^Toward a
'Watershed
Approach:
••"• ••*<
•—ii'i-.. . S
Tramework
• -
A x" N-\. f * , . •- '^
for Aquatic
Ecosystem
^Restoration,
^Protection, and
Management
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Coastal America was established two years ago as a unique partnership among
Federal, State, and local governments and private alliances to collaboratively
address site-specific coastal environmental problems. In those two years, more
than 20 Federal agencies and more than 100 non-Federal partners have
become involved in Coastal America projects around the U.S. coastline,
restoring wetland habitat and fish passage and protecting critical areas for
endangered species and other wildlife. To date, more than $30 million has
been committed to Coastal America with over 60 projects in 20 States.
In keeping with the ongoing commitment of the Executive Office to ecosys-
tem-based natural resource protection and management, Coastal America has
developed this document on aquatic ecosystem protection and restoration
through watershed-based resource management approaches. The underlying
themes that Coastal America wishes to emphasize are two-fold: (1) aquatic
ecosystems, which are intrinsically related to the hydrogeologic characteristics
of watersheds, are most effectively addressed in a watershed context; and (2)
truly comprehensive watershed approaches can only succeed with the collab-
oration and cooperation of the full range of parties with jurisdiction over, and
interest in, the resources at stake.
January 1994
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Foreword
o the earliest inhabitants of the continent, the North Amer-
ican wilderness offered an immeasurable wealth and abun-
dance of natural resources. Native American communities long
prospered from the bounty and beauty of the wildlife and
resources that surrounded them, providing them with ample supplies of
food, water, shelter, and clothing. Later, 17th-century traders and pio-
neers from Europe came to explore the vast areas of coastal shoreline
and seemingly endless forests, and settle along deep, wide rivers and
countless protective coves, harbors, and bays. Fish, fowl, and wildlife
were plentiful food sources; land to clear for settlements and farming
was abundant; and freshwater supplies surrounded the early settlers and
Native American populations.
As decades passed, settlements along the coastlines and inland water
routes grew, and new industries to supply communities with goods and
services burgeoned. The impacts of growing populations on the natural
surroundings eventually became evident, as deforestation, erosion, over-
hunting, and use of waterways as waste streams began to exact their toll.
Today, American bays, estuaries, rivers, aquifers, and watersheds are no
longer the clean, pristine, and biologically diverse areas first explored
and inhabited by Native Americans and settled by Europeans. As an
example, the figure below summarizes a number of historical features
and changes in Chesapeake Bay from 1600 to 1980. This graphic
depicts population trends and land use changes from forested land to
farming, with corresponding trends for aquatic vegetation and fishery
landings, each of which reflects an ecosystem in decline.
Time History of Northern Chesapeake Bay
EPA Chesapeake Bay Program
Over so % of the original
riparian habitat in this
country has been inundated,
channelized, dammed,
riprapped, farmed, overgrazed,
or altered by other land uses.
- NATURAL RESOURCES
DEFENSE COUNCIL, 1993
Population
(millions)
Land-Use
Change
(pollen)
Pollution
(cadmium p.p.m.)
Submerged
Aquatic Vegetation
(SAV's)
Fishery 20.000,
Landings 10.0001
(x 103 Ibs) o I
J L
SAV Abundant
Waterweed / Pondweed Sporadic
Wild Celery Milfoil SAV Gone
Shad
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During this same period of time, across the country, changes in land uses
along the rivers and their tributaries eventually led to the degradation of More ti/il/i half of US. wet-
environmental resources throughout their watersheds. In riverine and near-
shore areas that lack Hushing and free exchange with ocean waters, conta- land acreage tills been lost
minants from the upland areas accumulated in the water and sediments,
adversely affecting the health of aquatic ecosystems. Deforestation for agri- since the time of European
cultural and urban development resulted in sharp decreases in species ahun-
• . . . colonization: 22 states have
aance ana aiversiry. At tne waters cages growing communities hiled or oth-
erwise destroyed vast areas of once ecologically productive estuarine and lost 50% or more of their
wetland areas, primarily for infrastructure development, including residen-
tial, agricultural, and commercial developments as well as the construction “original” wetlands, and io
of roads and railways. In many locations, agricultural and ranching con-
have lost over “o %
cerns diverted large volumes of fresh water from rivers for irrigation, result- /
in in decreased freshwater inflow to estuaries and increased saltwater intru-
— NA’wlt&L RESOURCES
sion into estuarine and riverine ecosystems. At the same time, there has
I)E1:i.:NsI ( OUNC1i., 1993
been a massive, although gradual infusion ol- toxic chemicals into the river
systems from refineries and other industries, municipal sewage discharges,
return irrigation water, accidental oil spills, and oil and grease washed by
rain into rivers and coastal waters.
Fish and wildlife populations dependent on coastal and wetland habitat
have declined significantly. Upstream, dams and other obstructions have
cut off migrating fish from their spawning grounds, and alterations in fresh-
water flow and salinity as well as pollution have contributed extensively to
the demise of many coastal fisheries.
Clearly, the economic benefits made possible by the development and
exploitation of the Nation’s natural resources have been at a high ecological
cost. However, we now recognize that we must sustain our natural resources in
order to ensure continued economic growth. The call to restore and protect
our watersheds has never been stronger, as there is no substitute for the water
resources upon which we are so criticaJl ’ dependent for our erv existence.
