Provide information and data to assess status of rocky shiner in arkansas to support the USFWS species status assessment for rocky shiner

This $185,724.14 Project Grant award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.615) program supports several conservation objectives in Arkansas:

1. Assessing the status and distribution of the Rocky Shiner fish species through occupancy sampling and habitat/diet analysis to inform the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Species Status Assessment.

2. Improving habitat quality and stability for four federally listed mussel species along the Little River through streambank restoration.

3. Enhancing and restoring habitat on 337 acres to facilitate the future reintroduction of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker on the Big Timber Upland Wildlife Demonstration Area.

The award period runs from July 2024 to June 2026, with Arkansas Game & Fish Commission serving as the prime grantee and Arkansas Tech University as a sub-grantee conducting Rocky Shiner assessments.

The objective is to determine the distribution of rocky shiner in arkansas using conditional occupancy sampling and modeling. Diet data will be collected when n. Suttkusi are captured to better estimate their ecological niche and assess habitat and water quality variables associated with the presence of rocky shiner. The purpose of this project is to improve habitat quality for 4 federally listed mussel species including the ouachita rock pocketbook mussel (arcidens wheeleri), pink mucket mussel (lampsilis abrupta), winged mapleleaf mussel (quadrula fragosa), and rabbitsfoot mussel (theliderma cylindrica). This project will result in immediate long-term stability to a vulnerable and unstable stretch of streambank, with an actively eroding section of bank that is 70 feet wide and actively depositing sediment into the river. By restoring stability to this section of streambank, erosional deposition from the scouring river bank will be significantly reduced, improving habitat stability in the little river near winthrop, arkansas. Due to the shape of the erosion near the dock, the proposed restoration plan is to build a rock cell over the eroding area, which will slow water that comes across the structure and deposit sediment, rebuilding the bank over time. The timeline for this project is july 2024 to march 2025.this purpose of this project is to enhance and restore red-cockaded woodpecker habitat on approximately 337 acres of the 2230 acre pine woodland, known as the big timber upland wildlife demonstration area, which would facilitate the future reintroduction of rcws to the property. The goal is to restore canopy structure and composition, reduce mid-story encroachment, restore native groundcover, and restore the historic fire regime. The ross foundation of arkansas has partnered with agfc on this project and is seeking approval of a conservation benefit agreement with USFWS. Once habitat is suitable the plan is to translocate red-cockaded woodpeckers back into the area.