Aquatic Connectivity Framework ACF Partnerships
The Aquatic Connectivity Framework partners with organizations, private landowners, and planners in a nationwide effort to restore critical aquatic connections. These partnerships bring together nonprofits, community groups, state agencies, academic institutions, and regional conservation organizations united by a shared vision for healthier watersheds. ACF partnerships are strengthened by specialized Private Lands Biologists and Private Lands Engineers who work across priority regions, providing aquatic ecology expertise and water resource engineering to support NRCS staff and partners.
These partnerships deliver technical expertise through skilled conservationists and biologists who bring innovative solutions to complex challenges, funding opportunities through federal programs and grants, and a supportive network that addresses barriers like aging dams, inadequate culverts, and habitat degradation. From restoring fish passages to reforesting riparian buffers, ACF partnerships provide the tools, resources, and expertise needed to achieve landscape-scale restoration that supports clean drinking water, abundant wildlife, and thriving fisheries.
Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP)
The partnership between ACF and the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership strengthened aquatic connectivity efforts across the Southeast in 2025 by combining ACF's on-the-ground presence with SARP's technical expertise and regional barrier data. SARP's state-based Aquatic Connectivity Teams provide essential technical assistance and connections to state agencies, serving as regional hubs that link conservation needs with available resources.
ACF Private Lands Biologists work directly with these ACTs, filling critical data gaps by documenting and verifying barriers on private lands that SARP either lacks information on or is entirely unaware of due to property access limitations. When barriers are identified on private land and landowners express interest in removal, ACF coordinates with SARP's Aquatic Connectivity Teams to facilitate projects, creating a seamless pathway from barrier identification to project completion. This collaboration proved essential in Virginia's Sowers Mill Dam removal, where ACF Coordinator Josselyn Lucas connected with SARP's Virginia ACT, which linked the project with state biologist Louise Finger at the Department of Wildlife Resources, who secured funding and technical resources to complete the removal.
The partnership also expanded capacity in 2025 through barrier assessment training, with SARP's Kat Hoenke leading ACF Private Lands Biologists through the protocol in New Bern, North Carolina, equipping field staff with standardized survey methods that feed into SARP's regional aquatic barriers database. By combining ACF's access to NRCS funding and manpower with SARP ACTs' technical assistance capabilities and state agency connections, the partnership enables more barrier removals on private lands while building a comprehensive understanding of aquatic connectivity needs across working landscapes.
Coastal Carolina Conservation Partnerships
ACF partnerships in coastal North Carolina demonstrate how federal programs, state funding, and local expertise combine to achieve landscape-scale wetland restoration that protects aquatic resources and builds coastal resilience. The collaboration between NRCS, the North Carolina Coastal Federation, and the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund illustrates this model, integrating multiple NRCS programs, including Wetlands Reserve Easements, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, to restore thousands of acres while enabling landowners to maintain property ownership. These partnerships create productive conservation areas that filter agricultural runoff, protect downstream fisheries, provide flood control, and support wildlife populations, demonstrating a replicable approach that serves both agricultural productivity and aquatic ecosystem health. Read the full feature story highlighting these coastal partnerships: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/state-offices/north-carolina/news/partnership-powers-large-scale-restoration-how-nrcs-and-partners
