Managing Natural Resources: A Collaborative Approach
Richard Ribb, Program Manager
RI DEM Narragansett Bay Estuary Program
Richard Ribb earned a master's degree in community planning and area development from URI.
Tom Ardito, Outreach and Policy Coordinator
RI DEM Narragansett Bay Estuary Program
Tom Ardito has a master's degree in marine affairs from URI.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management (DEM) is responsible for a wide range of regulatory and non-regulatory
functions. During the three decades of DEM's existence, the department has accomplished
a great deal to protect and enhance the state's land, water, air, and living
resources. As Rhode Island's environmental needs have evolved, so has the agency.
In recent years, a number of states have recognized
the need to undertake ecosystem management, an integrated approach to environmental
management that recognizes the complex nature of environmental problems and
the need for citizen participation in solving them. In Rhode Island, ecosystem
management is demonstrated in the Rhode Island Watershed Approach. Although
DEM helped initiate the development of the RI Watershed Approach, it is much
more than a DEM endeavor, involving collaboration between non-profit organizations;
universities; the private sector; and state, federal, and local agencies.
The Watershed Approach is a new framework for
environmental management, based on the realities of geography and community
rather than bureaucratic or political boundaries. Naturally enough, the watershed
approach is organized on the basis of hydrologic flows---both surface and groundwater.
It begins with scientific assessments of the state's watersheds, but relies
on decision making by watershed stakeholders to effect change. Simply put, the
RI Watershed Approach is a strategy for comprehensive, community-based management
of the state's environment.
The goals of the Watershed Approach are:
Preserving and enhancing public health;
Preserving and enhancing watershed ecosystems;
Emphasizing an understanding of the connections between various projects and
activities within watersheds;
Promoting sustainable economic development;
Reducing or preventing pollution and other environmental impacts;
Encouraging and involving citizens and organizations in watershed issues; and
Promoting stewardship and creating public/private partnerships for resource
protection, management, and restoration.
Broad involvement is a critical component of
the RI Watershed Approach process. In many cases, the solutions to natural resource
problems depend on the people who live, work, and play in a watershed. Many
citizens and groups are willing to commit time and energy to solving local and
regional environmental problems, and watershed management efforts nationwide
show that the "bottom-up" nature of this approach has proven very
successful.
One of the strengths of this approach is that
it gives citizens and local organizations a real voice in managing public resources;
community involvement fosters solutions that make sense locally. The success
of a watershed approach depends on making it possible for people to better understand
the problems in their watershed, to identify issues, to set goals and priorities,
and to choose and implement solutions. This also reflects the reality that state
and federal agencies cannot protect and restore watersheds on their own; nor
do these agencies have a monopoly on resources and solutions.
Another reason for adopting this new perspective
is the nature of non-point source pollution in our watersheds. Traditional regulatory
controls have excelled at addressing end-of-the-pipe pollution sources, such
as industrial and wastewater treatment plant discharges. Solutions to the remaining
problems---road runoff, septic system pollution, lawn fertilizer, and animal
waste---are more elusive, requiring the focused efforts of many partners bringing
ideas and resources to the table, and crafting local responses to local watershed
problems.
Even though Rhode Island has not had a comprehensive
statewide watershed resource management framework in the past, watershed management
techniques have been used successfully in various ways during the last decade.
Techniques employed have included creating partnerships for action, involving
stakeholders; developing the sound science needed for management decisions;
providing technical assistance to communities; leveraging funds and resources
to support watershed actions; and emphasizing outreach and education. The Narragansett
Bay National Estuary Program, the Stafford Pond watershed study, the Pawcatuck
Watershed Partnership, the Aquidneck Island Partnership and the Woonasquatucket
River Watershed Coalition are all examples of watershed-based initiatives where
these methods have been used extensively.
DEM has incorporated the RI Watershed Approach
into its annual workplan, which coordinates the agency's activities and specifies
its goals and objectives. This year's workplan includes tasks associated with
two pilot watershed approach projects in the Woonasquatucket and Wood-Pawcatuck
watersheds. DEM is building upon and supporting existing watershed initiatives
and providing technical and funding assistance. With strong support and new
opportunities for funding at the federal level, the agency expects future workplans
to be even more closely tied to watersheds as the statewide approach develops.
As part of the shift to empower planning by local
and regional groups, DEM is encouraging the development of both long-term plans
and short-term action strategies for watersheds. The plans include specific
goals and emphasize performance measures that allow stakeholders to document
progress and to evaluate watershed plan implementation. As one way to help build
capacity for action at the local level, DEM is developing a process to award
small grants specifically for watersheds. The agency and its partners are exploring
funding sources to meet this need.
DEM will continue to work to strengthen the partnerships
that have been forged to date. We have seen the benefits of these alliances
and have been impressed by the level of trust that continues to grow between
the partners. DEM is committed to the RI Watershed Approach and will continue
to work to ensure that Rhode Island's watershed resources are protected, restored,
and managed for the benefit of the citizens of the state.