URBANWATERS
FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP
Restoring Urban Waters, Revitalizing Communities
GREEN-DUWAMISH URBAN WATERS FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP
WORKPLAN - 2019
Background
The Green-Duwamish Watershed (GDW) flows for over 93 miles beginning
at the crest of the Cascade Mountains ending as it empties into Elliott Bay in
downtown Seattle, just beyond the Port of Seattle. Land use varies
considerably across the watershed with the upper sub-watershed is almost
entirely in forest production; The Middle Green is a mix of residential,
commercial forestry and agricultural production. The Lower Green is
characterized by residential, industrial and commercial land uses. Finally, the
lower river, called the Duwamish Estuary or Duwamish Waterway, is split
between residential and heavy industrial uses and is home to Boeing, the
Port of Seattle, the Duwamish Tribe, numerous residential communities, and
Superfund sites.
The Urban Waters Federal Partnership was created in 2011 as an effort to
"revitalize urban waterways and the communities that surround them,
transforming overlooked assets into treasured centerpieces and drivers of
urban and community revitalization." The Green-Duwamish Urban Waters
Federal Partnership (GD-UWFP) was designated as a partnership site in
2013. The designation effort was led by the USFS PNW Research Station,
with support from NRCS and EPA RIO, Washington Operations Office.
Since the launch, the programmatic work of the GD-UWP is led by the
USFS PNW Research Station, and more recently has been supported by
USFS R6 of State and Private Forestry.
Overall Goals
• Connect watershed recovery efforts with local needs and priorities
• Promote cross-agency partnerships
• Reconnect people to their waterways
• Advance social equity, environmental justice, local economic development
benefits
• Promote the multi-benefit opportunities generated by green infrastructure
investments especially those framed by the health-nature nexus
Point of Contact:
Weston Brinkley, GD-UWFP
Anibcuidador
weston@streetsoundsecology.com
206-412-3244
Federal Agency Lead:
USD A Foredt Service:
• PNWResearch Station -Dale
Blahna
dblahna@fs.fed.us: 206-732-7833:
• Region 6 State and Private
1'ore.ilry -Kathy Sheehan
katharine.sheehan@usda.gov;
503-808-2351
Program Information:
www.epa.gov/urbanwaterspartne
rs/urban-waters-and-green-
duwamish-watershed-Washington
Augudt 2019 — i'erdion 4
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URBANWATERS
FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP
Restoring Urban Waters, Revitalizing Communities
Purpose
This document serves as the workplan for the (tD-UWI' I1 Ambassador. It does not represent the
comprehensive list of actions or objectives of GD-UWFP partners or networks. This workplan will guide
a specific set of work, to be updated annually or as funding adjusts priorities. Accomplishments and
catalog of actions completed will be collected in other documents.
Partner Recognition
Funderd:
• USD A Forest Service PNW Research Station
• USD A Forest Service State and Private Region 6, Urban and Community Forestry
Core Additional Federal Partnerd:
• US EPA Region 10, Water Division
Participating NetworkJ Include:
• WRIA 9 (Watershed Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) ( consisting of 17 local governments and in
addition to Boeing, King County, King Conservation District, King County Flood Control District, Mid
Sound Fisheries, Tacoma Public Utilities, US ACE, State of WA Departments, and Tribal Governments)
• Green the Green Network (Many municipalities within the Middle Green River along with non-profit
partners)
• Duwamish Alive Coalition
• City of Seattle, Duwamish Valley Action Plan Implementation Team.
• Our Green/Duwamish Watershed program of King County
• NIPSC (Northwest Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities)
• Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition
• Emerald Alliance
Ambassador's General Activities
• Local outreach and engagement with key groups throughout the watershed including potential funders
to support the work and goals of the GD-UWFP.
• Ongoing engagement with national UWFP coordinators, other UWFP locations, and key UWFP
contacts in DC, including routine communications related to GD-UWFP.
• Convene meetings of cooperating partners working in the GDW to better leverage research, policy,
implementation efforts and project effectiveness including data, methods, and opportunities to connect
with local stakeholders. Consider GDW-wide reporting and tracking.
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URBANWATERS
FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP
Restoring Urban Waters, Revitalizing Communities
• Outreach and engagement with stakeholders to identify research, policy, and implementation needs,
capacity, opportunities, and funding. Target connections with State of Washington Departments, Non-
profit organizations, and Academic institutions and elementary schools.
