History
The Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) was formed in 2001 around a vision of healthy and diverse aquatic ecosystems supporting public use. The founders, all with some responsibility for fishery management in the Southeast, saw the value of agencies and organizations working together to effectively meet the region’s aquatic resource management and conservation challenges on a landscape scale. Since formation, many groups with similar concerns have become SARP partners. SARP was one of the first regional partnerships to be recognized as an official partnership of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.  A fact sheet provides more information.

Management
In SARP, decisions are made by the steering committee, primarily by consensus. Input is welcomed from all partners, issue area work groups, committees, and advisors.

A full time coordinator (Scott Robinson), project manager (Marilyn Barrett-O’Leary), GIS Technician (Emily Watson), and Communications Coordinator (Lindsay Gardner) provide staff support for the steering committee.

Work groups, typically co-chaired by two members of the steering committee, are responsible for defining and refining tasks and targets for population and habitat management goals. Activities are funded through partners’ annual contributions and grants. 

SARP facilitates projects at multiple levels, guided by the objectives and priorities of the Southeast Aquatic Habitat Plan, the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, the NOAA Community-based Restoration Program, the National Instream Flow Council’s strategic plan, and the partner states’ Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies.

SARP maintains close collaboration with two regional organizations having similar missions -- Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Southeastern Natural Resource Leaders Group.  Although some of the members of these two organizations are SARP partners, frequent collaboration ensures efficient conservation efforts and maximum leverage of resources in the region.