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The Strategic Plan of the New River Watershed Roundtable

The Strategic Plan was published in 2004. The Plan was scanned with minor omissions and the following is a major part of that Strategic Plan

Introduction

The New River Watershed Roundtable is focused on facilitating partnerships and infonnation transfer in the New River Basin. We are more than a group; we are a place where stakeholders come together to work on watershed issues. The Roundtable places a strong emphasis on the value of education and stakeholder empowennent.

This strategic plan is a dynamic document, designed to focus and organize watershed efforts. It will change and grow with local communities. The Roundtable is presenting, in this document, the work of watershed citizens tackling the mandate given to the Roundtable steering committee by the larger public in February of 2002. Armed with a long list of issues and concerns, local leaders in ten workgroups started to categorize and prioritize water quality objectives. Initial plans were drawn up and reviewed by stakeholders at a number of public meetings throughout the watershed in the spring of 2003. The result is the current plan before you. Some of its objectives may change tomorrow and some of its goals may stay the same for the next ten years. It all depends on how you and your watershed neighbors continue to adapt it to meet the fluid challenges in water quality improvement.

The Vision, Mission and Beliefs of The Roundtable

We envision the New River Watershed Roundtable as a community at work to protect and enhance the water quality of the New River Watershed.

Our mission is to promote better water quality through fair, open dialogue and effective partnerships.

The New River Watershed Roundtable recognizes and believes the following:

• The New River is a defining feature and valuable natural resource that helps make southwest Virginia truly unique. As such, the New River watershed in Virginia, which covers 3, 100 square miles, is equally unique and important.
• Water quality is critical to our way of life in the watershed. The New River provides water for residential, commercial, and industrial uses. The New River is an important source of drinking water for many municipal water systems and, ultimately, serves as the receiving stream for treated effluent from several municipal sewage treatment plants. The New River is also a focal point for active and passive recreation, as well as heritage- and eco-tourism.
• Although water quality in The New River watershed is generally good compared to that in other regions of Virginia, there are some "warning signs " (i.e., having "impaired waters " designations) in the watershed that provide cause for concern.
• The attractive characteristics of The New River watershed (i.e., scenic beauty, quality of life, abundant land and water, reasonable business costs, low cost of living, extensive highway network, etc.) position the region as a target for growth and development. As the watershed develops further, both the demand for water and the threat to water quality will increase.

There is a need to think critically and strategically about improving protecting water quality in The New River watershed. The New River Roundtable provides a continuing and cooperative forum process for engaging citizens, stakeholders, and government agencies in discussing and addressing the future of the watershed. Improved water quality can be achieved through fair, open dialogue and effective partnerships

Introduction to the Strategic Plan of the New River Watershed Roundtable

A handsome paper document for the plan has been prepared, but copies are limited. The material here has been taken directly from those pages to share with citizens of the watershed and all others who are interested and may be able to assist. The New River Watershed Roundtable is focused on facilitating partnerships and information transfer in the New River basin. We are more than a group; we are a place where stakeholders come together to work on watershed issues. The Roundtable places a strong emphasis on the value of education and stakeholder empowerment.

This strategic plan is a dynamic document, designed to focus and organize watershed efforts. It will change and grow with local communities. The Roundtable is presenting, in this document, the work of watershed citizens tackling the mandate given to the Roundtable steering committee by the larger public in February of 2002. Armed with a long list of issues and concerns, local leaders in ten workgroups started to categorize and prioritize water quality objectives. Initial plans were drawn up and reviewed by stakeholders at a number of public meetings throughout the watershed in the spring of 2003. The result is the current plan before you. Some of its objectives may change tomorrow and some of its goals may stay the same for the next ten years. It all depends on how you and your watershed neighbors continue to adapt it to meet the fluid challenges in water quality improvement.

Agriculture

Agriculture is second only to forests in land use acreage of the New River watershed and one of Virginia's most important industries. Yet agriculture is feeling increased pressure from both severe statewide cuts in funding for agricultural and natural resource programs and rapidly increasing population densities. As farmers become closer neighbors with non-farmers there is a great need for cross-dialogue to improve understanding of agricultural practices and to create win-win solutions for resource protection.

Challenge One
Reduced state funding leads to reduced local agricultural services. (e.g., loss of agriculture extension agents and many programs.) In order to continue these vital programs local taxes may increase, straining already strained local farm economies.

Strategies

• Make legislative directories available through the Roundtable for private citizens and organizations. Prepare a step-by-step guide that outlines the best way to contact legislators and access representatives.
• Create a legislative subcommittee on the Roundtable to work with other organizations on lobbying issues
• Develop resources to educate voters about how their decisions affect farmers in their areas.

Challenge Two
Many stakeholders are not adequately informed about the full range of how agriculture and water quality issues affect one another. There is a feeling that program policies and best management practices may sometimes be established without gathering enough information from affected stakeholders.

