Link to DARE fact sheet

Partnership purpose and need

The DARE fish habitat partnership formed in late fall 2005 to jointly address the issues of habitat degradation, loss and alteration of coldwater streams and coolwater/warmwater rivers. Partners agree there is an elevated need for coordinated management and protection of aquatic resources throughout the Driftless Area, a naturally defined geographic region. Driftless Area rivers and streams contain diverse assemblages of fish, mussels, amphibians, reptiles, and aquatic invertebrates. A history of poor and inconsistent land and water management practices have contributed to current levels of excessive sediment and nutrient loads to many streams, resulting in broad declines in fish populations and overall diversity of aquatic life. Driftless Area rivers and streams have transported high sediment loads to the Upper Mississippi River, contributing significantly to degradation of backwater habitat in the Upper Mississippi River and to expanding hypoxia problems in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Partnership goals

• Reduce sediment and nutrients inputs to Driftless Area rivers and streams.
  
  
• Conserve, restore and expand habitats that will increase natural abundance, diversity, and health of fish and other aquatic life.
  
  
• Increase the quantity and quality of angling and other recreational opportunities.
  
  
• Increase public awareness about Driftless Area natural resources and importance of aquatic conservation and restoration through outreach and education.

Partnership background

The DARE fish habitat partnership was initiated as Trout Unlimited’s Home Rivers Initiative-TUDARE in 2003. To date, TUDARE is Trout Unlimited’s largest Home Rivers Initiative undertaken. In 2005, Trout Unlimited released a published report entitled, “The Driftless Area: A Landscape of Opportunities”. The report described natural resource challenges facing the Driftless Area and wide range of opportunities to improve land use and restore degraded stream habitat across the region. This report served as a call to action. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognized the similarities between TUDARE goals and NFHAP goals and worked with Trout Unlimited and NFHAP officials to add DARE (formerly MDARE) as a pilot fish habitat partnership during early development of the NFHAP program. DARE was announced as a pilot partnership in November 2005 and recognized as a full partnership in October 2007. DARE and TUDARE are working in parallel towards similar goals.