National Fish Habitat Action Plan

Chalk Creek supports an extensive, connected Bonneville cutthroat trout population, which occupies approximately 111 miles of contiguous stream habitat. Two on-channel ponds on a tributary to the South Fork of Chalk Creek were constructed in the 1950’s and have fragmented another 1.6 miles of occupied habitat.

Although on-channel ponds are generally considered deleterious to native fish populations, these two ponds were viewed as being potentially beneficial. For example, no lacustrine habitat occurs within the Chalk Creek drainage, and these ponds provide an opportunity for a portion of the population to exhibit high growth rates in ideal conditions. These ponds also provide a potential source of fish population expansion efforts within the upper Weber River Subbasin.

The Ohio River Basin Fish Habitat Partnership was formed to protect, restore, and enhance priority habitat for fish and mussels in the watersheds of the Ohio River Basin.  We pursue this mission for the benefit of the public, but what brings us to the table is as diverse as the basin itself.  Whether it is sport fish, mussels, imperiled fish, water quality, or one of many other drivers, what bonds us is the Basin and our desire to work together to protect, restore, and enhance her aquatic resources.

The partnership encompasses the entire 981 miles of the Ohio River mainstem (the second largest river in the U.S. as measured by annual discharge) and 143,550 square miles of the watershed.  A decision was made to exclude the Tennessee-Cumberland sub-basin to limit overlap with SARP.