SARP's Latest News Update
TNC and SARP Host Georgia Aquatic Connectivity Team Meeting
The Georgia Aquatic Connectivity Team (ACT), co-led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and SARP, is working to reconnect Georgia rivers and streams through the removal of fish passage barriers. The GA ACT has over 40 potential dams that it hopes to target in the coming years, and will be moving into culvert remediation working with partners like the Department of Transportation (DOT) and several county governments. The GA ACT held a successful meeting on September 27th, 2016 at the GA Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Go Fish Center in Perry, Georgia. This meeting, which involved over 40 participants from all sectors, included presentations on current and future projects, the initiation of a permitting/regulatory committee, as well as further development of a team charter.
To learn more about SARP's aquatic connectivity work, contact Kat Hoenke, SARP's Spatial Ecologist at kat@southeastaquatics.net or (484)-354-6453
Calling All Experts - Join a SARP Workgroup
Check Out the Restoration of the Mulberry River!
This summer, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) captured some fantastic footage capturing the beauty and restoration of the Mulberry River in Oark, Arkansas. Part of the nationally-recognized Cathie Brown Steambank Stabilization and Habitat Restoration Project, this work is made possible through a partnership with AGFC, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cathie Brown, Clarksville Chamber of Commerce - Johnson County Development Foundation, Johnson County, and Oark Public School, and support from the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership.
To learn more about this exciting project, which was one of the National Fish Habitat Partnership's 2016 "10 Waters to Watch" click here.
View the video here.
New - Safe Passage for Migratory Fish in the Southeast Video
The rivers and streams of the southeastern U.S. host North America's richest diversity of fish and other aquatic species, yet many of these river systems have long been blocked and fragmented by dams, road crossings and other barriers.
A recently-released video titled, "Safe Passage for Migratory Fish in the Southeast" highlights how The Nature Conservancy and its partners are working to remove these barriers, and provide safer passage for the migratory fish of this globally unique region. This video features Nature Conservancy scientists Katie Owens and Paul Freeman. Click here to view the video.
River Network Releases Report on Instream Flows
To address the range of threats to river flows in the southeast, River Network has published a new report, "Protecting and Restoring Flows in Our Southeastern Rivers: A Synthesis of State Policies for Water Security and Sustainability" that covers a comprehensive set of policies including the scientific foundations of water budgets, supply management and flow protection, demand management, and the management of the built environment.
The report synthesizes the status of state policies in five Southeastern states - Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee - and offers recommendations and models for how these policies can be strengthened.