On Tuesday, October 25^th, representatives from prominent government agencies, universities, non-profit organizations, and private industry (including SARP, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), EPA Gulf of Mexico Program, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD), Arkansas Game and Fish, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Geologic Survey, Oklahoma Game and Fish, Gulf Coast Plains and Ozarks LCC, Southeast Watershed Forum, South Atlantic LCC, Mississippi Dept. of Marine Resources, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, Georgia Power, University of Georgia, Auburn University, South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources) gathered for SARP’s fall Steering Committee meeting.  Other guests included John Frampton, National Fish Habitat Partnership Board member from the SARP region, and Gary Myers, former Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Director, and the visionary behind SARP.  This meeting, held in association with the Southeastern Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies’ 65^th annual workshop, SEAFWA 2011 at the Sheraton Music City in Nashville, TN, afforded an excellent opportunity for Steering Committee Members, Partners, and other interested parties to learn more about the current work that SARP and its partners are doing in the region. 

Highlights of updates on SARP activities and programs included the following:

 

National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) Update – Scott Robinson (SARP), Linda Kelsey (USFWS and SARP) and John Frampton (SC DNR and NFHP Board Member)

 

Discussion around the revised funding plan for Fish Habitat Partnerships (FHPs) in NFHP is ongoing.  

 

 SARP Update –Multi-state Conservation Grant Program – Scott Robinson (SARP)

 

SARP, in partnership with ACFHP and Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, will receive a new Multistate Conservation Grant for the three fish habitat partnerships to implement their NFHAP activities.  SARP is wrapping up an ongoing Multi-state Conservation Grant project and will be hosting a fish habitat symposium in January 2012 in Biloxi, MS in conjunction with the American Fisheries Society (AFS). 

 

SARP Updates – Activities with Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) – Scott Robinson, Emily Watson (SARP)

 

There are several LCCs active within the SARP region. SARP’s goal has been to integrate activities with them. SARP is continuing to work with the LCCs in the Ohio Basin on a habitat assessment of the Tennessee/Cumberland/Ohio River Basin.  SARP participates on the Partnership Advisory and Communications Committee of the South Atlantic LCC, the Partnership Advisory Committee of the Gulf Coast Plains and Ozarks LCC, the Interim Steering Committee of the Appalachian LCC, the Steering Committee of the Gulf Coast Prairies LCC, and has attended the first meeting of a Peninsular Florida LCC.  SARP needs additional science capacity and SARP has science to share.  This involvement provides good collaboration for the region.

 

SARP/NFHP/USFWS Funding Opportunities for 2012 - Tripp Boltin (USFWS)

 

In 2011, USFWS funded eight projects directly under the NFHAP label.  It also partnered on two projects with Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, on one with ACFHP, and on one with Gulf Coast Plains LCC.  SARP has received 35 proposals in response to the FY2012 Request For Proposals.  Grant proposals are under review and will be awarded once federal budget allocations are finalized.

 

Native Black Bass Initiative Update – Joe Slaughter (Georgia Power), Tim Birdsong (TPWD) and Scott Robinson (SARP)

 

A book that will be published by AFS will record a three-day symposium on native black bass at this year’s Southern Division AFS meeting.  A meeting about shoal bass on the Chattahoochee River was held recently to gather those with interest and expertise on this species, its native range and life history.  They hope to follow the template developed by the pilot project on Guadeloupe bass in Texas. 

 

Summer wildfires and storms have affected the progress Guadalupe bass restoration efforts in Texas this summer, but these crises have provided learning opportunities, such as working with landowners on best management practices for wildfire.  Progress continues on the pilot project with signage on the black bass and proposed hiking and paddling trails on a pristine portion of the Llano River.

 

NOAA Community-based Restoration Program (CRP) Update – Mark Sramek (NOAA) and Marilyn O’Leary (SARP)

 

Through the funding of a series of small-scale restoration projects through SARP partnerships along the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, SARP has now had an impact on much of the region.  More broad-scale coastal and estuarine restoration is taking place as a result of this project coverage.

 

SARP Communications – Lindsay Gardner (SARP)

 

In addition to its quarterly electronic newsletter, SARP now publishes a monthly Latest News Update and now has a presence on Facebook.  SARP will also publish, SARP’s 2011 Year In Review, a summary of its key program areas and accomplishments, at the end of the year.

 

Special presentations included the following:

 

·         Native Fish Conservation Areas by Fred Harris (Fisheries Conservation Foundation)

 

·         Habitat Conservation Workshops for Local Governments by Christine Olsenius (Southeast Watershed Forum)

 

·         Aquatic Habitat Connectivity Regional Review by Duncan Elkins (University of Georgia)

 

·         Structured Decision Making: Fisheries Management and Fish Habitat Conservation Applications by Elise Irwin (Auburn University)

 

For more information on any of the aforementioned activities, programs or projects, please contact SARP Coordinator, Scott Robinson, at scottr@southeastaquatics.net or 404-783-5241.