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This is the specific version of Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) that was used in the National Fish Habitat Partnership's 2015 National Assessment of Fish Habitat. No alterations were made to the data after download. Data and full metadata are attached. Users not interested in the National Fish Habitat Partnership's 2015 National Assessment of Fish Habitat are recommended to download the WBD from official access points hosted by the NRCS or USGS.
The Crystal Darter (Crystallaria asprella) requires large, clear-water streams with clean sand and gravel bottoms and moderate to swift currents. It is intolerant of siltation and other forms of pollution from various land use practices. Direct habitat degradation from damming, channelization, and dredging has also reduced habitat for this species. Remaining populations have become isolated from one another by dams and impoundments. The Mississippi River most likely no longer serves as a usable corridor for the Crystal Darter because of the silt load. The isolated local populations are then vulnerable to single destructive events such as toxic chemical spills.
Big Sauble River draining into Lake Michigan in Ludington, Michigan.
Key elements of the 2015 national assessment of stream fish habitats follow the 2010 assessment, including: 1) the idea that distributions and numbers fishes reflect the quality of habitat in which they live; and 2) human landscape factors pose a risk to the condition of stream habitat, and indirectly, to fishes. The 2015 inland stream assessments for the contiguous United States, Alaska, and Hawaii all followed five broad steps (Figure 1) that are described in detail below for the inland stream assessment for Alaska. Note that analytical details for the Alaska assessment differed in southeast Alaska as compared to the remainder of the state (referred to as greater Alaska) due to differences in the resolution of...
Accounting for natural variation With the exception of differences in spatial units, assessments for greater Alaska and southeast Alaska were conducted similarly across regions. Because stream fish assemblage data were not available for the state, no steps were taken to account for natural variation in stream habitats for either southeast or greater Alaska. This represents an important need for future work.
The Bering Cisco (Coregonus laurettae) is endemic to Alaska and is present primarily along the State’s west and north coasts. It is known to spawn in only three river systems – the Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Susitna Rivers. Genetic research indicates that each of these populations is distinct. The Bering Cisco has been observed to migrate more than 1,200 miles into freshwater streams to spawn. Unlike salmon, some of these fish survive spawning runs. Since this species is slow-growing but short-lived, it is highly vulnerable to alterations in stream flow or water quality and large-scale environmental disasters.
Partnerships - Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership, Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership, and Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership Removed four barriers that opened access to six mile of streams and restored 21 miles of streams to improve habitat for Eastern Brook Trout and other fish species. A shoreline restoration demonstration area was constructed near the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Visitors Center in North Carolina. Native vegetation was used to stabilize 175’ of shoreline to be used as a showcase for other lakeshore property owners. Planted 0.2 acres of tidal marsh and installed 0.1 acres of oyster reefs in Stump Sound, North Carolina. Also planted 0.15 acres...
Available data for the American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) indicate that, overall, there have been declines in recruitment, population, and escapement during three generations (36 years). A recent report indicated that barriers to migration (dams and weirs), passage through turbines at hydropower dams, habitat degradation or loss, and overharvest were likely the greatest threats by humans across the species’ range. Although eels are able to ascend many smaller barriers, recent studies have documented a tenfold reduction in eel density above each potentially passable barrier. For example, the number of juvenile eels migrating to Lake Ontario passing over hydropower dams fell from 935,000 in 1985 to approximately 8,000...
The habitats of the Southeast Atlantic states range from the mountains and uplands in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont areas in the western portion of this region to the Southeastern and Coastal Plains. Fish habitats in the higher elevation regions are typically fast-moving, clear, coldwater streams originating from seeps and springs, while warmwater rivers of the plains carry more organic material and sediment. This diversity of habitats along a very long period of stable geologic activity produces one of the most diverse assemblages of aquatic species in the nation. The Altamaha, Chattahoochee, Flint, Savannah, Catawba, Pee Dee, Broad, and Neuse are major rivers of the region. There are a large number of dams on waterways...
This item provides the ScienceBase query that identifies components of the fish habitat assessments within the Central Midwest States. It also contains a link to a configuration file that pulls these pieces of information into a logical order. This information can be accessed through the ScienceBase API to display a summary of fish habitat assessment information for the Central Mississippi River States.