During this century, commercial fish harvests from major US. rivers have
declined by more than 8o % in the Missouri and Delaware Rivers, more than
95% in the Columbia River, and ioo% in the Illinois River.
— INSTITUTE FOR ENvII oNMENrai. StUDiES, 1993
- - -
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Toward a Watershed Approach:
A Framework for Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration,
Protection, and Management
The critical situation facing the health of America’s water resources and aquatic ecosystems is not
the result of a single activity on or near a lake, river, or stream. Instead, it is the combined and
cumulative result of many individual activities throughout a waterbody’s entire natural drainage
area, or watershed.
What is a Watershed?
ATER from falling rains and melting snows generally
drains into ditches, streams, wetlands, groundwater sup-
plies. lakes, or coastal waters. A watershed includes the area
of land over which water drains to these waterbodies. A
watershed may be large or small; the Mississippi River, for example, drains
a one-million-square-mile watershed made up of thousands of smaller
watersheds, such as the drainage basins of the creeks that flow into tribu-
taries of the \Iississippi. In smaller watersheds, a few acres of land may
drain into small streams, which flow into larger streams or rivers; the lands
drained by these streams or rivers make up a larger tershed.
w w
Ground Water:
Water beneath the earth
swface between saturated
soil and rock thiit supplies
wells 1 ’znd springs.
ww
Watersheth
The entire swface drainage
area that contributes water to a
lake, river, groundwater supply,
or coastal waterbocly
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2
You are always in a watershed, no matter where you are on the land surface
of the planet. Even in the middle of the driest of terrains, the land sur-
rounding you at any given time drains to a stream, river, lake, aquifer, reser-
voir, or directly to coastal waters. Your watershed may be covered with for-
est or farmland, or be almost entirely developed.
Watershed boundaries are defined by the topographic features that dictate
natural drainage patterns within an area. They are not defined by any inter-
national, state, or county borders, or by the public or private ownership
boundaries that they may cross.
Watersheds provide useful geographic units for resource management
aimed at protecting the health of aquatic ecosystems. The types of aquatic
ecosystems supported within a particular watershed are determined by a
number of natural features:
.. the slope of the basin from its highest points to its lowest;
the amount, frequency. and intensity of rainfall or snowmelt that nor-
malls’ occurs within the watershed;
the types of soils that cover the basin’s topographic features; and
the vegetation and associated animal communities found in different
areas of the basin.
These same factors also determine potential land uses within the watershed. u/i/c/ i it interacts.
w w
Aquifer:
A geological formation of
permeable rock, gravel, or sand
containing or conducting
ground u ‘site;; especially one
that supplies wells or springs.
w w
Ecosystem:
z-l biological coiniliunity
together iilt/i the physical and
chemical environment with
Water Resource Regions
U.S. Geological Survey
For organizational purposes, the
U.S. Geological Survey has grouped
the watersheds of rt ’e United States
into 21 l.Vater Resource Regions.
Puerto Rico and
Virgin Islands
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3
Water: The Downhill Run
T the watershed’s highest points, underground springs,
falling rain, and melting snows feed the headwaters of
streams. By force of gravirv all water runs downhill to the
streams and rivers within the watershed, and is eventually
carried to the oceans. This freshwater network is the very lifeblood of all
living communities, including human society. Rivers provide drinking
water for many cities, as well as water for other domestic and industrial
uses; they also serve as transportation corridors and provide food, recre-
ation, and scenic beauty. The water’s downhill pathway is also integral to
the health of aquatic and terrestrial resources throughout the basin. For
example, the timing and quantity of stream flow and water storage in
aquifers and wetlands result in a complex pattern of fast and slow currents,
eddies, and backvarer poois, creating a rich variety of aquatic habitats that
harbor diverse communities of plants and animals. Even periodic natural
flooding plays an important role in structuring habitat and providing con-
ditions for various plant and animal species throughout much of a river sys-
tem. Flooding changes existing vegetation and reconfigures landforms in
active river channels, and the silt-laden floodwaters provide the rich soils
commonly found in river floodplains.
\\ T hen the natural variation in stream flow or water table level (aquifer
depth) is altered by dams, canals, or channelization, many natural charac-
teristics of the varied wetland and riverine habitats and their diverse flora
and fauna disappear. For example, the Everglades ecosystem in South Flori-
da has been extensively altered by the diversion of fresh water for agricul-
ture and other uses. Many plant and animal species that once thrived
throughout the Everglades cannot survive in the increasingly saline aquatic
environment, and have disappeared from the area.
Headwaters:
Upper tributaries of a river or
stream; the water from which
a river or stream rises.
wm
Floodplain:
The lowlands adjoining rivers
or streams or the shorelines of
oceans or lakes that may be
inundated by floodwaters.
Raquette Falls, New York
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4
Problems also arise as a result of the use of rivers and their tributaries as
waste streams. Historicall streams and rivers have served as dumping sites
for the refuse, waste water, and runoff from towns and cities across the
countrv Coastal waters are the ultimate receptacle for these wastes as they
flow downstream. Especially vulnerable are estuaries, valuable nursery and
feeding grounds for a host of fish, waterfowl, and other wildlife species.
Over two-thirds of all commercially important fish and shellfish species,
such as flounder, shrimp, oysters, and clams, depend on these shallow, pro-
tective coastal waters for part or all of their lives. Migrating birds find essen-
tial feeding grounds and resting stops in the salt marshes and mudflats of
the Nation’s estuaries. Pollution and destruction of wetlands and marshes
have significant negative impacts on the fish and wildlife that depend on
these normally productive areas.
