Habitat Data Sharing

Habitat data are collected for a number of purposes: management and regulation of fish habitat, assessment of watershed health, and Clean Water Act applications. One important driver for the sharing of habitat data is the need of tribes and agencies at all levels to report on status and trends of fish and habitat and action effectiveness of restoration work at the project and watershed scales. In the Columbia River Basin, Federal Columbia River Power System BiOp reporting requirements are a specific and encompassing driver for monitoring. The Northwest Power and Conservation Council also looks to better understanding of fish habitat in the Columbia River Basin as part of their Fish and Wildlife Program. Region-wide, habitat is a limiting factor for many listed species and NOAA Fisheries requires habitat related data for fishery status assessments. Managers and data consumers are also interested in being able to quantify the effectiveness of habitat restoration actions at both the project and watershed scales and to be able to link these actions back to fish and other species.

For more information about this past project or specific events related to this project, please contact us at gs-pnamp_contact@usgs.gov.