Water resources and watershed mangement are complex, particularly in regions where water is unevenly distributed and available. Although it's hard to distill the issues to easily handled pieces, we can provide you with a way to get your arms around what needs to be done.
- Recognize the issues, challenges, and opportunities — We work best when we tackle one aspect of water resource management at a time, working within a larger context of related issues. Each issue has multiple challenges and opportunities. For instance, when setting instream flows, the challenges include how to make water available for both human uses and the habitat requirements of fish species. The best of the many opportunities for meeting those needs often include the retention and later release of high spring and storm flows.
- Research for real solutions — Continuing with our instream flow example, a real solution would be one that actually provides the instream flow levels needed at any particular time. A flow augmentation release from storage would represent a real solution, while withholding the use of groundwater would, at best, simply prevent a theoretical adverse impact on a flow that might or might not meet the needs of a fish species for optimal water levels and flow rates.
- Restore with balance — Some of our streams are impaired in one way or another, a particular concern when a stream provides habitat for threatened or endangered species. Restoration projects are designed to improve habitat. These projects are not always designed to provide the best balance between the needs of people living in the landscape and the requirements of the species for whom the habitat is being restored or enhanced. We work to provide that balance.
From this brief overview, you can see that we are making a lot of room for accomplishing many things. We are bringing the knowledge and resources of the water using community to bear in working to assure reasonable access to our water resources for meeting human needs, as well as to enhance and restore the many wildlife habitats we live in and around.
We invite you to follow the links to learn a bit more about our thoughts for each of the "Rs", and then to share your own ideas with us. |
