A longtime partner of the U.S. Forest Service is getting $40 million to preserve and upgrade streams on the nation's wild lands, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced recently.

The nonprofit conservation group Trout Unlimited (TU) will receive the funds from the Forest Service for improvements to the watersheds on national forests and grasslands that are habitats to many important trout and salmon species. Project include stream and habitat improvements, removing barriers to fish passage, remediating abandoned mines and other projects, the USDA announced Nov. 16. 

The investment is part of the five-year five-year National Watershed and Aquatic Restoration Initiative, the announcement states, which "aims to increase the pace and scale of watershed restoration on national forests and grasslands, with priority given to projects that use local employees and contractors to improve water quality in underserved communities and on Tribal lands."

Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said the agency's agreement with TU "continues our joint success as stewards of national forests and grasslands."

"Our partnership is not just about cleaning a stream or increasing fish population," Moore said in the announcement. "It’s life-sustaining work that is as vital to aquatic species as it is to people and communities. When our natural resources are healthy, we are healthy as a nation and as individuals."

The Forest Service reports more than 40% of trout streams in the U.S. flow through the 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands, the announcement states. Wild and native trout and salmon that call these waterways home face many challenges, including climate change increasing water temperatures. 

TU using best fisheries science and its strategic plan to identify a nationwide network of watersheds to prioritize, the USDA states, and will direct the funding "to protect and restore" the waters' fish populations, productivity and resiliency, the statement reports.

Trout Unlimited President and CEO Chris Wood said the initiative "builds on a long and productive partnership between the Forest Service and Trout Unlimited. 

"Together over the years, we have already restored more than 400 miles of important fish habitat, reconnected more than 700 miles of habitat by removing barriers to fish migration, and improved hundreds of thousands of acres of National Forest System lands," Wood said. "We are excited to continue and expand on this work over the coming years.”