Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has been making strides to revamp its efforts to protect and enhance habitats among reservoirs, small impoundments, streams, and rivers. Funding of habitat restoration, enhancement, and protection has been limited, and costs are increasing, which state agencies like TPWD must be strategic and adaptive to ensure that fish habitat quality is maintained. The purpose of this presentation is to give a programmatic overview of TPWD's fish habitat program, highlighting its structure, history, advancements, challenges, and next steps.

Lake Ralph Hall, a 7,600-acre reservoir currently under construction in Fannin County, Texas, was selected as the site for one of nine projects funded under the Bass Pro Shops/National Fish Habitat Partnership U.S. Open Grant Program in 2022. Project partners, the Upper Trinity Regional Water District and Texas Parks and Wildlife Inland Fisheries Division, received $250,000 through the grant program for the placement of fish habitat in the reservoir and the construction of a 250-foot coastal style, riprap armored jetty available to shore-based anglers. The Upper Trinity Regional Water District also provided an additional $250,000 and in-kind services to match the initial project award and construct a public access area around the jetty. Fish habitat components have included the consolidation of cleared timber into large brush piles, planting 600 buttonbush shrubs, 50,000 square feet of gravel spawning beds, 40 log/rip-rap structures, and the placement of 203 concrete Reefballs in the footprint of the future reservoir. The location of fish habitat will be provided to Texas anglers using TPWD’s interactive habitat map online.

Oklahoma’s aquatic habitat initiatives have had a rocky start. These initiatives have successfully increased the amount of habitat across the state, expanded the use of longer lasting artificial structures, and developed partnerships with municipalities and universities but faced challenges to broader success. Intra-agency challenges consist of issues related to lack of manpower, equipment, and time, with many looking for an easy and efficient habitat structure to utilize. However, structures that fit this bill are often expensive, and consist of plastic components, raising fears of microplastics in both agency staff and the public, regardless of any vetting process. Outside the agency, a lack of awareness of the importance of habitat and habitat placement process leads to concern among many anglers about boating hazards, and snagging among other concerns. These issues highlight the need to reach out and enhance communications with anglers, meeting them where they are, instead of relying on traditional agency controlled communications (agency Facebook, YouTube, podcasts, emails, etc.). We will provide an update on our habitat initiatives, including our communication plan to better reach out to anglers with what we are calling the scientist storyteller.

As many reservoirs constructed throughout the USA continue to age, the quality of the fish habitat in these reservoirs has experienced a concomitant decline. Fish and wildlife agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and concerned anglers have all sought to supplement natural fish habitat by installing habitat structures to concentrate fish and improve angler catch rates. In Missouri reservoirs, these structures are primarily composed of submerged cedar, hardwood, or mixed cedar and hardwood trees. Being natural materials, these structures decay over time and require maintenance to provide adequate fish cover. To that end, there exists a paucity of knowledge on the physical longevity of these structures installed in Missouri reservoirs. The objectives of this study were to define the current condition and longevity of fish habitat structures in Missouri reservoirs and to provide management recommendations for the most efficient long-term maintenance and enhancement of habitat structures. Sonar imaging was employed on Table Rock Lake, Bull Shoals Lake, and Harry S. Truman Reservoir in Missouri to generate qualitative categorical condition scores for fish habitat structures. In each reservoir a spectrum of structure types was assessed that represented multiple year classes spanning over a decade. Condition scores were used to further categorize structures based on maintenance needs. We also examined the influence of depth, location, and material on structure longevity. This project focused on evaluating the controllable factors that can improve effectiveness and efficiency of fish habitat projects. Identifying the impact of these factors on fish habitat enhancement projects will have direct application to future decision making and benefit anglers using Missouri reservoirs.

Accurate sonar data starts with proper installation and use. This session will walk through simple, effective steps for setting up sonar systems, including transducer mounting, external GPS placement, and survey speed considerations that directly influence data quality. We’ll also highlight the differences between single beam and multibeam sonar, when each is most effective, and what to keep in mind when planning surveys. Beyond installation, I’ll cover best practices for capturing and sharing waypoints, ensuring that key features like habitats, structures, or management areas are documented in a clear and consistent way.

