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Introduction

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Restoration partnerships comprised of diverse associates are working across social and jurisdictional boundaries for restoration of riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

Learn more about riparian lands across the Colorado River Basin. Much of the Basin has been severely impacted by invasive plant species including tamarisk and Russian olive. , Escalante River Watershed Partnership, Gila Watershed Partnership, Verde Watershed Restoration Coalition, and Virgin River Coalition have collectively invested millions of dollars. In addition to ecological goals, partnerships are striving to meet social, economic, and management goals established by participants.

Landscape-scale management of invasive riparian plant species provided the basis for the establishment of these partnerships; however, some have also addressed, to varying degrees, other watershed issues as well, including fish and beaver habitat improvement, native cutthroat reintroduction, aspen forest regeneration, and erosion concerns. With the exception of the Gila Watershed Partnership (GWP), the profiled watershed groups are not legal entities. As such, each partnership is dependent on leadership from other organizations.

Key Issues Addressed

Tamarisk and Russian olive, both invasive plants, have become dominant riparian woody plant species in the desert Southwest, as is evident throughout the Colorado River Basin. These plants rapidly crowd out native plants, such as cottonwood and willow, significantly reducing and degrading available resources for wildlife, fish, pollinators, birds, and livestock. 

Invasive riparian plants also impair natural river function, restrict recreational access to scenic landscapes, reduce the productivity of agricultural lands, and, in the case of tamarisk, increase the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Given the geographic extent of the invasive plant issue, collaborative efforts are crucial to impact change on a landscape-scale and across jurisdictional boundaries. 

Project Goals

Each of the partnerships profiled has worked to:

• Establish a sustainable partnership structure structure
  Something temporarily or permanently constructed, built, or placed; and constructed of natural or manufactured parts including, but not limited to, a building, shed, cabin, porch, bridge, walkway, stair steps, sign, landing, platform, dock, rack, fence, telecommunication device, antennae, fish cleaning table, satellite dish/mount, or well head.
  
  Learn more about structure for project implementation and long-term stewardship
• Develop sustainable funding for partnership capacity, on-the-ground restoration, monitoring, and maintenance
• Develop common metrics for restoration success
• Increase public awareness through education and outreach

Project Highlights

Partner Engagement: Youth and veterans crews from across the Southwest have been instrumental in the implementation and maintenance of riparian restoration, gaining valuable skills and knowledge through their work. 

• Expanding Effort: The partnership models described are being utilized, to varying degrees, along other high priority river systems in the West, such as the Colorado, Gunnison and White rivers.
• Tangible Impacts: Through 2016, more than 13,000 acres of tamarisk and Russian olive were removed as a result of partnership efforts, and over 1,000 jobs were created.
• Beyond Ecological Goals: Many partnerships were born out of a desire to address ecological goals. However, they quickly set their sights on social, economic, and management targets as well.
• Identifying Participant Roles: Partnerships generally have guiding documents to define partner roles and responsibilities. These outline how different parties (e.g. organizations, agencies, businesses) work through formal and informal processes towards shared goals.

Lessons Learned

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There is no “one-size-fits-allâ€� approach to watershed planning; a variety of techniques and levels of engagement have proven effective as long as clear goals, measurable objectives, and appropriate metrics are defined early on. Equally important is discussion of a partnership’s “end-gameâ€� and how that impacts stakeholders and community members over time. 

Governance documents can help to define partner roles and commitments towards shared goals, as can engagement of a professional, neutral facilitator. As success is a “sum of parts,� it is important to develop a range of expertise within the group. Engagement of high-level agency personnel early and often is also critical for planning, decision-making, and funding support.

As funding is a critical piece of partnership viability, development of a business plan describing how partnerships allocate, track, and leverage a large amount of funding is helpful in establishing clear expectations. It is important to develop a cadre of partners to seek out diverse funding sources. Communication about funding challenges early and often is also important. 

In addition to reaching out to potentially affected agencies and NGOs, the importance of cultivating community champions, including both small and large landowners, was underscored. Having a dedicated private lands liaison can be invaluable in watersheds that have a high percentage of private lands.

Incorporation of federal requirements for watershed planning and permitting is recommended in order to avoid permitting delays, improve funding opportunities, and ensure continued agency participation. Permitting projects on a watershed-scale may be more time- and cost-effective than site-by-site permitting.

Dedicate resources to telling your partnership’s story in a compelling and engaging way. Shepard community stewards to advance the importance of restoration work; utilize existing networks and the reach of elected officials.

Next Steps

• Continue building partnership capacity to support watershed restoration and long-term maintenance goals
• Support the establishment of additional partnership efforts, where appropriate, to broaden the geographic scope of restoration efforts
• Promote partnershipsâ€� achievements through visual storytelling media

Funding Partner

Resources

• Oppenheimer, J.D. et al. (2014). â€�.â€�&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Restoration Ecology 23: 143â€�148.
• Spence, J.R. and L. Whitham. (2015). â€�.â€� In book: The Colorado River VI. Science and Management at the Landscape Scale. Edition: 1, Chapter: 23, Publisher: University of Arizona Press, Editors: L.F. Huenneke, C. van Riper III, K.A. Hays-Gilpin, pp.339-352.
• â€� Lessons from a 10-Year Watershed Restoration Strategy (Reeve and Warren 2015)
• Warren, R.F., et al. (2016). â€�.â€�&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Wires Water 4:1.

Contact

• Rusty Lloyd, Executive Director, RiversEdge West, [email protected]

Case Study Lead Author

• Rusty Lloyd, Executive Director, RiversEdge West

Suggested Citation

Lloyd, R., and Hatch, S. (2018). “Collaborative Restoration Partnerships in the Colorado River Basin.â€�&²Ô²ú²õ±è;CART. Retrieved from /project/partnerships-colorado-river-basin.