Strategies

• Promote dialogue among districts, Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Natural Resource Conservation Service employees and farmers about the scope and diversity of Best Management Practices and other state and federal programs.
• Create a task force of area farmers and landowners to review current programs and practices in order to understand how they do and do not meet local agricultural needs and issues in conservation.
• Utilize the task force to help make sure that stakeholders are informed and involved in water quality policy-making that affects agriculture.

Challenge Three
The natural resource base faces threats from improper or unplanned development.

Strategies

• Promote forestal and agricultural districts.
• Promote conservation easements of open space including agricultural and forestal districts.

Challenge Four
Agricultural best management and conservation practices are not being implemented on much of the farmland in the Basin.

Strategy

• Increase implementation of agricultural Best Management Practices and conservation practices on farmland.

Forestry

The forest resources of the New River Watershed are very important to its health, economy, and tourism. The responsible utilization and wise management of these resources is the common thread in all the issues voiced to the New River Roundtable.

Challenge One
Generally, throughout the Basin, there is a lack of appropriate forest management that improves and sustains water quality and provides critical wildlife habitat.

Strategies

• Increase and improve the implementation of forestry best management practices (BMP)
• Develop other forestry BMP incentive programs
• Support and promote federal forestry BMP programs.

Challenge Two
While it is known that properly functioning riparian areas provide substantial water quality protection and enhancement in adjacent water bodies, land use in much of the riparian areas in the Basin has reduced proper riparian functioning substantially and not enough riparian areas are being restored and or protected.

Strategies

• Identify and prioritize critical species and unique ecosystems
• Promote conservation easements to protect critical wildlife habitat _ Support and encourage landowners to use existing state and federal programs to enhance wildlife habitat
• Contact other private organizations to supplement and work with our goals.
• Increase the amount of riparian buffers in the New River watershed

Challenge Three
Generally in the Basin, there is a lack of alternative management and utilization of forest resources.

Strategies

• Explore alternative uses for forest land and forest products
• Promote timber stand improvement and alternative harvesting methods
• Convert marginal pasture land to forested

Urban

The Urban concerns raised by Roundtable members mentioned everything from stormwater to water quality to public education. The concerns have been combined into three issues. The first issue is the challenge of local communities, with limited staff and resources, to address existing and new local, state, and federal regulations concerning water resources. These regulations address many of the concerns raised by Roundtable members. However, most communities do not have funding sources available for comprehensive approaches to watershed protection, so these concerns are only address in a very limited, case-by-case approach. This leads to the second issue of lack of coordination between communities, where many common issues affect neighboring communities, but these communities have difficulty working together. The third issue of lack of data availability points to the need for communities to share their data, which may help with the other two issues.

Challenge One
Local communities have difficulty addressing new and existing environmental regulations related to water quality and stormwater management because of lack of funding and other resources.

Strategy

• Develop resources outlining possible stormwater, water quality, or flood management funding resources for communities
• Work with state and federal agencies to develop new funding sources

Challenge Two
Often natural resource programs are hampered by lack of inter-government and interagency coordination.

Strategy

• Provide a forum for communities to coordinate stormwater, water quality, or flood management planning efforts
• Pursue funding resources that required regional coordination and cooperation.

Challenge Three
There is generally a lack of well organized water quality data available throughout the Basin.

Strategies

• Develop a New River Watershed data clearinghouse
• Develop standard data formats for storing data, such as GIS data or stream monitoring data

Transportation

Transportation is an issue that affects all citizens and yet, many stakeholders feel that their voices are not heard and do not know how to become involved in decision-making about transportation projects. The Virginia Department of Transportation is generally viewed as inaccessible and not always as precautionary as it could be.

Challenge One
There is lack of comprehensive erosion and sediment control in the Basin.

Strategy

• Develop a working group of stakeholders and those responsible for enforcing Erosion and Sediment Control plans to coordinate regional erosion and sediment control and to address local concerns.

Challenge Two
Many stakeholders are concerned about pesticide use in right of way management.

Strategies

• Invite VDOT employees and staff on the environmental compliance department to a session with citizens to discuss pesticide use and potential reduction.
• Encourage road-side buffers, infiltration areas and rain gardens.

Challenge Three
Many Basin stakeholders are concerned that road placement is often not done in a way that maximizes water quality protection and other land use objectives.

Strategies

• Contact VDOT to find out how stakeholders can be involved in decision-making about future roads.
• Hold a working meeting to discuss ways that citizens can give input to VDOT design.
• Invite VDOT to a discussion session on site-specific accountability in road projects.

