New Flow Targets for the Flint

The GA-FIT Advisory Board met on September 25th to discuss model results, flow targets, freshwater mussels, and other elements of the work underway on the Lower Flint Region Habitat Conservation Plan. The GA-FIT field team had a busy summer in our rivers and streams, and the modeling team has been just as busy running and re-running the models to fine-tune our analysis of the river system. At its meeting, the Advisory Board learned how the team is using the data it has collected and the modeling it has completed to develop flow targets to support healthy freshwater mussel habitat in the region. The team was excited to present its work to the Advisory Board and to be translating what we have learned from data and models into an actionable plan.

This information is helping us to develop a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the region that supports freshwater mussels while also supporting the regional agriculture economy. The HCP will aim to keep habitat under water as much as possible during drought – more like the photo on the left than the right.