State-wide data on fish populations were limited in Alaska for use in this assessment, as was a detailed spatial (mapping) framework that fully characterizes watersheds throughout the state at the time this assessment was conducted. Because of these factors, we modified our assessment methods to account for these limitations. Twenty-one landscape disturbance variables were assembled from medium-sized watersheds throughout the state (i.e., 12-digit hydrologic unit code watersheds). Variables were then assigned to one of six categories based on their disturbances to stream habitats. Categories include: urban land use, agricultural land use, point source pollution and water quality, barriers to fish movement, human...
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: 2015,
HowToReadUnderstand,
MethodSummary,
Methods
The Waccamaw Silverside (Menidia extensa) has a very limited distribution confined to Lake Waccamaw in North Carolina, a lake with neutral pH levels from underlying limestone formations in an area of acidic natural waters. This species is found in large schools and often over dark-colored substrates. Its limited habitat is threatened by nutrient loading caused by the runoff of organic matter and agricultural chemicals.
The Ironcolor Shiner (Notropis chalybaeus) is found in deep pool areas of creeks and small rivers and is often associated with aquatic vegetation. This species needs clear sandy areas for spawning. Populations of Ironcolor Shiner are in decline due to increased turbidity, siltation, and pollution.
In the mostly arid Southwestern United States, water availability (hydrology – a key fish habitat process), wildfires, and grazing intensity are important disturbances that are known to have major, negative effects on fish habitats. While this assessment indicated that many of the streams in this region are in good condition, a number of key habitat variables (i.e. water availability, wildlife frequency and intensity, and grazing intensity) could not be directly included in this assessment because national datasets of these disturbances and their measured variable are unavailable. Their absence from this assessment, along with absences of other disturbances, has likely produced an overestimation of habitat condition...
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: 2015,
RegionalSummary,
SouthwesternRegion,
SouthwesternStates
Table showing human and natural landscape factors used for the 2015 national assessment of stream fish habitat.
The Northeastern States contain over 17,000 dams with most built before 1910 for agricultural and industrial water power uses. A few have been built more recently for flood control, recreation, water supply, and energy generation. In many cases, the dams have outlived their expected life expectancy and use, but continue to block the passage of migratory fish species, such as American Shad, river herring, American Eel, Rainbow Smelt, and Atlantic Salmon, to and from their historic upstream spawning grounds. Additionally, the fragmentation of stream systems by dams have reduced Brook Trout populations in some locations. Progress is being made on this impairment as over 67 dams were removed during 2010 to 2014 in...
A. Pervasive disturbances: The most common disturbances based on total stream length in a given region. Top five overall most pervasive disturbances to all stream reaches, regardless of stream size and across all spatial scales (ranked highest first): Total excessive (anthropogenic or man caused) sediment yield Impervious surface cover Road crossing density Population density Pasture and hay land use Top three most pervasive disturbances to creeks (<100 km 2 watersheds) across all spatial scales : Total excessive sediment yield Impervious (hard) surface cover Road crossing density Top three most pervasive disturbances to rivers (>100 km 2 watersheds) across all spatial scales: Upstream dam density...
Lands within the watersheds of the Great Plains streams that are not used for crops are often used for cattle grazing and hay production. Northern Plains States are one of the nation’s top producers of cattle, which outnumber people almost three to one in North Dakota. Cattle can have direct habitat impacts by trampling stream banks, which destroys beneficial vegetation and increases sedimentation and nutrient loads. Hofmann and Ries (1991) found that livestock increased sediment runoff in North Dakota streams. Schepers and Francis (1982) reported that runoff from a Nebraska cattle farm increased total phosphorus levels in runoff by 37%. In addition, cattle watering ponds, often constructed by diverting streams,...
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: 2015,
HumanActivity,
NorthernPlainsRegion,
NorthernPlainsStates,
Pasture
Relative condition of fish habitat in streams of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico States. Histogram shows percentage of total stream length in each condition class.
The United States is home to more than 3,000 fish species and over 322 million people, and they all depend on the same water. Healthy aquatic resources are vital to the integrity of the United States and essential for sustainable fish populations. Unfortunately, in many places around the United States, fish and the habitats on which they depend are degraded or in decline. Almost 40 percent of the nation’s freshwater fish species are considered at risk or vulnerable to extinction. Habitat loss is the most common cause for extinction of freshwater fish in the United States over the past century, and many saltwater fish are also in decline due to habitat degradation. In 1997, Congress declared that one of the greatest...
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