3. Basin Watershed Collaboratives - Riparian Buffers & Herding Cats.pdf

Notes:

View this session of the NFWF Spotlight Series at: Basin Watershed Collaboratives - Riparian Buffers & Herding Cats

About this session.
Nearly 25% of Virginia's land base and 1/3 of its human population is in the James River watershed, and it even includes a bit of West Virginia. In contrast, the Rappahannock River basin emanates from the east side of the Blue Ridge and encompasses less than a third of the land base that the James River claims. But in both watersheds, the diversity of rural, forested, and urban landscapes present a wide array of water quality challenges and opportunities associated with these land uses. The James River Association has divided its collaborative efforts between tidal and non-tidal zones, focusing on a riparian buffer consortium approach to partnership building in the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Valley and Ridge provinces. The Friends of the Rappahannock have elected to build their collaborative from ridge to coast, in a tighter landscape that in relative shorter order, flows from Piedmont to tidal areas. Both collaboratives acknowledge that relationship-building is critical. And both collaboratives, as home-grown and community-based organizations, must work to build and facilitate policies to ensure partners with varying interests remain vested and at the table.

Other resources from this session:

Presenters. 
Amber Ellis, Senior Watershed Restoration Manager, James River Association
Bryan Hofmann, Deputy Director, Friends of the Rappahannock
Katie Ombalski, Principal/Conservation Biologist, Woods and Waters Consulting (moderator)