Habitat Intrinsic Potential

Background on Intrinsic Potential

One effective way to determine the current condition of a stream or watershed is to assess the "intrinsic potential" of a watershed to provide productive habitat for a given species. There are several applications for IP models, making it a multiple-use tool. Examples of different applications appear below.

• Identifying salmon habitat "hotspots" within a watershed when little data is available
• Identifying and prioritizing areas for conservation or restoration
• Identifying population unit boundaries
• Developing a monitoring scheme
• Setting conservation targets and goals in regional conservation planning
• Identifying critical habitat for recovery of listed species