Nisqually Council Gets Things Doneby Jeff Mocniak Situated in the "center of the universe," the Nisqually Watershed is home to the Nisqually River Council (NRC). It was on the edge of this watershed that I recently met with David Troutt, Justin Hall, and Kayla Saville of the NRC to discuss the history, progress, and projects of the council. What was it about the NRC that has led to its status as a model watershed council, known around the country as having vitality and as being a council that "gets things done?" I had to know. Justin Hall, executive director of the Nisqually River Foundation, gave me a sense of the history of the council, the seed of which was the Nisqually River Management Plan created in 1987. The plan was developed by the Nisqually River Task Force, made up of federal, state, and local governments, business representatives, the Nisqually Tribe, and interested citizen activists. The group came together under the direction of the Department of Ecology, in recognition of the need to implement a plan that would restore and protect vital elements of the unique watershed. Through this process the NRC was formed and many of the original partners of the task force remained as participants in the "coordination organization." A separate Citizens Advisory Committee was created to assure citizen representation on the council, with three sitting members. Other committees, including the executive, natural resource, public access, education and interpretation, and website committees were all added as key components to carrying out the objectives of the council. In addition to the NRC, a land trust was created in 1989 to protect and restore land holdings acquired by the trust within the watershed. The land trust acts an auxiliary organization to the council and as a non-profit to facilitate land acquisition. In addition to the land trust, a Nisqually River Interpretive Center Foundation was formed in the early 1990s to develop plans for establishing and operating an interpretive center. Saville, a NRC staff member, added to the scope of the NRC conversation by discussing interesting projects that the council has been overseeing through its various committees. Made possible mostly through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, three major projects have been started by the NRC and are in the initial stages of formation and implementation. One of these is the watershed credit exchange, where water quality "credits" are given and traded much like the model of carbon credit trading, but focused on the quality of water in the watershed. Eco-labeling is another NRC project that seeks to create labels like those found on Salmon Safe, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and EnviroStars certified products. These labels, however, would be of unique design to the NRC and would signify that products and services meet standards set by the NRC for watershed protection. An ongoing study and tally of ecosystem services found within the watershed is also being coordinated, showing that there is an economic value that can be placed upon nature's services in any given location. This encourages a recognition of those values when considering whether or not to alter a natural system, and ensures environmental issues are captured in economic terms. In addition, the NRC spearheads numerous volunteer stewardship programs and projects, including estuary restoration, rip-rap placement (logs and other objects as habitat for aquatic life and river channel stability), tree planting, data gathering, water quality monitoring, fish counting, and salmon carcass tossing. Near the end of the discussion, David Trout reflected on the reasons behind the success of the NRC to this point. Trout cited cooperation among the various participants on the council and in the watershed as fundamental. He also felt that the duration of the council gave it credibility and had provided the necessary time for once-hesitant watershed members to become familiar with, and eventually strong supporters of the NRC. He noted that the council had been formed with significant energy and by some great people, and that it was due to continuing support and periodic intervention of these people that the NRC continues to thrive. Though successful in its own right, because the council has no regulatory authority but only the ability to plan and advise, Trout thought that it remained non-threatening to stakeholders in the watershed. He summed up the process as a "great experiment in reinvigorating democracy," a statement that I took to heart. In addition to the NRC, I was interested in gleaning advice for beginning a council in a neighboring watershed. The group eagerly shared success stories and recognized stumbling blocks commonly experienced by similar councils. They noted that it's vital to identify key stakeholders in the watershed, to come together with a dedicated core group, and to create a plan of action similar to that which gave rise to the NRC. Trout mentioned that the Nisqually Tribe has been a vital player in the council and a very active part of many NRC projects. He suggested that any watershed council would be incomplete without a strong presence of the local tribes. Though my own watershed has its share of issues, the advice obtained indicated it's best to remain proactive and not become reactive to one issue in particular. It's advisable to form the intention of being engaged in a long-term process through which restoration and protection of the watershed might be undertaken for generations to come. For more information about the NRC, go to http://www.nisquallyriver.org Jeff Mocniak is a SPEECH board member. He enjoys participating in local eco-restoration groups and has recently begun work on a bioregional guidebook to our region. For more info see http://www.cascadianculture.blogspot.com or email mailto:cascadianculture@gmail.com
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