Vegetation and Soil: Moving Mountains
EPENDING on the amount and type of vegetation. the soil
characteristics, the slope of the basin, and the amount and
velocity of water drainage, significant amounts of topsoil.
sediments, and other particles may be carried b rivers and
streams from the headwaters to lower portions of the watershed. Stream-
side and riverside vegetation can play an important role in anchoring soil,
catching silt, filtering out pollutants. and absorbing nitrogen and phos-
phorus, which, in over-abundance, promote harmful algal blooms. The
biotic complexity provided by both wetland and riparian vegetation is
essential to the ecological health of watersheds. The diversity of habitat
required to support a rich community of organisms is supplied by ‘aria-
tion in the river’s velocity and temperature. patches of rock and gravel of
different sizes, piles of branches and leaves, small dams formed by dead
trees, and a multitude of other distinct niches created by the complex inter-
play between water movement, geologic events, and riparian vegetation.
Maintaining a green belt of vegetation along our waterways also helps pre-
vent erosion and the silting of streams, keeps the water cool for aquatic
species. and provides shelter, hiding places, and nesting sites for countless
species of fish and wildlife.
w-ww--w
Rzparian:
Qf or relating to, the terrestrial area adjacent
w w
Estuary:
The area of coastal waters
where fi esh water from rivers
and other up land sources
meets and mixes with salt
water from the ocean.
w-w
“Soil is the iiiostfiindamenta!
resource, and its loss the most
serious of all losses .... The day
will come when the ownership
of land will carry with it the
obli ation to so use and protect
it wit/i respect to erosion that it
is not a menace to other
landowners and the public.
AI DO LEOPOLD
to the banks of a stream, rive;; lake, or wetland.
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5
The occurrence of certain natural disturbances to stream flow and vegeta-
tion is also essential to the health of the watershed. For example, landslides
occur at a magnitude and frequency characteristic of a specific landscape
and geologic setting. Landslides deliver new sediment and gravel to river
channels where they are sorted by flowing waters. These areas serve as
spawning beds for salmon, as well as habitats for aquatic insects. Landslides
at natural intervals are thus integral to the health of certain fish popula-
tions. However, increases in landslide frequency and magnitude within a
watershed as a result of poor land use management, such as road-building
on steep, unstable slopes, result in harmful downstream impacts on the
riparian vegetation, on fish populations, and on an array of other organ-
isms using the riverine corridor.
When forest fires, logging, road-building, or any residential, industrial, or
agricultural development activities destroy the trees that anchor the soil along
the water’s edge. silt washes into the stream, altering streambed habitat as it
settles out and depriving fish and aquatic insects of oxygen, ofren smother-
ing them. Similarly, unchecked water that runs off rangeland or farmland
into streams and rivers cuts gullies and carries away topsoil. The displaced
topsoil, with other debris, can enter streams and then settle out in lakes and
reservoirs where it can reduce their holding capacitv increase the costs of
water filtration, interfere with hydroelectric plants, and spoil recreational uses
of the waterbodies, in addition to disrupting the aquatic ecosystem.
w -w
“To protect your rivers, protect
your mountains.”
— EMPEROR Yu OF CHINA
i,6oo B.C.
San Francisco Bay Watershed, California
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W W W W
“The window of opportunity to reverse the trend in declining
water resources is closing because of the extent of the loss of
u’atershed processes upon which those resources depend.”
— DR J AMES KARR, DIRECTOR
INsTITuTE FOR Ex\’IRoN\l ENEM. STUDIES,
SEATTLE, \\IAsHINGT0N
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How Do We Affect Watersheds and Their Living Resources?
Piecing It All Together: Portraits of Three Watersheds
The Merrimack River Watershed
HE Merrimack River is formed by the confluence of the
Pernigewasset and Winnipesaukee Rivers in Franklin, New
Hampshire. It flows south through New Hampshire’s
capital, Concord, past its most populated cities of Man-
chester and Nashua, and into Massachusetts, where it turns
sharply east toward the Atlantic and flows through the cities J
of Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill. With the fourth-
largest basin in New England, covering 5,010 square New Hampshire
miles, the river is the drinking water source for sev-
eral Massachusetts and New Hampshire communi-
ties, supplying more than 237,000 people in Massa-
chusetts alone. Approximately 1,484,000 people I
lived in the basin in 1980.
A long history of economic dependence on man- (
ufacturing and service industries throughout the
basin resulted in severe degradation of this. j
important water resource. In the 1930’s, con- j
tamination along the length of the river,(
made it too polluted for domestic water
supply uses. Raw se\vage from the towns
and communities located along the river- j
banks, paper mill waste, tannery sludge,
and other pollutants had been dumped /
into the river untreated over a long period !
of time. By the end of World War II, the \
Merrimack was recognized as one of the
10 most polluted rivers in the nation
because of human use of this river as a j
waste stream.
‘S
Today, governmental agencies and citi-
zen groups in the watershed are working to address the
issues affecting river life and water qualitv For example, the
Merrimack River Watershed Council, an interstate organi-
zation dedicated to the protection of the Merrimack River, is
building a citizenry alert to the issues and establishing coali-
tions to protect and restore the river.
