WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
The study scored HUC-12 watersheds for connectivity, condition, water availability and naturalness, then overlaid 91 freshwater biodiversity assessments. The resulting network covers 35% of the conterminous U.S.: 19% scored resilient and 16% restorable. It contains 67% of recognized biodiversity areas and 75% of free-flowing rivers; just 6% is both protected and resilient, while 14% is unprotected and restorable.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
The useful contribution is a decision surface rather than a single protection target. It separates places that are already resilient from places where restoration could change network function, making connectivity and climate context explicit in freshwater prioritization.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
This is a spatial prioritization framework, not evidence that conserving exactly 35% guarantees biodiversity persistence. Human water needs and many local implementation constraints are not embedded in the core network and must be layered into actual decisions.
SOURCE
PLOS ONE
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