Community Based Watershed Conservation Efforts
Presentation Abstract
Community based watershed scale conservation efforts have been the focus of educational, financial and technical assistance programs for decades. Each of these programs adapts to local demographics, resource concerns, existing conservation initiatives and most importantly the cultural values associated with that community. But what have they all learned? What can we learn from decades of work?
In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency of Puget Sound awarded the Whatcom Conservation District 5 years of funding for an intensive community based, non-regulatory, social marketing campaign to improve water quality and salmon habitat in the Birch Bay watershed in northwestern Washington. The program encouraged residents to adopt stewardship practices, use low impact development and agricultural best management practices, and participate in restoration projects.
In this session we will explore lessons learned, adaptive management and results of the robust program evaluation of the Birch Bay initiative. We will also examine how this case study compares to a number of peer-reviewed reports on community based watershed conservation programs from across the nation, evaluating the long-term effectiveness of outreach and educational campaigns and drawing conclusions based on decades of work.
Session Title
Cross-Border Local Leadership Exchange I: Water Quality in Border Areas'
Conference Track
Policy and Management
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Watershed management--Washington (State)--Birch Bay; Wetland conservation--Washington (State)--Birch Bay
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Birch Bay (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Community Based Watershed Conservation Efforts
2016SSEC
Community based watershed scale conservation efforts have been the focus of educational, financial and technical assistance programs for decades. Each of these programs adapts to local demographics, resource concerns, existing conservation initiatives and most importantly the cultural values associated with that community. But what have they all learned? What can we learn from decades of work?
In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency of Puget Sound awarded the Whatcom Conservation District 5 years of funding for an intensive community based, non-regulatory, social marketing campaign to improve water quality and salmon habitat in the Birch Bay watershed in northwestern Washington. The program encouraged residents to adopt stewardship practices, use low impact development and agricultural best management practices, and participate in restoration projects.
In this session we will explore lessons learned, adaptive management and results of the robust program evaluation of the Birch Bay initiative. We will also examine how this case study compares to a number of peer-reviewed reports on community based watershed conservation programs from across the nation, evaluating the long-term effectiveness of outreach and educational campaigns and drawing conclusions based on decades of work.
