysis for a high priority watershed.
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Test and refine the model results based on an adaptive management approach
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Create a report on ecosystem health that supports fish habita
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Implement recommendations of report
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Comprehend the amount of consumptive use of natural resources that allow aquatic ecosystem function and sustainability to be maintained
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Near term - create a prioritized list of ready projects that support healthy fish habitat.
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Fish Passage
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Habitat restoration
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Wastewater treatment facilities
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Removal of Invasive Species