Recreation and Tourism

There were four major themes that emerged from the roundtable issues submitted to the recreation committee. The overriding theme was "increased river access to provide for more recreational opportunities/development while maintaining clean usable water." This lead to the first issue - what recreational activities are along the river, what type, and where are they located. Secondly with increased demand for river access, multi-jurisdictional interests and roles would need to be revived to provide coordinated river development/ management /protection. Thirdly, what effect will increased development of recreational facilities have on water quality?

Challenge One
There is no reference (publication, brochure, etc.) that identifies public and commercial New River recreational resources.

Strategies

• Inventory the New River basin area and supporting tributaries including public and commercial recreational facilities.
• Develop comprehensive map with narrative based on inventory results.

Challenge Two
Recreational use of the New River and its environs is regulated on a multi-jurisdictional basis and often activities lack coordination.

Strategies

• Review agency/locality roles in providing recreation, water quality and resource protection.
• Develop a plan to provide inter-agency/locality coordination of recreational/resource issues and development.

Challenge Three
Recreational demand on New River natural resources is increasing rapidly. Meeting this demand while maintaining water quality will be challenging.

• Review current river recreation uses and their impacts on water quality.
• Develop "resource friendly" recreation use plan to educate public on responsible river recreation and use.

Development

A number of themes emerged from the issues submitted by Roundtable members in the Development category. The overall bent is summed up by the "sustainable development" issue - can development and growth occur along with conservation of natural resources? The gas pipelines and power plant proposed for development in the New River Watershed precipitated a great deal of concern about their effects on the environment, leading to the second priority issue - the effect of new energy infrastructure on natural resources - as well as the third - the effective use of land use planning to protect natural resources.

Challenge One
Unplanned growth and development threatens the natural resource base. Growth and development that balances socio-economic and environmental factors to provide for a high quality of life should occur.

Strategies

• Create a list of specific critical natural habitats and natural resources that are not currently under any type of federal, state, local, or permanent easement protection and that could potentially be threatened by future development. Prioritize this list.
• Establish wider contacts with private environmental organizations such as the Audubon Society, Wild Turkey Federation, Nature Conservancy that might be interested in assisting efforts.
• Create a series of maps/overlays showing historical development in the New River Watershed to determine any past trends. Consider these trends in the examination of the potential direction and intensity of future development.
• Create some type of "standards" for sustainable development in the New River Watershed on the regional, local, and development site level.
• Create a database of new and proposed development from Planning Commission minutes and ESC Program plan approvals from each locality in the New River Watershed.
• Create a "Natural Resource Bill of Rights" for the New River Watershed.

Challenge Two
Related to issue #1 above, many stakeholders believe that lack of effective land use planning results in natural resource degradation.

Strategies

• Determine to what extent citizen input can affect the approval, route/location, construction methods, and long-term impact of the proposed infrastructure.
• Create and disseminate a "frequently-asked-questions" document covering the responsibilities of each regulatory agency involved with the proposed energy and other infrastructure developments.

Challenge Three
Many Basin stakeholders believe that there is a lack of knowledge about and concern over the effect of new energy and other infrastructure (gas pipelines, power plants) on natural resources.

Strategies

• Create a comparative database of zoning regulations (if any) and land use planning requirements for all NRW localities. Include the Zoning and Planning Commission members and regular meeting dates and times.
• Coordinate with the local and regional Land Trusts to promote conservation easements.

Groundwater, Surface Water, and Wastewater

One of the biggest challenge to maintaining ground and surface water quality is a lack of common information about the status of water quality throughout the basin. The New River's karst geology makes for special concerns that need to be addressed in a more inclusive way. Although land use is changing rapidly, now is the time to plan carefully so that increased development does not alter our water supply both above and underground.

Challenge One
Much of the New River Basin is underlain by karst geology, therefore surface and ground water supplies are intimately connected. Many Basin stakeholders believe that certain karst lands should be protected.

Strategies

• Poll, by phone and email, local groups, such as Caving and Karst Protection groups and local regulatory agencies, such as DCR, VDHT and VDH to ascertain what issues they feel are of most pressing concern.
• Set up a series of workshops over the next two years with time allotted for Question and Answer&A sessions, and invite local government officials, members of citizen's groups, and regulatory agency representatives.
• After the workshops, within a three-year period, compile the lists of concerns, along with a selection or proposed solutions or actions, and present the lists to local governments, and to regulatory agencies, with invitations to comment.

Challenge Two

Throughout the basin surface and ground water quality has not been assessed with any degree of completeness; however a substantial number of streams segments have been designated as impaired. Basin stakeholders need to be made more aware of impairments and their causes.

Strategies

• Invite discussion from the public, regulatory agencies, and concern groups; regarding which parameters of water quality are of most concern.
• Identify the most readily available data sources to establish a baseline of current water quality conditions.
• Set up a schedule for monitoring these parameters over the next two years.
• Try to correlate any changes in water quality parameters with changes in the environment, (i.e., new housing developments, a shift in farming practices, a renovation or addition to an existing wastewater facility).
• Within a three-year period, be able to present local governments and regulatory agencies with hard data, which shows changes, either positive or negative, in water quality, and suggestions for improving or sustaining water quality.