Q
Massachusetts
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8
Wyoming
-
Colorado
I Nebraska
- - - -
The South Platte River Watershed
HE South Platte River originates in the mountainous region of central
Colorado at altitudes greater than 14,000 feet above sea level, and flows
generally eastward for 2() miles through the populous Front Range urban
corridor and across Colorado’s eastern plains. The South Platte continues into
Nebraska, where it joins with the North Platte to become the Platte River, which then
flows into the Nlissouri River. A number of tributaries join the South Platte as it flows
north- and eastward toward the plains. The total area of the entire South Platte River
basin covers 3,900 square miles.
Severe water quality problems in the upper reaches of the South Platte and its tribu-
taries are the result of the mining of rich deposits of ores since 1859. Loadings of met-
als, including zinc, copper. and manganese, from the large number of active and aban-
doned mining sites contribute to chronic toxicity problems in certain tributaries to
the South Platte, suppressing the number and size of fish that can thrive in that envi-
ronment. Some upstream tributaries in the South Platte basin are altogether devoid
of fish populations as a result of acid mine drainage. Further downstream, around the
Denver metropolitan area, water diversions and waste water discharges are the major
impacts due to high residential and vacationing populations within the basin. After
the South Platte leaves the urbanized area, the primary impacts on the river are relat-
ed to agricultural activities. Application of fertilizers. pesticides. and herbicides are all
sources of water quality degradation affecting both surface-water sources and ground-
water reserves. In addition, although precipitation rates are low in this region, erosion
is a significant problem in maiw areas. Impacts of degraded water quality on fish
throughout the watershed range from reported fish kills on specific tributaries to
restrictions on fishing and reduced distribution of fishery habitat for many species.
Communities in the South Platte watershed are now taking action to improve the
qualitY of the river. For example. the Denver metropolitan wastewater authority has
significantly reduced the toxicirv of its vastewater by removing toxic pollutants to
the benefit of downstream waters.
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9
The San Francisco Bay Watershed
HE Sacramento and San Joaquin river watersheds drain Cali-
fornia’s Central Valley—40 percent of the State’s land area—
into San Francisco Ba\ emptying into an approximately 1,200-
square-mile marsh region. Since the mid- 19th century, one-third
of the Bay has been converted to dry land by filling, 90 percent of the Bay’s
wetlands has been destroyed, and more than 60 percent of its freshwater
inflow has been diverted, mainly for irrigation.
So productive were the Bay’s fisheries in 1 8 ’5 that the Bay region supplied
93 percent of the State’s commercial fishery products. By 1950, the entire
fishery was almost depleted. A similar story may be told of the
waterfowl, shorebirds, and game that once abounded in the
region. As a result of gold mining and flood protection,
extensive levees throughout the delta eventually exclud-
ed tides and floodwaters from 90 percent of the marsh,
vastly changing its physical character, vegetation, and
fauna. Nineteenth-century hydraulic mining in the drain-
age areas of the rivers deposited tens of millions of cubic
meters of earth and rock into the Bay. This reduced its
depth and changed its shape and circulatory patterns. In
addition, dams above the delta blocked fish from their
spawning grounds upriver and reduced the freshwater
inflow to less than 40 percent of historic totals, thus con-
tributing to the demise of Bay fisheries. These problems
have been compounded by massive discharges of agricul-
tural wastewater, much of it containing contaminants
and toxic elements from fertilizers and pesticides. Un-
treated urban runoff, containing substantial quantities of
oil and grease washed by rain through storm drains into
the Ba\ and spills of industrial chemicals add further to
the stress on the estuarine ecosystem.
Recognizing the severe degradation of the Bay’s
resources, San Francisco Bay was designated
an estuary of national significance in 1 98 .
A comprehensive management plan
‘ , has been developed, and partner-
S • ship efforts are underway to restore
the Bay and its watershed.
Oregon
Sib
California
I
Q
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Tygart Valley, West Virginia
I
\ ii ’ (H;RAPIII
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Back to Basins: Using Nature Ac Our Guide
O VER the past several decades, government agencies and citizen
groups have recognized that efforts to reverse the trends of i good doctor treats the
environmental degra ation must be un ertaken in a asin-
wide context, to address the whole spectrum of activity and patient, not the disease.”
resource use throughout the watershed, from the headwaters to the receiv-
ing waters. Traditional environmental protection activities that do not con- — ARISTOTLE
sider the entire drainage area cannot successfully restore or protect down-
stream aquatic ecosystems from the impacts of basinwide activities.
State and local governments, as well as citizen and other non-governmental
initiatives, have played a valuable role in watershed-based protection, often
organizing and spearheading efforts at local levels before Federal agencies
become involved. Federal agencies also have a long history of attempting
to address many of these problems through a watershed approach, work-
ing within the limitations of their respective mandates.
State Initiatives
s the “front line” administrators of most pollution control
and coastal protection programs, several coastal States are Nonpoint Sources:
taking the lead in realigning their water quality programs
along watershed boundaries. For example, North Carolina’s D ffiise sources of contaminants
“whole basin approach” to water quality protection focuses on coordinat-
ing and integrating all program activities for each of the State’s 17 major or pollutants that cannot be
river basins, including permitting, monitoring, modeling, and wasteload attributed to a single discharge
allocations; nonpoint source assessments; special intensive studies; and
planning. Managers focus resources on conducting these activities one basin point (e.g., agricultural runoff
at a time in an effort to develop basin management plans that assess all pri-
ority problem areas and pollutant sources within the system. These plans storm water, runoff deposition
- will then rovide a basis for management decisions such as National Pol-
rrm
lutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit renewals, enforce-
ment, and monitoring. The stated goal of this effort is to develop basin-
wide strategies that protect surface water quality and use while allowing for
sound economic planning. North Carolina anticipates that it can adopt the
whole basin approach with minimal changes to the structure of the current
water quality program through increased information exchange and coor-
dination across agency programs, as well as the use of more complex water
quality modeling, data interpretation, and database management.
