A Sample of Existing Niagara Region Habitat Goals
Riverkeeper’s Niagara Habitat Conservation Strategy will draw on and help advance the goals of many
existing plans and programs, including:
Niagara River Remedial Action Plan, updated 2008
General: Restore habitat connectivity, quality and unique habitats in the Area of Concern (AOC)
Selected criteria:
o Priority habitats are protected with long-term management programs in place.
o Measurable targets are defined for habitat types in the AOC with programs in place for reaching
them.
o A long-term conservation management plan is adopted for the Niagara Gorge.
o Outer Harbor/Upper River development policies protect aquatic habitat including submerged
aquatic vegetation.
o Macroinvertebrates are non- or slightly-impacted by contaminants based on DEC indices.
o The resident fish community is “fair” to “good” based on two consecutive biological surveys.
o Diversity and abundance of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians is comparable to a
suitable reference site.
Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 2006
Fish Community Objectives for the Upper River:
o Protect and restore coastal and tributary habitats.
o Reduce invasive species.
o Promote harmonic, self-sustaining percid and salmonid communities based on healthy stocks of
indigenous top predators including lake trout, burbot, sculpins in deep offshore waters and
walleye in near-shore waters.
Fish Community Objectives for the Lower River:
o Maintain/expand walleye and yellow perch populations through habitat improvements.
o Recover lake sturgeon sufficient to remove from threatened species list.
o Support pops. of smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and sunfish attractive to anglers.
o Rehabilitate self-sustaining populations of native prey fish with lake trout as top predator.
NYS Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2006
The following goals address at-risk species, or “Species of Greatest Conservation Need” (SGCN) in the
Lake Erie-Niagara River Basin:
o Identify specific threats to SGCN in order to prioritize habitat protection and restoration efforts,
o Identify forested and grassland tracts adjacent to wetland properties for acquisition, protection
and restoration: amphibian, reptile, and marsh nesting bird species. Identify areas where roads
have not fragmented the two habitat types: vernal pool salamanders and uncommon turtles.
o Identify opportunities to restore emergent marsh for freshwater marsh nesting birds.
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o Identify opportunities to restore hardened shorelines and provide migration corridors for
wildlife.
o Identify opportunities to restore in-stream priority habitats to benefit Niagara region SGCN
including fish: Bigeye chub, Black redhorse, Brook trout, Eastern sand darter, Iowa darter, Lake
sturgeon, Longear sunfish, Mooneye, Redfin shiner, Western pirate perch, American eel; and
freshwater mussels: Elktoe, Kidneyshell, Slippershell, Threeridge, Wabash pigtoe.
o Protect Critical Aquatic Habitats with the greatest number of SGCN present: Mineral soil
wetlands: 24 species; coldwater streams: 13 species; deepwater rivers: 10 species; warm water
streams: 14 species.
o Identify opportunities for establishing agricultural buffers.
NYS Open Space Conservation Plan, 2010
The plan recommends for priority acquisition any tributaries that provide habitat for SGCN—in
particular, the Lake Erie tributary gorges.
Niagara River Greenway Plan, 2007 (from Chapter 3, Vision and Principles)
o “Ecological Integrity: The Greenway will be focused on maintaining and improving the health,
vitality and integrity of natural resources and wildlife habitats. Emphasis will be placed on
restoring and retaining ecologically significant areas and natural landscapes, both in and over
the water and upland.”
o “Protect and Restore Environmental Systems: for environmental purposes and to promote
future revitalization of the region’s economic health. Ecotourism; interpretive opportunities
regarding ecological resources; habitat restoration; and reclamation of damaged areas such as
brownfields.”
Niagara River Corridor Important Bird Area Conservation Plan, 2002
The Niagara River is a global, federal, state-designated Important Bird Area due to the concentrations
of gull and waterfowl species that stage and over-winter there, the nesting colonies of herons and
egrets, and the exceptional diversity of songbirds that use habitat along the river corridor during
migration.
General goals of the IBA Program:
o Identify a network of sites that are essential for sustaining naturally occurring bird populations
and which are critical to the long-term conservation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats.
o Determine the type of protection and stewardship required for each site, and ensure the
conservation of sites through partnerships of local stakeholders who develop and implement
appropriate on-the-ground conservation plans.
o Establish ongoing local involvement in site protection and monitoring.
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