Fall, 1999, just a few months away from the 21st century, depending on how you prefer to count your anni (I say party twice, just to make sure). Once again, watershed is the watchword in California, from universities studying watershed groups to death, to the California Biodiversity Council deciding that watersheds should be a new focal point, to CALFED developing a watershed program, to a state water bond aiming big bucks at watersheds, to Forest Service Chief Dombeck giving a major speech on water being the highest-value output of the National Forests, to federal relicensing of hydropower facilities, to PG&E hydropower facilities going up for sale. This incomplete list shows that there is a lot of watershed action going on. This article will hit a few of these, with a California focus, then wrap up with a brief consideration of whether we are truly facing a watershed event here at the cusp of the millennium and with an exhortation of watershed professionals to meet the challenges facing them.
CALFED is the giant state-federal initiative to improve the health of the greater San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem and increase the reliability of the state's massive hydrologic plumbing system. CALFED in June released a revised EIS/EIR and several volumes describing its programs. These materials are available over the Internet (calfed.ca.gov), or in hard copy by phoning 916-657-2666.
Thanks, in large part, to many of the rural counties whose watersheds catch the water that eventually flows out the Golden Gate or is diverted South, a watershed program has been created as a part of CALFED. The CALFED Watershed Program Plan (calfed.ca.gov/adobe_pdf/revised_draft_eis_eir/309.pdf) seeks to use a comprehensive, integrated, basin-wide approach to improve conditions in the Bay-Delta ecosystem, emphasizing local participation and government cooperation at all levels. The Watershed Program has been developed with the hard work of the Interagency Watershed Advisory Team and the Watershed Work Group of the Bay Delta Advisory Council. Significant, broad-ranging stakeholder input was used to guide the program' s development.
Through CALFED and related programs (such as California's Proposition 204, passed in 1996) tens of millions of dollars already have flowed to watershed groups and restoration activities in the upper watersheds of the Bay-Delta system. The Watershed Program has been identified as needing a budget of $30 million per year for each of the first seven years of the CALFED program implementation, starting in 2000. Whether this funding will actually be available is as yet quite uncertain.
California Biodiversity Council and the Resources Agency In its meetings this year, the California Biodiversity Council has identified a strong interest in focusing its efforts on watershed issues and approaches. One of the factors in this interest is coping with listed salmonid species in coastal watersheds. At its June meeting in Ft. Bragg, the Council adopted a set of watershed principles to guide its work. Maria Rea, Assistant Resources Secretary for Watershed and Salmon Restoration, is the lead person for the Council's watershed efforts.
The Resources Agency also has been working to coordinate the various state agencies on watershed issues, particularly with respect to protection of listed salmonids on the North Coast. These efforts include the State Water Resources Control Board, North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, Department of Fish and Game, Department of Conservation, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Department of Water Resources, and the Division of Mines and Geology.
Sell-Off of PG&E
Hydropower Facilities PG&E owns 68 powerhouses on 16 California river systems. As a result of the deregulation of the electric power industry in the state, these facilities are now going up for grabs. Given their ability to produce high-value peaking power and the potential for modification of operations to produce more water for the environment or development, these facilities have attracted keen interest across the board. Local governments, environmentalists, a PG&E post-deregulation spin-off, and other power companies have all been fighting hard to get the outcome to go their way. A closely watched deal being brokered in the California legislature fell apart in September. Most recently, PG&E has announced the system will be sold in 25 bid lots divvied up along watershed lines. It' s been a big fight and it isn' t over yet. Other Western states earlier in the deregulation process may have similar political theatre to look forward to.
Unified Federal Policy for Watershed Management
On June 16, the Departments of Agriculture and Interior announced the Unified Federal Policy for Watershed Management. The policy is intended to enhance watershed management and to improve coordination among various agencies, levels of government (including tribes), and various stakeholders. Application of the proposed policy will be limited to the lands and resources under the jurisdiction of the Federal departments and agencies that sign the final policy. However, the policy recognizes that collaboration and partnerships are essential to this effort. The feds plan to publish the draft policy in the Federal Register late this summer and to allow 90 days for public comment. Stay tuned to the issue via the Internet at www.fs.fed.us/clean/unified.
