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Fishwatch

manual cover Freshwater Snorkeling Program Manual is the 2021 update to the original tool kit, with best practices and protocols for implementing an immersive, water-based learning experience in your nearest clear, freshwater stream.

Download Freshwater Snorkeling Manual .


toolkit cover Freshwater Snorkeling Toolkit is a step-by-step guide to setting up a snorkeling program on any clear stream, based on twenty-years of successful underwater biodiversity explorations on the Conasauga River in Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee. Submerge new audiences in an unforgettable underwater experience and learn the value of protected watersheds!

Download Snorkeling Tool Kit .


curriculum cover Freshwater Snorkeling Curriculum prepares teachers and students for their capstone field trip, underwater in a clear stream. Uses science standards-based activities for the classroom and outdoors, produced in partnership with the North Bay Educational Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service NatureWatch Program.


Fresh Water Live FreshWaterLIVE – A Distance Learning Adventure is a free, comprehensive online educational journey about America’s freshwater – where it comes from, our dependence on it, and how we can help conserve it.  Learning tools target educators and students in Grades 4-9 to understand freshwater and aquatic ecosystems, and explore the watershed in our own backyards through a website, webcasts, webinars and online resources:  www.fsnaturelive.org and FSNatureLive on Facebook.

Natural Inquirer Science JournalFreshwater Edition (2015, Vol. 18, No. 1)  Freshwater-themed science journal for youth focused on research conducted by Forest Service scientists:

These films were produced by Freshwaters Illustrated (http://www.freshwatersillustrated.org) in collaboration with the Forest Service: 

Your Best Waters video describes how the USDA Forest Service manages habitat for 220,000 miles of America’s fishable streams and rivers, along with 10 million acres of fishable lakes and reservoirs. Produced by Freshwaters Illustrated (6:45min).

A Deeper Creek (2015)highlights one of Nation’s most innovative freshwater river snorkeling programs on the Cherokee National Forest that immerses local and city children in the aquatic environment.

The Last Dragons (2015)introduces the mysterious and rare hellbender - the continent’s largest salamander – highlighting its recent, unsettling decline and educational efforts to better understand and protect these ancient sentinels of high water quality.

Bringing Back the Brook: Revival of the South’s Trout (2015)highlights Forest Service and partner efforts to re-introduce Southern Appalachian Brook Trout to creeks where they have long been extirpated into now pristine National Forest streams.

Upriver (2016) features the story of the Willamette River and the diverse efforts by communities to restore water quality and aquatic life and habitat from source to sea.  It documents the ecosystem restoration efforts on the Willamette National Forest, specifically the watershed restoration and reintroduction of Bull Trout to the Clackamas and McKenzie Rivers.

  • Water From the Mountain(2017) about the aquatic biodiversity flowing from El Yunque National Forest and produced with support from Forest Service Research, Southeast Region, and in cooperation with the Luquillo Long Term Experimental Research Site.

Urban Kids Fishing DerbyNational Fishing Days and Derbies:  More than 150 National Fishing Day events are hosted on National Forests each June, introducing fishing to thousands of young people and families. Urban Kids Fishing Derbies are hosted annually in Atlanta, GA, Kansas City, KS, Washington DC, Kansas City, MO, Portland, OR, and Los Angeles, CA in partnership with the Future Angler Foundation (FAF), National Professional Anglers Association, and Urban American Outdoors.

state fish art contestState Fish Art Contest This nationwide contest is now in its 20th year educating kids, teachers and parents on aquatic resources, conservation and each state’s State-Fish.

World Fish Migration Day (April 21, 2018) - The World Fish Migration Day is a one day global-local event to create awareness on the importance of open rivers and migratory fish. Resources and free posters are available in four languages.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/naturewatch/fishwatch.php