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12
Another example of a watershed protection effort that goes beyond water
quality protection is the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
(I)NR) integrated resource management approach to maintain biodiversi-
ty over entire watersheds, landscapes, and ecoregions. Using this approach,
DNR’s focus will shift from jurisdictional entities, such as State forests, to
ecological land units. A first step in the process—for which the goal is to
sustain entire ecological systems—has been to identify high-priority land-
scape areas such as large watersheds, forest areas, and prairie/farmland land-
scapes. These areas are then the focus of integrated management efforts
involving a full range of State and Federal agencies, local governments, and
private sector organizations. While this initiative is in its early stages, there
are indications that Minnesota’s efforts to reorganize its major natural
resources agencies along ecosystem lines will result in increased emphasis
on watershed management and protection throughout the State.
Non-Governmental Efforts
‘ON-GOVERN MENIAL watershed protection programs have
‘played an increasingly important role in protecting valuable
reas for wildlife and other purposes, as pressures have risen
to limit public expenditures fhr maintenance and development
of parks and protected areas. For instance, the Nature Conservancy (TNC)
acquires and maintains carefully targeted areas of unique ecological impor-
tance, and has actively promoted the acquisition of riparian lands for the
purpose of creating buffers or conservation easements along rivers, streams,
and wetlands throughout the country. Since 1975, 1’NC also has been
refining procedures for identifying and ranking natural areas to focus its
acquisition and management activities on properties containing rare or
threatened species or ecosystems, and has compiled this information for
many States on a hydrologic unit (watershed) basis.
Local citizen groups have been very effective at helping to restore water-
sheds. For example, watershed restoration of the Mattole River in Califor-
nia was begun by a small group of about a dozen people residing ill the
Mattole watershed. This group, called the Martole Watershed Salmon Sup-
port Group (MWSSG) initiated erosion control, reforestation, fishery habi-
tat repair, and habitat enhancement. Later, a larger group known as the
Mattole Restoration Council was formed for long-range planning and
active watershed restoration through consensual decision-making. The
group’s guiding principle in watershed restoration has been to imitate nat-
ural processes as closely as possible. Early activities included a citizen—con-
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13
ducted fishery habitat inventory throughout the watershed. Citizens also
inventoried the remaining old growth forests, and more recently, svsternat-
icallv identified sources of erosion in the watershed and prescribed remedi—
al actions. In the estuary. the MWSSG has attached drifnvood structures
to the riverbanks to provide shade and shelter to juvenile king salmon and
steelhead, and a two-year effort is underway to create a fishery enhance-
ment plan. Schoolchildren as well as local residents and landowners have
been extensively involved in the restoration work, especially in the release of
young salmon.
As another example of citizen watershed protection efforts, in 1987,
approximately 200 people representing private citizens, conservation and
environmental organizations, elected offIcials, universi rv faculty. and gov-
ernment convened to identify ways to solve resource management prob-
lems related to the Illinois River. Participants agreed that the river needed to
be managed as a system and that soil erosion and sedimentation were major
problems affecting functions of the river, including recreational use, fish
and wildlife protection, and flood conveyance. Following up on the rec-
ornrnendations that resulted from this meeting, the Illinois River Coali-
tion/Father N larquette Compact was organized by citizens from five river
counties to build a regional consensus and tap governmental resources for
river restoration. The Heartland \\ater Resources Council was organized
to focus on managing and restoring the river in the area around Peoria. The
Soil and Water Conservation task force, made up of the elected directors
of seven conservation districts along the river, as well as advisors from
industry. State and Federal agencies. and conservation organizations began
working to accelerate the implementation of conservation practices
throughout the watershed. The task force also receives grants and equip-
ment from the Caterpillar Tractor Company and funding from the Illinois
Department of Energy and Natural Resources to accomplish its training
and technology transfer activities.
Finally, a number of volunteer citizen monitoring efforts, such as Save Our
Streams, have helped collect water quality data needed to assess impacts of
management actions throughout watersheds, as well as to educate local
communities about what they can do to protect their water resources.
Recently, as part of the Mississippi River Project ‘93. more than 1,000 stu-
dents in the ten States along the Mississippi and more than 1,000 students
in other areas conducted water quality sampling for this major initiative for
the \ ar of the Gulf of Mexico. This project’s goal was to help students bet-
ter understand the important relationship bet\veen the river and the Gulf
into which it flows. It also demonstrated that we are all connected through
our water resources, and that we each can be a part of the solution to prob-
lems that threaten them.
Student volunteers and Vice President
Gore analyze water samples from the
Mississippi River. ( iississi pi River
Project, 1993)
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1 -
Federal Efforts
EDERAL agencies wjth responsibilities for infrastructure devel-
opment, resource management, and environmental protection
programs also have supported or administered some type of
watershed protection or management planning. In many cases,
their efforts involve active participation by a range of parties with an inter-
est in the resource issues being addressed, and often these agencies work as
a team with other Federal and State agencies to resolve such issues.
