Citizen Participation and Salmon Groups

photo of a street sign with a fish and the phrase 'san pedro creek watershed, keep it clean'

This sign reminds citizens that all are responsible for the health of the watershed.

Since the 1990s, watersheds across the United States have become a focal point for community-based environmental conservation (Kenny 1999). Through the collaborative efforts of watershed groups – consisting of the people living and working within each watershed in cooperation with local, state, and federal governments – major improvements in water quality, fisheries enhancement, wildlife habitat, and overall quality of life have been accomplished. These watershed groups are part of a trend toward decentralized policy making, shifting from the federal to state and local governments (Kenny 1999). When citizens and local businesses participate in watershed groups, they are able to have a voice in the long-range plans for their community and surrounding area.

Many watershed groups, especially in the west, were originally formed as a response to pending federal legislation associated with the Endangered Species Act (Kenny 1997). While citizens generally support the protection of salmonids and other species in a watershed, they also want to protect livelihoods that depend on using natural resources. Watershed groups encourage people with different viewpoints to openly engage in discussions that further their understanding of the unique ecological, social, and economic aspects of their watershed. In this way, solutions are developed that protect natural resources while also preserving a community's character and way of life.

map showing water quality sites, invasive species, and riparian areas in the Aptos Creek Watershed

As part of the Aptos Creek Watershed Enhancement Plan, the Coastal Watershed Council, in conjunction with Swanson Morphology and Geomorphology, conducted a riparian survey that included mapping local riparian species and invasive, non-native species as shown here. They also conducted a hydrologic and water quality assessment as part of the Plan.

Although most groups possess several common traits (open participation, resource management scope, informal structure, collaborative process, multiple levels of government, and action orientation) (Kenny 1999; Leach and Pelkey 2001), each has a slightly different focus, leading to potential creation of more than one group in a geographic area. San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, with their diverse citizenry and wealth of resources and ecosystem types, are fortunate to have several active watershed groups working within them for the benefit of all but with different focuses. Follow the links below to access Web sites or to find contact information for local groups working in these areas:

general resource management
restoration of salmonids
monitoring watersheds to gather baseline data and document changes in environmental conditions
providing regional information and resources
offering educational programs and opportunities.

Please contact the individual groups in your area for more specific information on how people are actively improving local watersheds for the benefit of other people, salmon, and other living beings.

A Local Example: The Scotts Creek Watershed Council

One example of a multi-stakeholder natural resources management group is the Scotts Creek Watershed Council in Santa Cruz County. The statement of purpose of this Council is:

To protect and enhance the natural, social, and economic resources, and productive qualities of the Scotts Creek watershed, including the anadromous fishery, riparian habitat, forest and grasslands, croplands and estuary.

The Scotts Creek Watershed Council (SCWC) was formed in 1997 as a coalition of landowners and managers in the watershed working with agency and environmental group representatives, and private residents. Active council members (including active technical advisory committee members) collectively have over 400 years of experience studying, managing, and critically observing the Scotts Creek watershed. The SCWC members are dedicated to working toward improving fish populations and have donated more than 3,000 collective volunteer hours since the Council's inception. Project ideas and problems are presented at Steering Committee and Full Council meetings and decisions are made by consensus. A diverse group of professionals and experts are involved in the Steering Committee, the Council at large, and the Technical Advisory Committee.

The SCWC has received five SB 271 grants administered by the California Department of Fish and Game, beginning in 1998. These have been for coordination and organization of the watershed council, production of an informational brochure and a newsletter focused on salmonid habitat and population conditions, the removal of invasive exotic plants, the inventory of roads and landslides in the watershed and resultant report on sediment deposition in the creeks, an assessment of creekside trees in the watershed, and the production of a watershed assessment document.

Another important function of the Council is to publicize the exemplary natural resource conservation and restoration efforts of local land managers such as Big Creek Timber Company, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's Swanton Pacific Ranch, and the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project. Demonstration of successful advances in land use management and habitat restoration helps to provide a model for others to follow. Advances in scientific knowledge pertaining to the watershed are also publicized, particularly when related to management of endangered species.

Currently the SCWC is operating without external financial support. Project planning, design, and permitting are, however, proceeding with the assistance of public funds secured by The Coastal Conservancy and administered through the Santa Cruz County Resource Conservation District. This funding process is known as the Integrated Watershed Restoration Program (IWRP). Current IWRP projects proposed for the Scotts Creek watershed in spring 2004 are the following:

Treatment of Priority Road Sites identified in the Roads and Landslides Sediment source Investigation (SCWC, 2000). Outsloping, application of rolling dips, and rocked crossings will be the primary treatments.
The Mill Creek Restoration Project is a road-related fine-sedimentation reduction and habitat conservation project.
The Swanton Road Demonstration Project would create needed durable in-stream escape cover while preventing a potential landslide that would deposit the County road into Scotts Creek.
The Scotts Creek Gauging Station collected flow data at a permanent gauging station from 1921 to 1982. Since then collection of flow data has been spotty. The current project proposes to reinstate gauging of Scotts Creek flow at a permanent site for the purposes of advancing scientific knowledge and as a water resources management tool. Cal Poly State University (San Luis Obispo) is currently acting as the lead in this project, but they are looking for a 50 percent partnership with another entity for maintenance and management. The U.S. Geological Survey is considering this partnership.

Visit the Scotts Creek Watershed Council's Web site for more information on their activities.

Additional Resources

Links to additional information on watershed assessment and management, watershed groups, and riparian habitat conservation are provided below. These resources represent only a small part of the literature available to assist watershed groups. Please contact others listed in these resources to learn more.

References

Kenny, D. S. 1997. Resource Management at the Watershed Level: An Assessment of the Changing Federal Role in the Emerging Era of Community-Based Watershed Management. Thesis, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder.

Kenny, D.S. 1999. Historical and sociopolitical context of the Western watershed movement. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 35(3):493-503.

Leach, W.D., and N.W. Pelkey. 2001. Making watershed partnerships work: A review of the empirical literature. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 127(6):378-385.