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Fisheries Program


USDA Forest Service Agency
Wide Fisheries Accomplishments 2021

 

Please find the fisheries accomplishment summary, Forest Service-wide and by Regions, for Forest Service fiscal year 2021. We are pleased to share it with you because it is really a celebration what we’ve been able to do together for the land (and water and aquatic critters) and people for which we care. We also hope this serves as a respite from current events, as well as a reminder of the power of working together to solve problems.

Total Accomplishments
-Streams Enhanced/Restored:        2,389 miles
-Lakes Enhanced/Restored:             37,097 acres

 

Aquatic Connectivity
-Total # of Miles Reconnected:              261
-Total AOP Projects:                                 191
-AOPs at Road Stream Crossings           179
-Dam structures removed/restored:      6

 

Generating Social & Economic Impact
-Economic Impact from Rec Fishing(2020 data): 9,085,192 Annual Visits, $1.275 Billion in economic output to local communities, 7,870 jobs sustained, and $675 Million contributed to GDP.
-Commercial Salmon Fishery from Alaskan NFs (2020 data): $59,226,428 in dockside value of commercial salmon harvest
-Youth fishing events on/near NFS water: 17
(this year was less than 10% of our typical total due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic)

 

Native Fish & Aquatic Species
-Total # projects benefitting ESA listed threatened or endangered species: 376

Partnerships
-USFS $ Expenditures:                   $54.3 Million
-Partnership $ Leveraged:            $43.1 Million
-Days of Volunteer Activities for fisheries and aquatic           
resources on/near NFS land:
              544

-Audience reached or engaged in aquatics related
outreach & education events:
       10,192, 987

 

-Key Partners: Many State Departments of Fish & Wildlife, Hoonah Indian Association, Trout Unlimited, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Federal Highway Department, States Depts. of Transportation, Army Corps of Engineers, Local watershed groups, county and municipal governments, private landowners and ranchers, and numerous tribal agencies

 

Research Accomplishments
-Research Topics by our regional research stations:
•Initiated evaluations of mussel health and causes of mussel decline across 13 eastern states (SRS)
• Led first ever MT statewide crayfish survey (SRS)
•In 2021 added 4,108 samples and 7,424 analyses to the Aquatic eDNAtlasDatabase, bringing the total to 16,997 samples/26,866 analyses for 72 species (RMRS)
•Completed validation of 14 additional species-specific assays (RMRS)

 

Photos and captions of the Tongass National Forest, American Fisheries Society, and Shoshone National Forest
 

 

Washington Office Headquarters Contact:
Kimberly Conley, National Fish Program Leader Kimberly.Conley@usda.gov 505-260-340
Nathaniel Gillespie, Assistant National Fish Program Leader, nathaniel.gillespie@usda.gov, (202) 697-1055

 

Videos

Gettin' Families Fishin' from Into the Outdoors on Vimeo

The Tongass National Forest’s ongoing collaboration with the Hoonah Native Forest Partnership restoring salmon streams in Southeast Alaska

https://www.fs.usda.gov/es/node/42319