Hermosa Creek Workgroup Meeting 1 Summary April 8 2008 Draft

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potential for the preclusion of water development. Each Workgroup's goal will be to find a way to protect all values about one of the six segments and at the same time allow all important uses to continue. The workgroups have been modeled somewhat on the Animas River Stakeholders Group, a collaborative effort that has continued for 14 years. It is hoped the RPW process will not take nearly so long. The Forest Service and BLM have preliminarily selected the stream segments that meet the criteria for WSR designation in the Draft Plan. However, there may be factors about those segments that don't fit into that framework. The RPWs will provide a place where different protection possibilities can be fully discussed. Proposed Hermosa Workgroup Process Marsha outlined the proposed three phased process for the Hermosa Workgroup. • Phase I — See if there is agreement on the process; decide whether to proceed; provide information and facts important to the process. No protection mechanism decisions will be made at this stage. • Phase II — Discuss the important values of Hermosa Creek; generate options from the many tools available for river protection; discuss the pros and cons of the options. • Phase III — Bring the process to a conclusion through consensus and /or negotiations and develop the next step(s). Principles of the process: • Everyone who comes to the table is a stakeholder. • Dialogue must be respectful. While there will be disagreements, dialogue should be collaborative. Listen to other points of view even if you don't agree with them. • Solutions will be sought that meet the needs of the greatest number of people and greatest diversity of interests, but no votes will be taken. • Everyone's opinion counts. • Accurate facts and information are key to the process. Providing them is part of the Steering Committee's role. • The process will be fair, open, and transparent. • More tools and stream data can be developed as needed. Because consensus is key to the workgroup process, it needs to be defined. Consensus is not only a product but also a process. The process includes steps where all views are heard and considered. It recognizes that differences of opinion are natural and expected. A good -faith effort will be made to reach a decision everyone can support. Consensus does not mean everyone agrees with the decision or solution, but only that they can support it. 3