• Support the existing organizational networks within the GDW, serving as a member attending
monthly or quarterly meetings, building agendas, and supporting implementation for, among others:
O WRIA9 Ecosystem Forum, and the various Technical Planning Committees
O The Green the Green Network Steering Committee
O Duwamish Alive Coalition Planning Committee
O Our Green/Duwamish network
O Northwest Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities (NIPSC)
• Advance the connections between the GD-UWFP effort and EPA RIO Puget Sound recovery team.
• Advance the research connection between USFS PNW Research Station and EPA RIO scientists.
• Participate and track the Lower Duwamish Stakeholder and Superfund meetings and updates.
• Engage new federal partners and build relationships with federal entities not currently supporting the
GD-UWFP.
• Explore the benefits of green infrastructure and human health and well-being in the GDW.
• Promote the Green-Duwamish watershed as an experimental landscape, advancing the Green
Duwamish Learning Landscape (GDLL), and completing research and project implementation with this
partnership.
• Identify, disseminate, and support applications, letters, and proposals for new funding opportunities
for the GDW.
• Identify and implement projects to support urban and community forests in the GDW.
2019 Objectives
General Ta,
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URBANWATERS
FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP
Restoring Urban Waters, Revitalizing Communities
Facilitation an? Convening
i) Serve on the Duwamish Alive Coalition Committee. Co-develop and co-host the 2019 Duwamish
Alive Coalition Workshop on the intersection between GDW recovery and housing affordability.
Begin planning for the 2020 Duwamish Alive Symposium.
|) Serve on the WRIA9 Ecosystem Forum — Attend quarterly meetings (4), vote on materials, as
needed. Attend Technical Advisory Team meetings (2-3), as needed.
k) Serve on the Green the Green Management Team. Co-host quarterly (4) meetings — develop
priority agendas, facilitate speakers, compile feedback and learning.
1) Facilitate the development of a Green the Green Communications Strategy. Manage
communications consultant and contract.
m) Begin implementation of Green the Green Communications Strategy, working with
participants for incorporation of strategy into their efforts.
Technical Expertise
n) Participate in Our Green/Duwamish quarterly (4) meetings, of the Stormwater group.
o) Participate on the Technical Advisory Committee for Pollutant Loading Assessment with
Department of Ecology.
p) Explore ecosystem services applications and opportunities with EPA programing associated
with the GDW
q) Draft Letters of Support and provide technical expertise on grant applications and other funding
opportunities perused by partners.
r) Engage with local water (SPU, Tacoma Water-) utilities around the creation of Green
Performance Bonds, and other projects supporting the GDW.
s) Participate in the Annual Green Infrastructure Summit with the organization Stewardship
Partners and others.
t) Participate in City Habitats workshops organized by The Nature Conservancy and others.
u) Participate in Outside Citywide: City of Seattle cross-departmental coordination of efforts to
streamline investment in open space across the city, and a focus on the GDW community of South
Park.
v) Advise on the King County's 2005 Salmon Habitat Plan update.
w) Provide additional support for the Green Duwamish Learning Landscape and other research
efforts and project implementation effecting the GDW.
2019 - 2021 (3-year plan) Ongoing Objectives
a. Complete a Strategic Plan for the Green the Green Network acting as co-lead of the network's
Management Team.
b. Contribute to the completion of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition's Air Program
c. Contribute to the completion of the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps' Urban Forestry
Curriculum
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URBANWATERS
FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP
d. Contribute to the completion of the City of Seattle's Urban Forestry Management Plan
e. Engage new federal and state partners and build relationships with federal entities not
currently supporting the GD-UWFP. Federal targets include: USGS, NRCS, the Army Corps of
Engineers, NOAA, and US Fish and Wildlife.
f. Serve as convener and facilitator in the establishment of an Upper Green River Watershed
Plan, bringing the upper watershed into the UWI'P.
g. Work with the USFS to facilitate the connection of research capacity with the relevant
research needs of those engaged in work across the watershed, including those of EPA RIO, EPA
ORD, and other relevant federal, state and local entities.
h. Work with the USFS to identify and implement high priority projects to maintain and expand
urban and community forests in the GDW.
i. Identify funding and partnerships opportunities to advance GDLL projects and collaborative
structure.
j. Collaborate with Western Washington University and other partners to develop a National
Science Foundation Coupled Natural and Human Systems Research Project Proposal for the
Green-Duwamish Watershed.
k. Establish an additional Federal funding source beyond USDA Forest Service for the UWFP-
GD.
1. Establish a non-Federal funding source beyond USDA Forest Service for the UWFP-GD.
2019 Budget Snapshot
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