About Us
The Desert Fish Habitat Partnership (DFHP) is a public-private Fish Habitat Partnership that works collaboratively across 11 western states to conserve (protect, restore, and enhance) over 175 western native fish species. We are an Initiative of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
Formed in 2005 and recognized by the National Fish Habitat Partnership Program (NFHP) in 2009, DFHP is a catalyst and accelerator to improve the return on investment of the time, money, and workforce dedicated to the conservation of native fish species and their habitats. We work cooperatively to restore and recover western native fish species, many rare and imperiled, across their historic ranges by investing limited private and public resources toward completing the highest-impact, voluntary, on-the-ground projects led by local communities and resource agencies across the western United States, and by funding efforts to raise public awareness and understanding of these native fishes. We are governed by a steering committee representing 11 western state fish and wildlife agencies, 4 federal natural resource agencies, Native American Tribes, and nongovernmental conservation organizations including Trout Unlimited and the Desert Fishes Council and have partnered with over 100 organizations, nonprofits and businesses to date.
The Partnership plays an important role in conserving water in the West for future generations.
The Desert Fish Habitat Partnership (DFHP) seeks to address fish and habitat issues over a broad geographic area that encompasses the entirety of the Great Basin and Mohave deserts, and those portions of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts that lie within the United States.
The benefits of aquatic habitat conservation extend beyond desert fishes to include humans and other animal and plant species.
Riparian habitats that depend on surface water not only support a significant number of terrestrial and avian species identified as priority conservation species in state wildlife action plans, but also function to store water that supplements groundwater recharge.
The declining status of so many desert fishes highlights the importance of preserving these aquatic habitats so that water is available not only for the native fish, but also for future generations of humans.
