<p>Recreational fishing contributes substantially to the local economies of Southwest Florida. The northern half of the Charlotte Harbor estuary includes nursery habitat for snook and tarpon, both of which are economically important sport fish in the region. The nursery habitats consist of tidal creeks and coastal ponds that lie at the interface of accelerating coastal development; however, there are no explicit habitat protections to guide conservation for tarpon and snook. To provide a framework for place-based habitat conservation, researchers are actively partnering with resource and land use managers that govern at fine spatial scales (e.g., county government). This case study describes how workshops supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RESTORE Science Program facilitated a co-production process to identify uncertainties that were prohibiting action on management and restoration of snook and tarpon habitat, and plan actionable science focused on bridging science and policy gaps to reduce decision uncertainties. A research plan is being implemented to develop site-specific information for wetland-dependent sport fish by (1) documenting their use of natural and restored habitats, (2) developing hydrologic models, and (3) creating a habitat vulnerability analysis. The resulting decision-support tools will be co-designed with land use planners for proposed revisions of county comprehensive planning policy. Early outcomes include prioritization of lands for conservation and creation of species-targeted habitat features within large habitat restoration projects.</p>