Understanding and assessing habitat is a key part of managing fish and aquatic habitats, but the methods in which assessments are conducted can vary depending on local management goals. Traditional field-based habitat assessments provide detailed information but can be time consuming, labor intensive, and limited in the number of waterbodies investigated. Recent advances in satellite-based remote sensing offer an alternative by allowing habitat conditions to be evaluated more quickly, cost effectively, and across broader areas, including in habitats with limited existing data. In this project, we demonstrate how publicly available, remotely sensed data can be used to determine fine-scale fish habitat quality across a broad geographic area. To this end, we describe a case study where we used remotely sensed data to assess habitat quality for two invasive fish species, Bighead Carp (Hypophthalmichthys Nobilis) and Silver Carp (H. molitrix) in the northern Great Plains. By combining satellite-derived environmental data (water temperature and chlorophyll concentrations) with physically observed field data and incorporating these into simple bioenergetic models, we estimated fine-scale (30 m x 30 m) habitat quality. Results identified which waterbodies had highest amounts of suitable environmental conditions and, within each system, where pockets of high-quality habitat were located. We demonstrate how the results can be easily visualized using maps highlighting locations most suitable for these species. The methods we describe have broad application to fisheries management and habitat improvement projects. This approach can help prioritize waterbodies that generally lack quality habitat and could benefit from habitat improvement, pinpoint locations of poor habitat quality within a waterbody to target habitat enhancement efforts and identify the best areas within a waterbody to stock fish.

This study examines the specialized photocatalyst-based product, TryMarine, for nutrient remediation and revitalization of aquatic ecosystems, demonstrated through the treatment of a 40 acre hypereutrophic recreational lake in North Carolina. TryMarine differs from other management solutions by lowering chemical oxygen demand, which accelerates nutrient cycling from the sediment into the food web. TryMarine was applied to the 40 acre lake over the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons; monitoring included in-water nutrients, and in-sediment nutrients. During the first growing season, total phosphorus decreased by 67% in water and 53% in sediment, while the TN/TP ratio rose from 4:1 to 28:1. These changes persisted through the 6-month off-season break in treatment, indicating treatment sustainability independent of seasonal effects. Concurrent improvements were also observed in DO, aerobic bacterial activity, sediment texture and composition, and zooplankton and benthic diversity. These findings suggest that TryMarine can stimulate healthier water and sediment, positioning it as a promising candidate for sustainable ecosystem restoration.

Rather than chasing an idealized past or conceding to climate impacts, the Henry’s Fork Foundation seeks to reimagine what reservoir systems can be—not obstacles to fish conservation, but platforms for creative, science-based, and collaborative habitat improvement. With support from Friends of Reservoirs and the Reservoir Fish Habitat Partnership, we are combining detailed habitat monitoring, predictive modeling, and collaborative project design to restore coldwater fish populations in Island Park Reservoir, located in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of eastern Idaho.
Island Park Reservoir supports an economically and ecologically valuable trout and landlocked kokanee salmon fishery but faces challenges common to many reservoirs: declining water volume, warming temperatures, and harmful algal blooms that lead to oxygen depletion. Our research has shown lower reservoir volume and inflows results in reductions in oxythermal habitat for trout and kokanee, with serious consequences for fish survival and recruitment. Fish populations in Island Park Reservoir are a fraction of past numbers.
We are addressing these climate-driven challenges through an integrated, watershed-scale strategy that combines demand-side water conservation with targeted in-reservoir habitat improvements. Our “Farms and Fish” and “Precision Management” initiatives—focused on improving on-farm irrigation efficiency and optimizing the timing and delivery of water—have already increased late-summer reservoir volume and improved water quality conditions, contributing to a 25% increase in migratory salmonid populations relative to model-based expectations. We also present recent progress in the design of hypolimnetic oxygenation and variable-elevation outflow infrastructure. These are game-changing strategies that would increase coldwater fish habitat and population potential by an order of magnitude.
A changing climate will significantly affect the fisheries and ecosystems in Island Park Reservoir and the broader Henry’s Fork Watershed, but the Henry’s Fork Foundation works to ensure these changes are directed to the best-possible outcome that maintains and even enhances economically- and ecologically-valuable fisheries.

