Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Work at the Appropriate Scale
The fifth hydrologic unit code (HUC) watershed was selected as the appropriate spa-
tial scale. It was the scale most relevant to some of the critical environmental issues
being addressed (including salmonid spawning and rearing habitat, as well as habitat
for cavity-nesting wildlife), and it was a scale at which field assessment data could be
collected within desired time frames and budgetary constraints. This scale also al-
lowed for the collaborative to focus on a landscape unencumbered by too many over-
lapping environmental restrictions, including Wilderness or National Recreation
Area designations or terrestrial wildlife ESA listings.
Invest Time Up Front
The time spent building consensus on the stewardship principles proved critical to
maintaining collaborative support through the analysis process and the generation of
specific management recommendations. In particular, this helped the collaborative
manage transitions in representation from different participating organizations and to
address issues lacking up-front alignment in values between the participating organi-
zations. It did not always work. For example, the collaborative failed to reach agree-
ment on a designated area for all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use, but a five- to seven-year
restoration plan, representing a significant increase in management activity and in-
vestment, was developed and agreed upon.
Collaboration processes that are open, inclusive, and transparent lay the founda-
tion for rational discussion of the conditions and trends of the watershed and the man-
agement opportunities that are mutually perceived as beneficial. If collaboration
works, the group moves to a greater alignment in values. This is critical since the other
imperative within a collaborative is to reward the collective investment in time and ef-
fort with action and outcomes deemed significant to each participant. In recognition
of the importance of this incentive to sustain broad participation, the NRAC and Wal-
lowa Resources moved forward with fund-raising and implementation of the simplest,
least controversial, and most broadly supported projects, even before the final publi-
cation of the watershed assessment. These projects included the removal of fish pas-
sage barriers and understory thinning of ponderosa pine stands. Confidence, trust,
and excitement within the collaborative expanded with successful results. Continued
investment in the collaborative discussions allowed the group to tackle more difficult
projects, such as road closures and management within the cool-dry mixed conifer
stands.
Use a Transparent, Collaborative Information-Gathering Process
Current and site-specific science was critical to the assessment. The initial investment
in firsthand data about resource conditions proved invaluable to collective social learn-
ing, relationships, and an improved alignment of values. Maintaining the integrity,
transparency, and collective ownership of scientific information and analysis helps sus-
tain the collaborative. Within the Upper Joseph Creek watershed this was achieved by