Water Bond Act
The California legislature has sent to the governor an act to place a $1.97 million bond issue on the March 2000 ballot. If signed by Governor Gray Davis, as is expected, and supported by the electorate, the bond act would provide some real money for watersheds. Highlights include $25 million for urban stream restoration, $90 million for watershed protection (including planning, erosion control, and improvement of aquatic, wetland, and riparian habitat), $8 million for water and watershed education, $235 million for the 'Southern California Watershed Integration Program,' $25 million for coastal salmon habitat, and $190 million for nonpoint source pollution control programs. The potential passage of this bond has many 'shedheads' looking forward to a golden future.
Death by Academic Inquiry
Given the number of graduate students and faculty studying watershed groups these days (I got on the band wagon early by studying the Mokelumne Watershed Group way back in 1990), I imagine many watershed group coordinators are starting to screen their calls before picking up the phone. It' s pretty tough to get the core work done when your schedule is filled with stakeholder analysis surveys and interviews with academics. Perhaps the granddaddy of these efforts is the Watershed Partnership Project (WPP) being run out of the University of California at Davis by Paul Sabatier. The WPP is using a rigorous political science approach to examine how California and Washington watershed groups compare to several political theory models. Following extensive baseline interviews with participants from randomly selected watershed groups, the WPP will develop a mail questionnaire that will be sent to a large number of groups and stakeholders.
So, Is Watershed the Next Big Thing in California?
What should we look for to know if the incipient shift to watersheds is real? Here are a couple of touchstones: money and social organization. Bob Woodward' s 'Deep Throat' said 'follow the money,' and a recent movie said 'show me the money.' CALFED and Prop. 204 have already packed off millions of dollars to watersheds and full implementation of CALFED has the potential to generate substantially more. Passage of the Water Bond, expected to be on the March 2000 ballot, has the potential to further up the ante to near stratospheric levels. Clearly, this is a good time to be in the watershed business. These massive expenditures appear to represent an awareness and concern of legislators, agencies, and citizens that California has significant watershed and water problems that affect both watershed dwellers and the downstream recipients of watershed benefits.
Looking to informal social organization, the past few years' explosion of watershed groups in California would surely please both Alexis de Toqueville and John Wesley Powell. These days, most every watershed has a group of citizen and agency stakeholders working for its betterment. All it takes to confirm this observation is a glance at the watershed group listings on the Internet. The Information Center for the Environment lists over 800 watershed (and related) groups in California (endeavor.des.ucdavis.edu/groups). For the Sake of Salmon lists an additional 250 watershed groups in Oregon and Washington (www.4sos.org/wsgroups/wsgroups.html).
An indication of more formal social organization is the official government recognition that watersheds are gaining, not just in California, but throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond. For example, for the 1997-99 biennium, Oregon is funding $21 million for watershed plans and projects with monies from the State General Fund, timber tax revenues, license plate revenues, angling license fees, and other sources. This program fits in as part of the overall efforts of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. In both Oregon and Washington, the governors have played a very visible, personal role in the development of state policies, strategies, and programs to protect salmon and watersheds. While California Governor Gray Davis has not yet visibly weighed in himself, his agency and department heads clearly have.
It' s Time for Our Leadership
These indicators of money and social organization provide a strong indication that watershed issues and watershed groups will be major forces going into the next millennium. The momentum is still building. Now it' s up to us as enlightened, dedicated watershed professionals to do more than just sit back and let all that money and glory swell our bank accounts and our heads. We need to provide the know-how and the leadership to make sure the programs are well directed, the funds are well spent (just how many of those stream improvement projects have been either blown out or buried in sediment?), and the social components are addressed. The 21st century may well prove to be the golden years of the watershed scientists and policy wonks who make up the Watershed Management Council. But this isn't just fun and glory, it's first and foremost responsibility for us to rise to the professional and personal challenge. Let's go out there and seize the millennium. -
You can reach Russ at 916-227-2659 or russ_henly@fire.ca.gov
