Protecting Wild & Scenic River Values Through Land Conservation RMS & NARRP Symposium Bridging Conservation and Recreation May 20, 2010 Portland, Oregon Phil Kincare Skagit Wild & Scenic River Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie NF
Introduction
The Skagit Watershed
An Extraordinary Place
An Extraordinary Place
Skagit River Land Acquisition Focus of Land Acquisition Protect Skagit WSR values Provide recreation access Part of watershed protection strategy Part of Chinook Recovery Strategy
Skagit River Land Acquisition FS Acquisitions focused on providing recreation access and protection of ORV s, particularly fish and wildlife habitat. Land acquisition by the federal government can be controversial and yet it is a useful tool to protect riverrelated resources. Acquisition accomplished in partnership with other conservation organizations, is a better strategy to protect wild and scenic river values than the federal government acting alone.
Skagit River Land Acquisition Targeted land acquisition for conservation was initiated by the Nature Conservancy and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1976 to protect one of the largest wintering populations of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. Through the years TNC has continued to acquire or assist habitat acquisition efforts throughout the basin. 1000 Acres in WSR 550 Acres associated uplands and wetlands
Skagit River Land Acquisition Forest Service land acquisition began in the early 1990 s (with help from third parties) as a result of public concern over loss of habitat and property due to the effects of severe flooding. Acquisition of key recreation access points was also a goal. FS has not acquired land in the WSR since 2003. 3350 Acres within WSR 820 associated upland arces
Skagit River Land Acquisition Seattle City Light began acquisition of key floodplain and upland habitat in 1992 under their FERC license. In 2000, SCL voluntarily began purchasing additional floodplain properties as part of its ESA Program which was developed specifically to acquire, protect and/or restore lands with habitat value or ecosystem function that benefits Chinook, bull trout, and steelhead. 1720 Acres within WSR 6350 upland acres
Skagit River Land Acquisition Since 2001 the Skagit Land Trust has been protecting key floodplain habitat primarily through Salmon Recovery Funding Board funded purchases of conservation easements and fee-simple properties, with a major focus on the Middle-Skagit. 570 Acres within Skagit WSR 150 acres associated uplands and wetlands
Skagit River Land Acquisition Other state and local agencies have scattered conservation or recreation ownership throughout the basin. 800 Acres in WSR 800 Acres associated uplands and wetlands
Skagit River Land Acquisition Total acres in conservation ownership by organization Insert graph
Skagit River Land Acquisition Benefits of partnering Partners are interested in protecting same resources We ve protected more land than the USFS could have done alone under LWCF Partners can often move faster to a purchase and sale agreements Some partners are focused solely on acquisition as their mission so bring greater capacity Partners can leverage and pool resources Garner local community support and maintain relationships
Barnaby Slough WDFW-SCL-TNC McLeod Slough WDFW-USFS-SCL Howard Miller Steelhead Park- Skagit County
Queensgate USFS-SRSC Middle Sauk TNC-SCL Dupuis TNC
Skiyou Island USFS SRSC SFEG Iron Mountain SCL SFEG Day Creek SLT SFEG TNC -SCL
Skagit River Land Stewardship So Now What?
Skagit River Land Stewardship Ongoing issues with acquired lands Stewardship is accomplished through the independent actions of each conservation landowner and without a comprehensive basin-wide strategy that moves lands toward their desired future condition and assures that long-term conservation objectives are met. There is little or no annual funding. Each landowner has different management goals, resources and strategies. Requires a long-term commitment of staff time and resources, which are difficult to prioritize and limited capacity. Challenges include: time, funding, costs of restoration, invasive plants and noxious weeds, road maintenance, trespass issues, including dumping, illegal logging, ATV use, squatting, etc.
Skagit River Land Stewardship If the focus of acquisition is to protect natural resources and WSR values, how do you insure this outcome? We must continue our collaboration into the ongoing management of these lands. We currently have a working group and draft strategy to address these concerns.
Skagit River Land Stewardship From the Draft Strategy: Purpose of Stewardship Plan The purpose of this project is to develop and implement a collaborative strategy for acquiring (in fee) and managing land in ways that achieve the greatest ecological benefit with the most efficient use of resources
Skagit River Land Stewardship Desired Outcomes of Collaboration Identify common management interests and goals of partners Improve efficiency and lower costs Ecosystem benefits from collective resource management Forest Service participation improves consideration of the entire river system and the WSR ORV s
Skagit River Land Stewardship Partners have made significant contributions to resource protection (more than FS could do acting alone), through land acquisition, primarily to protect and enhance aquatic resources and bald eagles. Partners have their own conservation agendas, but we have been able to collaborate on the goals we share in common. Partners have ties to the community, to engender support for resource protection. Partners look to the Forest Service, as WSR managers, for leadership in resource protection arena, in particular the long term stewardship of these conservation lands.
Skagit River Land Stewardship