News / Announcements

Meet the Newest Member of the KBMP - Watershed Research and Training Center


The mission of the Watershed Research and Training Center is to promote a healthy forest and a healthy community. Since 1995 the WRTC has been working to revitalize the economy of Hayfork, CA, a small town in the middle of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Prior to 1996, Hayfork's economy was driven by timbering and the USFS jobs that accompanied that industry. The turmoil and transition of adopting the NW Forest Plan changed the way our local federal lands were managed, contributing to the loss of 40% of Hayfork's payroll. The WRTC was formed in order to rebuild our economy based on an ethic of land stewardship and restoration. To those ends, we've re-trained woods workers, built local contracting capacity, engaged in fuels reduction in the WUI, led local collaborative efforts, and are working with partners to develop and implement landscape-scale restoration strategies across the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion.

For over ten years we focused our efforts on restoring the Trinity Forest while developing local wood products enterprises as a means to create local jobs and instill stewardship values in our community. More recently, we've broadened our focus to include fisheries and watershed restoration. We are investigating how ecological and social needs can be met in the context of watershed management. We have engaged in numerous watershed planning projects over the past four years, building our capacity for watershed restoration work. Those projects include writing An Integrated Management Plan for Hayfork's Municipal Water Source, post-fire stream condition inventories and monitoring in a number of South Fork Trinity River tributaries, and a comprehensive look at the affects of the Miners Fire (2008) on the Lower Hayfork Creek watershed. More recently we have begun collaborating with state agencies in collecting water temperature data and fisheries data within the South Fork Trinity River basin.

 

Klamath Basin Monitoring Plan Adopted by KBMP Membership

On April 27th, 2010 the Klamath Basin Monitoring Program (KBMP) membership convened for their annual spring meeting at Humboldt State University. On the agenda for the day was the proposal to adopt the Klamath Basin Water Quality Monitoring Plan, a comprehensive monitoring strategy that unites all water quality monitoring entities under a single plan. The members voted unanimously in favor the monitoring plan.

The adoption of the Klamath Basin Monitoring Plan signifies a significant step toward a comprehensive and coordinated water quality monitoring effort throughout the Basin. The monitoring plan encompasses the entire 10.5 million acre Klamath Basin, with over 10 participating organizations. Included in the monitoring plan are baseline water quality analytes and special studies that are designed to capture water quality impacts to sensitive beneficial uses, such as cold water fisheries, endangered species, contact recreation, and cultural use, as well as the implementation of the recently adopted Klamath River TMDL.

The drafting and development of monitoring plan was a two year process, which began with the development of the Klamath Basin Monitoring Program, which formalizing interagency partnerships. Historically, members of the various water quality organizations collaborated on an informal level, exchanging information and collaborating in an effort to reduce duplication and effort. After many years of informal meetings, participating members of the KBMP attempted to formalize. However, due to the complexity and severity of the problems facing the Klamath Basin, and the decreasing level of available resources at all levels, the group failed to solidify.

In 2006 the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Non-Point Source Program proposed a contract to facilitate the development of a coordinated monitoring and assessment plan within the Klamath Basin. The contract, managed by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and executed by the Klamath Watershed Institute, consisted of several key tasks: facilitation of KBMP meetings, development of website / web-portal for sharing information and data, creation of a communications plan, and the development of the Klamath Basin Water Quality Monitoring Plan.

The rationale behind the development of the Plan was to 1) create a comprehensive and inclusive monitoring strategy; 2) develop effective and efficient way of using resources; 3) generate a holistic picture of the health of the basin; and 4) create interagency partnerships to improve the health of the basin. The Plan is not intended to replace individual water quality monitoring efforts or autonomy, but to expand coordinated monitoring in a way that benefits long-term coordination and collaboration among organizations. The purpose of the Plan is to serve as a collaborative and comparable plan for sampling and analyzing water quality laboratory samples in the Klamath Basin. The Plan is also intended to be developed in phases, the current version represents phase one of the multiphase process.

The Klamath Basin Monitoring Program is currently seeking funding for full implementation of the monitoring plan and strategic plan.

 

For more information contact DCC@KBMP.net

Read the Klamath Current for updates on projects from around the Klamath Basin

 


 
Subcommittees
Roles and Responsibilities

KBMP members
Participate in full group meetings, serve on KBMP committees, implement water quality monitoring plan, submit data to database, provide input when requested and participate in decisions.

Steering Committee
The Steering Committee determines the budget, allocation of funds, track progress, and provide direction to the organization.  The Steering Committee facilitates full group meetings; set meeting agendas; and guides the KBMP as a whole in an effort to keep workflow going outside of full group meetings.  The Steering Committee makes decisions regarding press releases to the public and protocols regarding internal communication.  The steering committee may work with the executive director (KBMP staff) to identify and apply for funding; defines and applies criteria for disbursement of funds.
 

The Steering Committee operates through consensus and collaboration.  Each member has equal voice.  The chair, co-chair and secretary of the committee are elected annually.  The role of the chair confers no additional powers or privileges; the co-chair may serve as an alternate to the chair.  The role of the chair is to facilitate the meetings and uphold the gradients of agreement.  The role of the secretary is to take meeting notes and distribute to members and post on the website, if appropriate.  The secretary also records meeting notes at the annual member meeting.
 Membership of the Steering Committee reflects the diversity in the basin, with the composition of members including federal, state (Oregon and California), tribal, non-profit, and private enterprise.

Technical Review Committee
The TRC conducts annual data interpretation of the monitoring network; identifies data gaps to be addressed; and evaluates, reviews and updates water quality monitoring plan.  The TRC provides the technical content of the plan and development of special studies, with the assistance of the Work Groups.  The TRC also provides funding recommendations to the Steering Committee.  The TRC operates through consensus and collaboration.  Each member has equal voice. The chair , co-chair and secretary of the committee are elected annually.  The role of the chair confers no additional powers or privileges; the co-chair may serve as an alternate to the chair.  The role of the chair is to facilitate the meetings and uphold the gradients of agreement.  The role of the secretary is to take meeting notes and distribute to members and post on the website, if appropriate. 

Database Committee
The Database Committee reviews the KBMP database for content and design and provides recommendations to the database coordinator. The Database Committee operates through consensus and collaboration. Each member has an equal voice.
 
Copyright © 2010 Klamath Basin Monitoring Program. All Rights Reserved.