South Fork Chehalis River Stewardship Project

Introduction and Background Information

The goal of this project is to develop a community-based stewardship program to improve water quality and ecological conditions in the South Fork Chehalis River. The South Fork Chehalis River is a major headwater tributary of the Chehalis River. The water quality of the South Fork Chehalis Watershed has been evaluated by numerous agencies in the past, and existing data indicates the waterway is on the relative decline. Stream habitat conditions are a major influencing factor on the declining water quality. Chehalis River Basin water-quality summaries have been completed that highlight declining habitat conditions in the South Fork Chehalis River. The major causes of this degradation derive from land cover changes associated with logging and farming that began to occur with the influx of settlement in the area.

                   There are two major reasons for developing a stewardship program to implement water quality and stream habitat restoration efforts.

The first is the serious decline of stream ecology in the watershed as evidenced by existing data. The other is the lack of environmental restoration programs in the rural Lewis County area.

The Stewardship Project/ Step by Step

The first step of creating this program has already been achieved. I conducted research to evaluate the health of the watershed. Many governmental and non-governmental agencies have collected random data on different waterways in the Chehalis River Basin, but there are no comprehensive summaries that are sub-basin specific. I created a sub-basin specific stream ecology data summary for the South Fork Chehalis Watershed.  This information can be the basis for creating a community-led restoration program.

The next step in this program will be assimilating this data into a public format and learning from the community what they perceive to be the major watershed problems in the South Fork Chehalis Watershed. This will be achieved through creating brochures, pamphlets, and presentations to share with the South Fork Community. These meetings will also act as a space for the community to hold open dialogue about watershed issues. It is imperative that these meeting are community led! I want to learn from the community from their knowledge of the basin, and share my knowledge as requested. These meeting will be the basis of forming the stewardship program.

Eventually a group of concerned community members will form the first stewardship group. They will be able to specify what kind of restoration projects they would like to see in their watershed. They will be able to create a prioritized list of restoration ideas. I will be able to provide resources to complete these projects. I will identify governmental and non-governmental funding for restoration work in/near waterways.  I will then develop several demonstration projects that can begin implemented next fall by working with highly motivated landowners and appropriate funding sources. I also hope to use what we learn from this project to develop a template for similar stewardship programs in other rural watersheds in the Chehalis Basin.

Proposed Project Objectives

• Increase community awareness of the declining ecological condition of the South Fork Chehalis River Watershed.
• Provide watershed education and outreach to the South Fork community.
• Learn from the community about additional watershed issues.
• Create a sustaining stewardship program in which the community identifies, prioritizes, and completes restoration projects that will benefit the overall health of the watershed.
• Use this model to implement additional stewardship programs in other watersheds.

Vision

The community is more aware of land-use issues and their affect on water quality and stream habitat issues. Community members are engaged as stewards of the rivers in the South Fork Chehalis Watershed. Water quality monitoring is conducted regularly. Environmental concerns reach aspects of daily life including agricultural operations, meetings at the grange and Lions Club, church and school activies. A small group of concerned citizens meet to identify and prioritize watershed concerns. Restoration programs are implemented to address these concerns. Preserved areas, as requested by community members, are created in the South Fork Chehalis Watershed.

Importance to Career at TESC

This is my last quarter at The Evergreen State College. I cannot think of a better way to use the learning that I have acquired at TESC, then to use it in the “real-world” and improve the natural environment. I have been involved in watershed education for many years now. I have focused all of my studies since transferring to Evergreen in the environmental science field.  During my senior year at TESC, I decided to complete an internship with The Chehalis River Council (CRC) in Centralia, WA. I wanted to work with this organization because of my prior experience with watershed issues, and because I desire more experience working within rural, conservative communities.  This stewardship project grew out of my experience with the CRC. I completed an in-depth research summary on the South Fork Chehalis River. I wanted to make that information relevant and usable. I was tired of seeing so much environmental data get lost in the shuffle. I am using this experience to affect positive change in the natural world, develop leadership skills, and learn more how to lessen the divide between the “environmentalist” and the average citizen.

DATE	GOAL
September – December 2005 (Completed)	Research major stream ecology problems in the South Fork Chehalis Watershed as defined by prior research conducted by numerous governmental and non-profit agencies from the early 1990’s until the present.
January 2006	Research format of other watershed stewardship programs.
January 2006	Create a user-friendly map of the watershed. Include detailed references to existing restoration projects and existing high-quality habitats that should be preserved.
January 2006	Compile two funding portfolios: 1. Funding portfolio of governmental organizations involved in watershed restoration projects. 2. Non-Profit granting organizations and the type of grants available for community restoration work.
January – February 2006	Create usable pamphlets, brochures, and fact sheets for the community focusing on major stream ecology issues in the South Fork Watershed.
Early February 2006	Identify the social structure of the community by creating a flow chart. Identify stake-holders and appropriate outreach venues.
Early February 2006	Create a contact-list of possible interested in the community.
February 2006	Identify property owners who are highly motivated to implement early restoration projects that could be used as demonstration projects for future efforts.  Begin identifying funding sources for these projects.
March – May 2006	Organize a public awareness meeting in the watershed.
March – May 2006	Speak to social organizations in the community.
May – June 2006	Organize a group of concerned citizens.
June 2006	Identify and prioritize long-term restoration projects.
Fall 2006	Begin implementation of the first-phase demonstration projects.
2007	Continue implementation of restoration projects.  Begin using this model to develop stewardship programs in other watersheds in the Chehalis River Basin.

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