8009 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

PROTECTING AND RESTORING THE WATERS The stories in this section demonstrate that a diverse array of public and private groups can make significant progress in protecting and restoring the natural environment. Private groups participating in these ventures range from international environmental groups like The Nature Conservancy (TNC) (see Ash Meadows, Nevada) to ad hoc groups like the Mono Lake Committee, formed specifically to stop the destruction of a unique but very localized resource (see Mono Lake, California). The role of private groups varies from TNC and the Trust for Public Land arranging land purchases (see Trinity River Basin, California) to the Henry's Fork Foundation co-facilitating watershed council meetings (see Henry's Fork Watershed Council, Idaho and Wyoming) to the Natural Heritage Institute advocat- ing protection and restoration in adminis- trative and judicial proceedings (see Trinity River Basin, California and Mono Lake, California). Government interest and involvement in the projects also varies -from county governments trying to protect the eco- nomic base of their area (see Trinity River Basin, California) to Indian Tribes protect- ing the natural resource that is at the core of their culture (see Umatilla River Basin Project, Oregon). In the negotiations depicted in the Bay-Delta Accord, Cali for- ma, state and federal agencies ultimately succeeded in working out an agreement to protect the water quality and endangered species in the Bay-Delta. In the Umatilla River Basin Project, Oregon, Bureau of Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration funds and personnel facilitated planning and continue to operate the pumps to allow farmers and fish to coexist. In Washington, the Depart- ment of Ecology helped set important legal precedent after denying ground water use permits that would have harmed existing surface water rights -including rights for maintaining minimum stream flows (see ~%ashington State Protection o f Instrearn Flows). Nlost remarkable is that the following stories illustrate that no one group or government entity can accomplish the goal in. isolation. All of the storks demonstrate that cooperation is required. to initiate the planning, develop the trust, attain the consensus, generate the funding and implement the actions required to preserve and restore the West's waters. 21