Board recognized March, 2009

The Hawaii Fish Habitat Partnership is composed of a diverse group of partners that plan and implement a technically sound statewide aquatic habitat restoration program with a special focus on inland waters including streams, wetlands, and estuaries. Our partners include local watershed coalitions; private landowners who seek to establish sustainable aquatic resource management practices on their lands; federal and State aquatic resource agencies; and Native Hawaiian groups that seek to preserve aquatic resources as a cultural and natural resource legacy. The Hawaii Fish Habitat Partnership was recognized by the Board in March 2009.

Alteration of aquatic habitat has affected the structure and function of many streams, estuaries, and coastal marine water across the Hawaiian Islands. Widespread impacts include physical alteration of stream channels, degradation of water quality, water withdrawals, and introduction of non-native species. A critical management goal is the removal of migration barriers to allow fish passage between upper watersheds and the sea.

The Hawaiian Islands is one of the most geographically isolated island chains in the world. A strong partnership focus is on perennial streams located on the five largest Hawaiian Islands. These stream ecosystems support remarkable native communities of fish and invertebrates. All of Hawaii’s larger stream-dwelling species are diadromous. Their life cycle requires downstream dispersal of larvae to the sea, and each returning individual must complete an arduous upstream migration back to suitable stream habitat.

The partnership is implementing a strategic plan with a focus on the restoration of streams, estuaries, and coastal marine habitats. The long-term vision is to protect, restore, and manage native aquatic species and habitats in sufficient quantity and quality to allow these species to thrive. The partnership is committed to implementing aquatic habitat restoration in the appropriate landscape scale to achieve conservation benefits. The partnership also seeks to support the development of suitable technical capacity to collect, manage, and disseminate information needed to guide effective conservation programs.

Contact

Gordon Smith
Coordinator
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
gordon_smith@fws.gov