For example, ecosystem-based management of natural resources, which fre-
quently is accomplished through watershed approaches, is essential to
achieving sustainable agricultural production that ensures environmental
quality while meeting society’s changing needs. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) initiatives i-elated to watershed and aquatic resource
quality include education and technical assistance provided to State and
local levels, research and development, and database development and eval-
uation. USDA’s Soil Conservation Service (SCS) watershed approach,
which focuses on agricultural landowners in small watersheds, is a compre-
hensive planning process that considers all resources in the watershed—
soil, water, air, plants, and animals—while including social, cultural, and
economic factors. The process tailors workable solutioiis to ecosystem needs
through the participation and leadership of stakeholders in the resources.
The resulting watershed plans contain goals to be attained to address
defined resource problems and identification of Federal, State and local
sources of technical, educational, and funding assistance for achieving those
goals.
The concept of watershed dynamics and functions is also integral to Army
Corps of Engineers (COE) flood control and navigation projects, since
both demand an understanding of the routes, amounts, and velocities of
water as it drains from uplands to streams, rivers, wetlands, and coastal
areas. Consequently, watersheds have been incorporated into COF plan-
ning activities as fundamental hydrogeographic units to be considered in
regional planning efforts, thus assuring that the collective effects of all antic-
ipated activities (flood control, navigation, agriculture, transportation, nat-
ural resource management, housing, etc.) can be properly evaluated. li this
end, the COE is currently revising its environmental planning guidance to
give full attention to the importance of ecosystem management via water-
sheds. The COE also is promoting a new class of projects, the benefits of
which will improve the environment by restoring fish and wildlife habitats
within a watershed that either have been degraded by a COE project or
that could be effectively restored through a COE project.
In addition to the COE projects described above, the Department of
Defense (DOD) manages more than 300 major installations on approxi-
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15
mately 25 million acres across the United States. Environmental planning,
special environmental enhancement projects, and consultation with out-
side agencies are incorporated into the installation management process to
ensure the best protection and conservation of natural resources possible
on DOD property. As a result, environmental impacts are minimized, non-
point source pollution is reduced, hazardous waste production is controlled,
and sensitive resource areas such as wetlands are afforded special protection.
As a key member of the local community, DOD provides a Federal link in
a watershed management approach that is essential to responsible steward-
ship of the diversity of resources throughout the ecosystem.
The DOD program includes a special initiative, the Legacy Resource Man-
agement Program (Legacy), designed to identify protect, and enhance the
management of natural and cultural resources. Approximately 600 projects
have been funded since the program’s inception
in 1991. For example, Legacy has funded restora-
tion of some 1,600 acres of bottomland hard-
wood wetlands at Barksdale Air Force Base,
Louisiana. Another Legacy-funded project is the
acquisition of the last remaining 225 acres of low
elevation old growth spruce forest in the Puget
Trough by the Department of the Navy, to ensure
conservation of natural habitat vital to the North-
west Pacific watershed ecology. This effort, locat-
ed at Naval Radio Station (T), Jim Creek, Wash-
ington, ensures a buffer of virgin old growth
around lakes, creeks, and wetlands, not only pre-
serving the area’s essential water supply but also
preserving the unique wildlife habitat.
Traditionally, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
(NOAA) Coastal Zone Management (CZM) program has served as the
foundation for watershed protection in State-defined “coastal zones.”
Recently Congress passed the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amend-
ments of 1990 (CZARA) to give special protection to coastal waters in light
of increasing beach closures, shellfish harvesting prohibitions, and the loss
of biological productivity. CZARA is a joint NOAA-Environmental Pro-
tection Agency (EPA) effort that requires State water quality agencies to
work with coastal zone management agencies to develop coastal nonpoint
source pollution control programs that “restore and protect coastal waters.”
This provides an opportunity for States to build on EPA’s Section 319
nonpoint source management programs under the Clean Water Act
(CWA) and the land use management expertise of programs approved
under the Coastal Zone Management Act to control nonpoint source con-
tributions to coastal waters on a watershed scale.
Jim Creek, Washington
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16
The Department of Interior has a number of programs that use a water-
shed approach in addressing specific issues. For example, the U.S. Geolog-
ical Survey uses hydrologic units in evaluating the quantity and qti llity of
our Nation’s waters. The U.S. Fish and Wiidli1 Service’s (FWS) habitat
restoration and wildlife protection programs also USe a watershed approach.
In the Partners for Wildlife prograni, the FWS works with private land-
owners to restore valuable habitats, for instance, b 1 ncitig cattle out of
stream beds to restore habitat for endangered freshwater mussels and other
stream—dwelling species. ‘lie FWS Inrerjurisdictional Rivers Program was
established to help correct the effects of past land management practices on
a basin scale by working with a range of parties with a stake in the water-
shed resources. The FWS Bav/Fstuarv Program tise a watershed/ecosvs—
tern approach, focusing on important coastal watersheds to restore, protect,
and enhance living resources. Some of the programs actions thus far
include restoration of fish passage and important habitats through partner-
ships with other agencies and local interests. One specific goal of the
Bay/Estuary Program is to protect the ecosystem and thus avert the need
for new listings under the Endangered Species Act.
