Clayton Cox, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow @ US EPA Workshop Welcome Clayton Cox, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow @ US EPA

Watershed Stewardship We all Live in a Watershed Watershed stewards protect freshwater resources. Stewardship helps keep streams healthy and builds resilience within the watershed. Define Stewardship https://extension.umd.edu/watershed/watershed-stewards-academy Master Watershed Stewards... Assess and identify pollution sources and restoration opportunities Educate their community on pollution sources and how to reduce them Engage their community in pollution-reducing action Implement small rainscaping projects Reduce pollution sources through behavior change programs (i.e. pet waste, lawn chemicals, outdoor irrigation, etc.) Connect communities with environmental resources and people who can help restore watersheds Inspect and/or maintain small BMPs http://www.anacostiaws.org/programs/education/watershed-stewards-academy The Watershed Stewards Academy equips and supports community leaders to recognize and address local pollution problems in their nearby streams and rivers. WSA provides community leaders with the tools and resources they need to bring solutions to these problems, restoring their local waterways and the communities they affect. Each repair by each steward adds up in each and every community, with a “flood” of stewards throughout our local watersheds empowered to transform stormwater to clean water, pollution to solution, concerned resident to master steward.

Building Resilience Resilience is about making people, communities and systems better prepared to withstand catastrophic events—both natural and manmade—and able to bounce back more quickly and emerge stronger from these shocks and stresses. The choices we make now will impact the severity of future events and the ability of social and environmental systems to recover https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/our-work/topics/resilience/ https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/our-work/initiatives/fresh-water/

Water is a Precious Resource Surface Waters only 0.008% of all water Increasing Global Needs Drinking Water demand 40% more than supply by 2030 70% more Food by 2050 Climate Change Risk of Flood and Drought Water Stress is increasing Global water demand is expected to exceed supply by 40 percent by 2030 Precipitation patterns are changing bringing more flooding and more droughts Quality of water constantly under threat from development https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html

Maintaining Resilience and Preserving Freshwater Resources Challenge but also an Opportunity to transform water management practices in a way that builds resilience in the freshwater systems, and local communities. Limited Use Adaptive Allocation Transparent Exchange Social Inclusion & Equity Environmental Integrity. maintaining environmental functions necessary for good ecological status https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/our-work/initiatives/fresh-water/

Ecological Status of Freshwaters ~50% Surface Waters Impaired 50-60% of Wetlands lost ~90% of Floodplains Disrupted €10-20 Billion Annual Flood Costs Value of healthy streams and rivers Trillions of $ annually http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/infographics.htm https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/clean-water/streams-wetlands/ http://e360.yale.edu/features/the_soil_pollution_crisis_in_china_a_cleanup_presents_daunting_challenge https://freshwaterblog.net/2013/07/30/what-rivers-do-for-us/ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1936-704X.2016.03222.x/full

Benefits of Functional Watersheds

We Choose how we Live with Rivers Natural

We Choose how we Live with Rivers Natural Or Modified

We Choose how we Live with Rivers Natural Or Modified A Compromise

Community Monitoring Healthy watersheds depend on an Informed Public the Right Decisions Community Action Monitoring helps Communities Address their Interests Make Informed Decisions Improve Stream Health Build Resilience https://acwi.gov/monitoring/vm/publications/articles/article_Why_Makes_Sense.pdf http://yubariver.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/RMcollage8.jpg

Local Actions- Big Impact FOCUS IMPACT Monitoring at local “Reaches” Improvements in local “Catchments” Benefits entire “River Basins” No Regret Need Information Adaptive Management

Water Monitoring Partners Value of Partnerships Water Monitoring Partners   Thanks to our partners who help make our Citizen Water Monitoring Program a success! City of Arcata’s Environmental Services Department City of Eureka’s Stormwater Division Coast Seafoods Company Humboldt County Department of Environmental Health's Ocean Monitoring Program Humboldt County Department of Public Works North Coast Laboratories North Coast Stormwater Coalition North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board Pacific Watershed Associates Salmon Forever State Water Resources Board’s Clean Water Team Sustainable Watershed Management Requires: Governance Balance of Uses Quality Protected Areas Partnering Increases Capacity Magnifies Impact Leverages Resources https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18004619 https://www.worldwildlife.org/projects/alliance-for-water-stewardship http://a4ws.org/about/ http://www.ewp.eu/

Thank You!