These agencies would form an inter-agency committee to develop ecosystem protection plans for each drainage basin. This plan should serve as a model for the development of plans for each of the remaining basins. Basinwide ecosystem plans would be developed consecutively, working as closely as possible with water quality basinwide plans, with all five to be developed by 1999. Ecosystem plans would include a formal endorsement and agreement by all management agencies to implement the plans. The interagency committee would consider basinwide and regional needs for protecting wildlife, fisheries and natural heritage.
Buffers protect particularly sensitive natural communities or rare species habitat.
Protected corridors link natural areas and allow wildlife to move safely within a landscape. Corridors also protect the health of whole populations within a landscape by reducing inbreeding or allowing species exterminated in one area to recolonize in another. The interagency committee would also consider the purchase of lands adjacent to waters designated as vital fisheries habitats as a means of habitat conservation. This Management Action would be evaluated by assessing the progress of the interagency committee in completing each ecosystem plan. The degree to which regional goals are met and outlined in each individual basin plan will also be considered.