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Stewardship in the Lower White River
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Photo: WA Forest Protection Association |
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An area of the lower White River in the Puyallup River watershed of Pierce County is the site of the Council’s western Washington pilot project. Although surrounded by development, this area retains a significant amount of functional riparian habitat that supports a variety of fish and wildlife species.
The Pierce County Biodiversity Alliance will lead the project. The Alliance represents a broad cross-section of conservation agencies and organizations that share an interest in conserving the biodiversity of Pierce County. Joining the Alliance is the Puyallup River Watershed Council, a forum that promotes and implements programs to restore, maintain, and enhance the watershed in order to protect its environmental, economic, and cultural health.
The pilot project will engage landowners and citizens in learning and stewardship through workshops, training, data collection efforts, community meetings, and planning involvement. Diverse landowners are found in this area, including utilities, cities and counties, the Muckleshoot Tribe, and private owners. Project objectives include:- Developing better information about existing biodiversity and its stressors through rigorous data collection.
- Recruiting and training individuals and groups as “citizen scientists.”
- Assisting willing landowners to learn about and conserve the biodiversity found on their lands.
The project will include the following activities:
- Biological inventories (or “bioblitzes” – a form of rapid biodiversity assessment) on the biologically rich lands included within the geographic scope of this project.
- Surveying and monitoring biodiversity, using the principles and methods of NatureMapping.
- Engaging private and commercial landowners in voluntary incentive programs, and assessing the effectiveness of those programs.
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The Biodiversity Alliance formed in 1999 after asking Pierce County to include areas with the greatest amount of biodiversity as “open space” in the county’s comprehensive plan. Pierce County agreed and, with other key partners, embarked on a multi-year process to assess biodiversity within the county using GAP analysis.
The resulting Biodiversity Network identifies 16 biologically rich areas known as “biodiversity management areas” and connecting corridors that cover nearly 268,000 acres of land. The lower White River area at the core of this pilot project is one of these biodiversity management areas. The Alliance continues its involvement in biodiversity conservation through landowner outreach and education in these identified areas.
The project partners are contributing $10,000 of in-kind support for this effort, as well as a $7,000 grant from the Point Defiance Zoo Society. For further information, contact John Garner of Metro Parks Tacoma.
Definitions:
Citizen science: Citizen science engages volunteers in the collection of ecological information, often under the leadership of conservation agencies or organizations. Use of citizen scientists is growing for several reasons: (1) Conservation agencies and organizations often do not have enough resources to conduct all of the monitoring they need; (2) Many citizens have expert skills in fish, wildlife, and plant observation as a result of a hobby or avocation; (3) Much more data can be collected by enabling or training citizen scientists to work with conservation agencies and organizations, helping to achieve a more robust and comprehensive understanding of biodiversity status and trends. >back
Rapid biodiversity assessment: The term "rapid biodiversity assessment" was coined to describe a monitoring approach that relies on a subset of indicators (for example, selected species) to be able to quickly draw conclusions about the health, richness, or diversity of a biological feature. Several methods have been developed for use in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. A "bioblitz" is a rapid biological inventory of plant and animal diversity found in a designated area within a 24-hour period. >back
NatureMapping: The NatureMapping Program is a volunteer and student wildlife monitoring program founded by the Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (University of Washington) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to serve conservation planning and education needs. The participants' wildlife observations help the two agencies fill in statewide species distribution maps, although data collected by the public are kept separate from agency-collected data. >back
GAP analysis: The goal of the GAP Analysis Program is to keep common species common by identifying those species and plant communities that are not adequately represented in existing conservation lands. Common species are those not currently threatened with extinction. By identifying their habitats, GAP Analysis gives land managers and policy makers the information they need to make better-informed decisions when identifying priority areas for conservation. >back