Canyon and Saguaro lakes, part of the Salt River chain in central Arizona, are century-old impoundments managed primarily for Largemouth Bass Micropterus nigricans. Over time, both reservoirs have experienced a progressive decline in the quality and availability of fish habitat, largely due to aging infrastructure and sedimentation. Compounding these challenges, the introduction of golden algae Prymnesium parvum in the early 2000s has led to recurring fish kills of varying severity over the past 25 years. In 2007, Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum were detected in Roosevelt Lake and subsequently established in Canyon and Saguaro lakes. These ecological stressors have contributed to notable fluctuations in the Largemouth Bass population. In response, resource managers have implemented a series of habitat enhancement projects aimed at mitigating habitat loss and improving sport fisheries. This presentation will provide an overview of habitat improvement efforts at Canyon and Saguaro lakes and evaluate trends in boat electrofishing catch rates as an index of Largemouth Bass population response over time.

Roosevelt and Apache lakes, part of the Salt River chain in central Arizona, are century-old impoundments managed primarily for Largemouth Bass Micropterus nigricans. Over time, both reservoirs have experienced a progressive decline in the quality and availability of fish habitat, largely due to aging infrastructure and sedimentation. Compounding these challenges, the introduction of golden algae Prymnesium parvum in the early 2000s has led to recurring fish kills of varying severity over the past 25 years. In 2007, Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum were detected in Roosevelt Lake and subsequently established in Apache Lake. These ecological stressors have contributed to notable fluctuations in the Largemouth Bass population. In response, resource managers have implemented a series of habitat enhancement projects aimed at mitigating habitat loss and improving sport fisheries. This presentation will provide an overview of habitat improvement efforts at Roosevelt and Apache lakes and evaluate trends in boat electrofishing catch rates as an index of Largemouth Bass population response over time.

Lake Brownwood is a 7,000-acre reservoir and a popular largemouth bass fishing destination in central Texas. The reservoir experiences extreme water level fluctuations that cause substantial losses in habitat coverage which causes a decline in fishing quality. Also, the reservoir has experienced losses of important vegetation, woody structure, and other structural habitat features that have also resulted in changes to fishing quality from reservoir aging, droughts, and surrounding land development. In fall 2024 and spring 2025, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department partnered with Brown County Water Improvement District, Black Bass Stewardship Group, Texas B.A.S.S. Nation, and other local partners to conduct multiple habitat enhancement efforts among various locations throughout the reservoir to address habitat deficiencies. The purpose of this presentation will be to highlight the project by discussing the planning process, project implementation, anticipated outcomes, and next steps.

An overview of the results of the 2024 Iowa Lakes Survey, which combined intercept surveys with anonymous location data (ALD). In addition to results, specific examples will be shown for reservoirs which were renovated in recent years, revealing whether the visitation and travel behavior changed measurably over time using ALD tools. Finally, several case studies testing the limits of ALD tools will be presented.

When used appropriately, partnerships have made tremendous differences in supporting many fish and wildlife conservation endeavors, including reservoir habitat enhancement. The word "partnership" has almost become a buzzword though and for some, partnerships are referred to as some sort of cure all to fix all of our shortcomings. However, partnerships are simply a tool to aid in achieving success. Like any tool, it must be used appropriately to be effective. Unfortunately, many fisheries professionals, and others, have not had formal training when it comes to the partnership process. This presentation is intended to serve as a primer on the development, management, and process of strategic partnerships and uses Texas' Toyota ShareLunker program partnerships as real world examples.

Collaborative talk from other FHP work