Laura Van Riper, National Riparian Service Team, Bureau of Land Management, 3050 NE Third Street, Prineville, OR 97754
The National Riparian Service Team (NRST) is a Federal level, interdisciplinary and interagency team, created in 1996 to implement a strategy (Creeks and Communities, or C&C) for bringing diverse stakeholders together to collectively address riparian-wetland issues across the Western United States. To be successful over the long-term, adaptive, ecosystem-based management approaches require a shift in focus from individual landowners and resources to working at a landscape scale. Key to this is the creation of objectives that are tied to entire catchments, and developed and achieved by the communities involved. The concept of the ‘Working Landscapes Alliance’ (WLA) has grown out of a need to encourage and facilitate these efforts. The WLA is an interdisciplinary team and growing learning alliance of individuals from government, the non-profit and private sectors, united by long-standing relationships and shared values, and a focus on practical and voluntary solutions The WLA’s core approach is adaptive and focused on growing the capacity of the landscape, communities and individuals to provide sustainable futures. The WLA addresses whole landscapes, working across the boundaries of institutions, ownerships and technical disciplines to reveal the ecological, economic and social connectivity inherent in a functioning system. Tools and services span five categories: (1) adaptive management based on ecological principles, (2) adding value to traditional ranch products and diversifying the economic uses of working landscapes, (3) collaboration and conflict resolution, (4) enhancing access to financial capital, and (5) empowering a ‘third’ voice that reflects the experiences of community-based efforts. This presentation will: (1) provide an overview of the NRST and C&C strategy, (2) discuss the evolution of the NRST and Sustainable Northwest partnership that has led to the WLA, and (3) examine the on-the-ground approach and outcomes associated WLA work in the Klamath Basin and expansion of this model to other important Western communities.
