Water is essential for all living things on Earth and one of the most important natural resources flowing from the nation’s forests and grasslands. The rivers, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, wetlands, and riparian areas within our national forests and grasslands support diverse and complex aquatic ecosystems that shape entire landscapes. They are home to at-risk species, such as bull trout and littlewing pearly mussel; recreationally and commercially important species, such as brook trout and chinook salmon; and keystone species, such as eastern hellbender, Yellowstone cutthroat trout, and the many species of mayfly.

Forest Service aquatic and fisheries research identifies and monitors environmental factors and processes that support aquatic and riparian ecosystem structure and function. Topics include fish population dynamics and responses to habitat and management practices, zoologic and evolutionary pathways, and geographic distributions. Research places an increasing emphasis on developing tools such as environmental DNA, visualization products, predictive modeling, and decision support systems to advance data collection and analysis of species presence or absence. This also includes improving predictions about the extent to which human activities and natural changes influence fish populations and aquatic ecosystems.

The Forest Service invests in this work because:

• Improving our understanding of aquatic and riparian ecosystems helps resource managers and others better assess the effects of changing conditions and management actions on the health and integrity of aquatic ecosystems.

• Expanding the information available on the nature and distribution of aquatic and riparian species allows decision makers to better account for the potential loss of at-risk species, new species being put at risk, introduction or expansion of the footprint of invasive species, and potential threats from diseases and pathogens.

• Furthering knowledge of the effects of changing climate, land use, and land cover on aquatic and riparian ecosystems assists land owners and land managers in developing strategies to limit impacts and sustain water quality and quantity, as well as the myriad of other benefits healthy aquatic ecosystems provide.

• Developing new tools and technologies can improve awareness of species and ecosystem distribution, the presence and extent of invasive species and diseases, biophysical processes active in aquatic and riparian systems, and the role of watersheds in supplying goods and services to local communities and the nation, as well as improve assessment of the impacts of potential actions and opportunities for ecological restoration.