The Russian River in northern California was selected as a Habitat Focus Area in 2013, to focus expertise, resources, and actions to maximize benefits to marine resources.
NOAA's Habitat Blueprint provides a forward-looking framework to think and act strategically across NOAA programs and with partner organizations to address the growing challenge of coastal and marine habitat loss and degradation. Increasing the effectiveness of our efforts, our main outcomes of the Habitat Blueprint include sustainable and abundant fish populations, recovered threatened and endangered species, protection of coastal and marine habitats at risk, resilient coastal communities, and increased coastal/marine tourism, access, and recreation.
The Russian River in northern California was selected as a Habitat Focus Area in 2013, to focus expertise, resources, and actions to maximize benefits to marine resources. Our objectives for the Russian River Habitat Focus Area are to:
Learn more about our NOAA-wide collaborations and efforts to achieve these objectives below.
Russian River Biological Opinion: In 2008, NOAA Fisheries drafted a biological opinion under the Endangered Species Act to address the impacts of water supply, flood control, and channel maintenance in the Russian River on ESA-listed fish. The biological opinion provides a 15-year blueprint to help protect and conserve endangered fish and ensure a reliable water supply within the Russian River watershed.
NOAA Fisheries works with many partners throughout the West Coast to carry out multiple habitat conservation efforts, projects, and objectives in the Russian River watershed.
An oceanic whitetip shark swims near the surface of the water. Photo courtesy of John Carlson.
Veteran intern Antonio Jones at an oyster farm in Drayton Harbor, Washington, checking traps for European Invasive Green Crab. Credit: Northwest Straits Commission
