NFWF Regional Collaborative Spotlight Series – Session 3

Join Chesapeake Bay restoration practitioners and stakeholders for the third session in a five-part series to explore and elevate understanding of what constitutes effective, regional-scale collaborative approaches for Bay restoration, including the key factors that contribute to their success and how collaboratives evolve, adapt, and mature to sustain progress. We especially welcome stakeholders who are interested in NFWF’s Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants Program, as they will gain insights on what makes for a competitive, INSR-ready collaborative restoration proposal.

About the August 20 session “Basin Watershed Collaboratives: Riparian Buffers and Herding Cats – Relationships and Policies.“ Nearly 25% of Virginia’s land base and 1/3 of its human population is in the James River watershed, and it even includes a bit of West Virginia. In contrast, the Rappahannock River basin emanates from the east side of the Blue Ridge and encompasses less than a third of the land base that the James River claims. But in both watersheds, the diversity of rural, forested, and urban landscapes present a wide array of water quality challenges and opportunities associated with these land uses. The James River Association has divided its collaborative efforts between tidal and non-tidal zones, focusing on a riparian buffer consortium approach to partnership building in the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Valley and Ridge provinces. The Friends of the Rappahannock have elected to build their collaborative from ridge to coast, in a tighter landscape that in relative shorter order, flows from Piedmont to tidal areas. Both collaboratives acknowledge that relationship-building is critical. And both collaboratives, as home-grown and community-based organizations, must work to build and facilitate policies to ensure partners with varying interests remain vested and at the table.

Presenters:
Amber Ellis, Senior Watershed Restoration Manager, James River Association
Bryan Hofmann, Deputy Director, Friends of the Rappahannock
Katie Ombalski, Principal/Conservation Biologist, Woods and Waters Consulting (moderator)

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