In Southwest Florida, nursery habitats for two economically important sport fish (snook and tarpon) exist along a tidal wetland gradient adjacent to accelerating coastal development. Protections for vulnerable juvenile life stages and rare nursery habitats are limited and unattainable within the conventional fisheries management framework. Through partnerships between researchers and managers that govern at finer spatial scales, conservation and restoration of these habitats is achievable. A collaborative team was developed to co-produce actionable science that integrates the research conducted by multiple agencies (local, state, federal), universities, and NGOs to specifically address habitat challenges for juvenile sport fish. One of the collaborative’s goals is to integrate these nursery habitats into county government land-use planning and stormwater engineering. The team is developing site-specific conservation requirements for these wetland-dependent sport fish by documenting use of natural and restored habitats, developing hydrologic models, habitat evolution models, and a habitat risk assessment index. These outputs will be combined into GIS maps and decision-support tools for county and state management. Early outcomes include prioritization of land parcels for conservation and creation of highly specific fish habitat within large habitat restoration projects. Future outcomes will address opportunities for zoning and infrastructure siting, local and state land acquisition, and habitat restoration.