Several EPA programs under the CWA require or support watershed or
“areawide” planning and management. For instance, EPA efforts to assure
the attainment of water quality standards under the CWA incorporate
wasteload and load allocations &r point and nonpoint sources to a water-
body based on its total capacity to assimilate contaminant loadings from
its watershed. EPA’s National Estuary Program (NEP) aims to protect and
restore water quality and living resources in estuaries and their drainage
basins. Comprehensive management plans for NEP sites are developed
through a partnership of Federal, State, and local agencies responsible for
protecting and managing estuarine resources and the citizens and business-
es who depend on the estuary for their livelihoods and quality of life. Act iv—
ities to protect and improve water quality and living resources of the eswarv
are defined in these plans for the entire surrounding land area or watershed
of each NEP site.
EPA is currently leading a major effort to promote watershed protection as
the basic framework for the water quality programs it adniinisters or sup-
ports. The key elements of this approach are the (1) forniation of partner-
ships among people with an active interest in tile watershed (the stake-
holders); (2) joint identification of the problems or primary threats to
human and ecosystem health; and (3) implementation of problem-solving
actions in an integrated fi shion. While this is not a new concept. it is
intended to provide a new &)cus and framework for integrating ongoing
programs around hydrologically defined areas and move beyond i11 prov-
ing chemical water quality to include measures of ecological health (i.e..
physical quality, habitat quality, and biological quality).
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Vision of the Future: A New Perspective
N general, the current Federal and State structure for decision-
making that affects or protects the environment is stratified by
environmental media programs, as well as by political and admin-
istrative jurisdictions. Air laws and regulations protect air quality and
control harmful emissions to the atmosphere. Water laws and regulations
protect water quality, controlling discharges of pollutants to U.S. waters
and promoting pollution prevention efforts. Waste disposal laws and regu-
lations govern the way in which solid and hazardous wastes are managed
and disposed. Endangered species laws protect threatened and endangered
species. These statutes and authorities and the resulting government pro-
grams have not traditionally encouraged cross-media, multi-institutional,
ecosystem-based approaches among all the various agencies with responsi-
bilities that affect watersheds. In many cases, existing regulations may
obstruct these types of approaches.
a
.
A
Savannah River, Georgia
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It is increasingly clear that threats to aquatic resources cannot adequately
be addressed, nor can problems posed by freshwater diversions, wetlands
destruction, or conflicts between endangered species habitat and industry
be solved, without a more integrated watershed approach to the manage-
ment and protection of those resources. Today’s challenges include address-
ing not only the direct sources of pollution, but also the significant pollu-
tion problems that come from literally millions of nonpoint sources.
Downstream and coastal waters are seriously impacted by the effects of
activities carried out higher in the watershed. Safe drinking water supplies
must be maintained, and aquatic habitats restored and protected, while at
the same time meeting the infrastructure needs of our society. These chal-
lenges require innovative, cooperative solutions on an ecosystem level. They
require consideration of the condition and capacities of landscapes within
the entire watershed. They also require collaborative attention from the full
range of decision-makers who impact or protect those resources and from
stakeholders who live, work, or own land in watersheds and have an inter-
est in resource health and integrity.
We need an improved framework at National, regional, State, and local lev-
els to better integrate efforts that could contribute to watershed restoration,
protection, and management and to encourage such efforts already under-
way. In addition, government agencies at all levels must work more closely
with each other and with the private sector to solve common problems. We
must develop environmental solutions using a holistic approach that con-
siders the interconnectedness of surface water, ground water, and aquatic
and related land resources. These solutions must be undertaken in a geo-
graphic context that addresses the whole spectrum of activity and resource
use throughout the watershed. Finally, sustainable development must be
the unifying principle for all future approaches to managing natural
resources.
Sustainable Development:
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability offuture
generations to meet their needs.
— OUR COMMON FUTURE, 1987
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New Directions
HE concept of watershed-based environmental protection has
been included in congressional debate on the reauthorization of
the Clean Water Act, with many advocates eniphasizing the need
for a stronger watershed framework in the management and protec-
tion of our Nation’s aquatic resources. Specific proposals include providing
authority for voluntary watershed planning at the State level to protect water
quality and the living resources supported by the waters. Watershed plans
are to characterize waters and land uses of the watershed, identify water qual-
ity problems and goals for watershed managements allocate needed load
reductions among point and nonpoint sources, and identify financial
resources and institutional arrangements necessary for implementation.
The current administration also has endorsed the concept of cross-agency
ecosystem management initiatives, and supports an ecosystem framework
through which Federal agencies, State, local, and tribal governments, the
public, and Congress can work together to develop specific strategies, refo-
cus current programs and resources, and identify cost-effective investments
in the economic and ecological health of a region.
Another current model for integrated site-specific coastal ecosystem restora-
tion is the collaborative partnership known as Coastal America. Through
this partnership, the full spectrum of infrastructure agencies, resource man-
agement agencies, environmental protection agencies (both Federal and
State), local, private, and citizen interests have joined forces to restore
coastal ecosystems. The partnership provides a framework for many of the
parties conducting activities throughout the watershed that affect the aquat-
ic ecosystem to collaboratively resolve the problems that threaten the water-
shed’s aquatic resources.
Through these and similar partnership efforts we are addressing the prob-
lems facing our Nation’s aquatic ecosystems and living resources from a new
perspective. The future of our aquatic ecosystems and the fish and wildlife
that depend on them lies in integrated and collaborative decision-making
on a watershed basis and in an ecosystem context. By these means we can
protect and support clean, abundant habitats and water resources, healthy
ecosystems, and continued use of our waterways for our economic and
environmental benefit, from the beginning to the end.
