Unified Watershed Assessment

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Washington State Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program

UNIFIED WATERSHED ASSESSMENT

The intent of the Unified Watershed Assessment (UWA) is to create links among the various agencies, tribes and other groups involved in watershed efforts – allowing for more coordination and focus, resulting in greater overall improvement in watershed health. Additional information on Unified Watershed Assessments is available on the Internet at   http://www.cleanwater.gov/. Background States, tribes and federal agencies currently set priorities for watershed action in many different ways. Other watershed assessment and restoration efforts are also being conducted. Often, opportunities to work together and meet common goals are overlooked. In February 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued The Clean Water Action Plan. The Plan provides a blueprint for restoring and protecting the nation’s precious water resources. A key element of the Plan is a new, cooperative approach to watershed protection and restoration, called a "Unified Watershed Assessment". The Unified Watershed Assessment Concept The basic concept for the Unified Watershed Assessment comes from the President’s Clean Water Action Plan.  The goal of the Unified Watershed Assessment  is to link assessment processes and restoration efforts in order to: improve efficiency and accountability; highlight areas of the state where multiple problems exist; link programs with common objectives; and resolve conflicting priorities. State, tribal, federal and local governments, and the public are expected to work together to identify watersheds with the most critical water quality problems, then to focus resources to solve these problems. While recovery of salmon and other anadromous fish is critically important in Washington, the Unified Watershed Assessment evaluates other factors as well as fish needs. The intent is to look at the usual chemical parameters as well as consider biological and physical factors that affect the ecosystem health of a watershed. During the first phase of the Unified Watershed Assessment priorities for targeting federal funding for the process are to be identified. The first phase process of the unified watershed assessment consists of: categorizing Washington’s watersheds on the basis of need for restoration or protection; identifying watersheds within Category 1 (i.e., those watersheds not meeting clean water or other natural resource goals) that are high priority for restoration in 1999 and 2000; and developing a schedule for prioritizing the remaining Category 1 watersheds. For Washington State to accomplish a meaningful Unified Watershed Assessment and aim toward effective implementation of the Clean Water Action Plan, the co-management role of the tribes in Washington State must be recognized and integrated into the process. Therefore, the federal Clean Water Action Plan program goals and funding mechanisms must recognize both tribal reservation lands and treaty resource management responsibilities. Phase 1 Report The report Final Unified Watershed Assessment for Washington State – Phase 1: Categorization and Prioritization of Watersheds (see link below) documents the results of the work of the UWA work group during the Phase 1 process. The work group consists of representatives of the core groups charged with convening the process (the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission and the Washington State Department of Ecology), as well as representatives from the U.S. Forest Service; U.S. Park Service; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Geological Survey; Washington Department of Natural Resources; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; Washington Department of Health; Washington Association of Conservation Districts; Nisqually Tribe; Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe; Chehalis Tribe; Yakama Nation; Stillaguamish Tribe; and the Squaxin Island Tribe. As the process continues, restoration action strategies will be developed, and watershed assessment and restoration activities will be considered at a more refined, local level. The Unified Watershed Assessment process, as it is now envisioned, is expected to be an iterative, ongoing, long-term process. The process described in this report is just the first small step – the foundation for future work. The document Final Unified Watershed Assessment for Washington State – Phase 1: Categorization and Prioritization of Watersheds is available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF file) format. To view and/or print .PDF files, you first will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader from this link if your computer does not already have it installed. If you have any questions concerning the Phase 1 report or the Unified Watershed Assessment process for Washington State, please contact: Chris Hempleman Water Quality Program Washington Department of Ecology P.O. Box 47600 Olympia, WA 98504-7600 Phone: (360) 407-7229 FAX: (360) 407-6426 E-mail: chem461@ecy.wa.gov

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Revised January, 1999

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