Watershed Management
description
Transcript of Watershed Management
WATERSHED MANAGEMENTa quick overview
Elizabeth Trybula, Watershed Information SpecialistIndiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts
watershed management what you get when you Google
Watershed Management is an iterative process of integrated decision-making regarding uses and modifications of lands and waters within a watershed. This process provides a chance for stakeholders to balance diverse goals and uses for environmental resources, and to consider how their cumulative actions may affect long-term sustainability of these resources. The Guiding Principles of the process are Partnerships, Geographic Focus, & Sound Management (strong science & data). http://www.michigan.gov/deq/
USEPA watershed management principles
Watersheds are natural systems that we can work with.
Watershed management is continuous and needs a multi-disciplinary approach.
A watershed management framework supports partnering, using sound science, taking well-planned actions and achieving results.
A flexible approach is always needed.
http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/watershedmgt/principlea.html
Inventory & Assess Determine What Needs to Be Done
Plan Figure Out How To Do It
Restore Do It
Inventory & Assess
Plan
Implement
and Can Be Done
as Effectively as Possible
and with which Resources
Evaluate Determine if what you’re doing is successful (and/or what you need to be successful)
framework of watershed management
Implementation(Restoration & Maintenance)
Planning
phases of watershed management
(adaptive management)
inventory & assessment
what it is
a comprehensive overview of current and historic environmental conditions in your watershed
what it isn’t
•immune to error or omissions
•ever complete
‘The purpose of doing a land inventory is to bring together a holistic picture of the
watershed, as a dynamic system. This piece of the landscape you’ve selected for your
attention is teeming with life, history, change, and complexity. To understand how it “works”
you need to immerse yourself in it.’- IWPG (4-1)
inventory & assessment
what it should give you (outcomes)• a baseline to work from
• an idea of trends
• information to identify problems (and potential sources)
• information to develop priorities
• information to identify opportunities
what a successful assessment entails
•historic & current research
•windshield surveys
•spatial data development
•environmental (ie. water chemistry, biological communities) monitoring
•volunteer/community involvement
‘A watershed group needs reliable data to understand and prioritize problems.’
plan
what it is
a community-based, strategic approach to address the identified problems
what it isn’t
limited to a document
‘Airing your concerns, developing a practical,
clear vision, and agreeing on measurable goals aren’t easy. However, experience shows that
groups can’t plan successfully unless they plow their way through
these steps.
When you cut away the jargon, all you are trying to do is answer a fairly simple question: What concerns us about our watershed, and
how do we want it to be different?’
- IWPG (2-1)
plan
what it should convey (outcomes)• stakeholder-concerns & collective prioritization
•problem statements
•clearly articulated, prioritized solutions
• specific action items
• specific resources available (includes people)
• a master schedule
• relevant indicators
what a successful plan requires• an accurate, up to date, watershed
inventory• representative community input
• stakeholder consensus• resource commitment
implementation(restoration & antidegradation)
what it is
action in accordance with your identified planning outcomes
what it isn’t
• independent from your plan
• limited to your cost share program
‘Practice: Prescribed manner of doing or building something…A practice may be structural [something that is built or involves changes in land forms or equipment] or it may be managerial [a specific way of using or handling or resources].’
-IWPG 8-4
implementation(restoration & antidegradation)
what restoration looks like
•individual and systemic changes
• education and outreach • ordinance development• rules enforcement• policy decisions• Low Impact Development (LID)
•installation of BMPs
• Vegetative Buffers & Swales• Sediment/Nutrient Management• Ditch Management • Pervious materials • Biofiltration , etc.
successful restoration achievements (outcomes)
• action items accomplished• water quality improvements
evaluation
what it is
a determination of project success or failure using recognized indicators
what it isn’t
• secondary
• arbitrary
Remember that watershed planning consists of determining where you are now, where you want to be in the future, how you’re going to get there, and how you will know when
you’ve arrived.
- IWPG 10-1
“You can't control what you can't measure”
- Tom DeMarco
evaluation
what you should get (outcomes)
• an understanding of the effects of your efforts
• documentation of your impact
• opportunity for growth (adaptation)critical elements for a worthwhile
evaluation
•articulated goals
•accepted indicators (environmental, social, administrative)
•comprehensive baseline information
Implementation(restoration:
education, best management
practices, water quality
improvement & antidegradation)
Planning(dialogue, strategy, understan
ding)
Inventory & Assessment
(data collection,
compilation, synthesis )
process of watershed management
Increase
watersh
ed
educatio
n in
schools
Water
Festiv
al
Train
Projec
t WET
Restore
Riparian
Corridor
Grants
&
Sponso
rs
Cost
Share
Progra
m
Partn
er
with
Land
Trust
Sample
E.coli Pa
rtne
r w
ith
Utilit
y
Gather
Commu
nity
Concern
s
Host
Public
Meetin
g
Find
Facil
itato
r
Work
with
Media
Grants
&
Sponso
rs
Grants
&
Sponso
rs
an organic process
• Watersheds are natural systems that we can work with.
• Watershed management is continuous and multi-disciplinary,
it requires:
• partnering, sound science, well-planned actions, results, and
• a flexible approach
“I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times.”
- US Sen. Everett Dirksen
USEPA watershed management principles in a nutshell
QUESTIONS?
Thank you