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The Chesapeake Bay Partnership
UCCESSFUL watershed management requires interagencv/intergovernmental cooperation and coordina-
tion beyond what has typically been practiced. Such collaboration has much to do with the successful
efforts to address the health of Chesapeake Bay using a watershed approach.
Chesapeake Bay largest of the United States’ 130 estuaries and second-largest in the world, is a shallow estuary
receiving water from a 64,000-square-mile drainage basin that includes portions of the states of New York, Penn-
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, \‘irginia. and all of the District of Columbia.
With a population of 13 million people living svithin its watershed, the Bay’s waters support 295 species of finfish,
45 species of shell6sh, and 2.’OO plant species. The Bay also is home to 29 species of waterfowl and is a major
resting ground along the Atlantic Migratory Bird Flyway Approximately one million waterfowl winter in the Bay’s
basin each year. The Chesapeake is also a major recreational and commercial resource, with two of the five major
North Atlantic ports in the Unitcd States located on its shores.
The rivers and streams draining into the Bay, and the Bay itself have suffered from the effects of more than two
centuries of steady growth. from increasing pollution and runoff and from accumulation of sediment and indus-
trial wastes. The first signals of ecosystem imbalance in the hay were precipitous declines in populations of its
fIsh, shellf-Ish, and waterfowl noted in the 1 q0’s. By 19 ’8, a sharp decline in submerged aquatic vegetation
(SAV). especially in the Bay’s tipper reaches, also indicated that the Bay was in trouble. Studies concluded that
nutrient enrichment, much of which is contributed by agricultural activities both upland and neatshore and treat-
ed sewage. was the primarY factor in the decline of SAV beds. As a consequence of nutrient enrichment, there
were also increases in the duration and extent of low levels of dissolved oxygen and subsequent loss of habitat.
The Chesapeake Bay Program was formed in 1983 with representatives from Virginia. Maryland. Pennsylvania.
the District of Columbia. EPA, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission signing the first Chesapeake Bay Agree-
ment to restore the Bay as a single ecosystem. The partnership also involves the active participation of other Fed-
eral agencies (such as F”SX T S. NOAA. and SCS). local governments, citizens, and businesses. A revised Agreement.
signed in 198’. contained a commitment by the parties to reduce the amount of nutrients reaching the Bay by 40
percent by the turn of the centur\ On a broader level, the Agreement clearly established that the productivity
diversitn and abundance of the estuary’s aquatic plants and animals would be used as the ultimate measurement
of the Bay’s condition. In 1992. amendments to the Agreement reaffirmed the 40 percent commitment and
directed that specific nutrient reduction goals be set for each of the Bay’s major tributaries. Tributary strategies
are under development now, refocusing e orts to reduce nutrients and restore habitat at the watershed level.
The aim of the Chesapeake Bay Program is to produce actions that restore the Bay. Installing fish ladders, planting
trees, enacting growth management legislation, improving sewage treatment plants. and providing assistance to
farmers and homeowners to reduce nutrient pollution from runoff are all activities that occur through the pro-
gram. The program guides and coordinates the restoration actions of literally hundreds of Federal, State. and local
government agencies. and works with dozens of business, civic, agricultural, scientific and technical, and environ-
mental organizations throughout the entire watershed of the Chesapeake to create or place their endeavors in an
eRective pattern. The results have been very positive. More than ITS miles of fish habitat have been made acces-
sible through fish passage improvernents phosphorus levels have been reduced by 16 percent, although nitrogen
levels have not changed striped bass populations are recovering through restricted fishing and stocking efforts;
submerged aquatic vegetation has increased 58 percent since 1984; noncompliance rates among water quality per-
mittees have dropped by T’O percent; and toxic emissions and releases have been reduced by 43 percent.
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From the Beginning...
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We’re All Part of the Problem—We’re All Part of the Solution
Get Involved in the Protection of Your Watershed!
In Your Home or Workplace
Sort trash to separate recyclable material from garhagc.
Recycle newspapers and other paper/cardboard.
Install more insulation and keep furnaces in good repair.
Conserve energy: Turn off lights and other electrical appliances when they are not in use.
Set a reasonable temperature for heating and cooling.
? Use biodegradable, low-phosphate detergents.
Carefully monitor what is poured down your household drains.
. Never dump motor oil, paints, or chemicals of any kind in gutters, storm drains, or sinks.
Buy products in pumps, not aerosols.
Use biodegradable plastic garbage bags.
Use water conservation devices in your home.
Check product labels for environmental safety and look for alternatives to hazardous products.
Buy products made of or packaged in recycled paper or in refillable packages.
e - Avoid products from companies not environmentally responsible.
in Your Yard
Reduce water-thirsty lawn areas by increasing plaiit beds, natural areas, and ground covers.
Landscape with swales (low areas) and berms (elevated areas) to catch and filter runofE
Water your lawn only when it looks dry.
Mow grass frequently so that no more than one-third of the blade is clipped at one time.
? Compost household and yard waste.
? Use non-hazardous products or alternative methods for pest control on your property.
$ Establish a zone of native plants between your lawn and the shoreline.
In Your Community
l Return bottles and cans to a store or recycling center.
. Take your own bags to the market.
Cut back on auto use and support mass transit.
? Encourage the development of hike paths and ca!pool lanes.
- Support land uses that minimize loss of habitats and inipacts to waterways and wetlands.
‘ - Support local environmental groups that work to protect watershed resources.
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