Challenge Three
Water quality can be substantially altered by poorly planned development. There exists a need for better development planning that results in ground surface water protection and waste water management.

Strategies

• Over a two-year period, solicit help from concern groups, regulatory agencies, and local governments, to identify areas where future high density residential development has the most potential to adversely affect water quality.
• Within one year, identify areas where past development has adversely affected water quality.
• Within a three year period, be able to present local government and regulatory agencies with suggestions for limiting growth in high risk areas, and possible alternative uses for those areas, which might have less impact on water quality.

Solid Waste Management, Reclamation

Waste management is often overlooked as a contributor to water quality improvement. From small-scale (littering) to large-scale (industrial pollution), improper solid waste disposal is too often viewed as an inevitability.

Challenge One
The New River Basin has a substantial number of improper and illegal dump sites.

Strategies

• Host a watershed wide "Clean-Up" Day.
• Organize community groups to inventory the numbers of illegal trash dumps in each subwatershed;
• Hold community sessions with local officials to discuss better enforcement of litter laws.
• Gather information and resources oh preventative measures to avert trash dumping.

Challenge Two
The problem of hazardous waste products from multiple sources entering water bodies through out the Basin concerns many stakeholders. In particular acid mine drainage is seen as a substantial problem in some areas.

Strategies

• Map brownfields throughout the region.
• Start a workgroup to develop better understanding of regional sources of industrial waste and how citizens can work with companies to clean them up.

Challenge Three
Generally, stakeholders believe waste management throughout the Basin is inadequate to protect and enhance water quality.

Strategies

• Seek local grants from private companies for litter programs.
• Seek "white goods" grants from recycling foundations for collection programs.
• Encourage citizens to maintain funding in the "Save Our Streams" program.
• Develop and distribute leaflets to educate citizens about the correlation between material consumption and waste creation.
• Develop resources that explain how solid waste affects water quality and make these available to stakeholders throughout the basin.

Education

Some of the earliest identified needs for the Roundtable were in the realm of "Education about the New River Watershed." This theme continued thoroughout our discussions and requests for input. Many people commented on the lack of easily accessed information to be used in lessons, tourism promotion, and decision-making. Several groups have helped frame the following objectives: the Education Workgroup of the New River Roundtable, New River Watershed Education Team (K-12 teachers), Friends of the New River, Save Our Streams volunteers, and New River Community Partners.

"This sort of work is probably the most important that the Roundtable can do. " (Friends of the New River)

Challenge One
There is generally a lack of widely available, up-to-date, science-based information for use by legislative bodies, agencies, community groups, educators, marketers, and others.

Strategy

• Publish a "State of the New River Watershed" report. There is tremendous need for a publication that is understandable for decision makers in the watershed. It would also provide easily accessed, up to date, science-based information for use by legislative bodies, agencies, community groups, educators, marketers, and others.

Challenge Two
There is a need for K-12 students to have direct experience of the watershed, river processes, and water quality measures.

Strategy

• Co-Sponsor the development of "meaningful watershed experiences" for all K-12 students. The Virginia Department of Education has recommended this goal statewide, and it is reflected in the 2003 revision of the State Standards of Learning (SOLs), which put additional emphasis on student understanding of water resources. The New River Roundtable will help students and teachers implement this in the New River watershed through support and expansion of existing programs such as the Skyline Sand WCD K-12 outreach, the Virginia Tech Museum of Natural History (New River ROC), and DCR, DEQ, DGIF, DOF environmental education programs and outreach efforts such as GLOBE, Project WILD, Underground, and WET, when carried out with a local watershed focus.

Strategy

• Encourage citizen monitoring as a way to promote stewardship and understanding of complex watershed issues. Virginia Save Our Streams has a protocol approved by DEQ and DCR, which could be further implemented on tributaries of the New River. We already have an SOS regional coordinator. Data sharing between localities can help people see the whole watershed, and can help inform decision-makers.

Challenge Three
There is generally a lack of information about water quality on New River tributary streams and of how local actions can cause water quality impacts.

Communication

Communication is one of the main reasons for the existence of the Roundtable. Everyone acknowledges that communication is key to the success of watershed management. We recognize that it is also one of the most difficult challenges for a diverse and dispersed population: it takes time, resources, repetition, creativity, and persistence.

Challenge One
Internet, web-based, and email communications are not routinely used among the communities and citizens of the watershed.

Strategy

• Offer increased technology education and access, using tools such as the web and email as capacity-building to help communities and interest groups in the watershed work together using the power of these technologies.

Challenge Two
Communities often don't know what each other is doing until after it happens. Planning and other land use actions have effects outside political boundaries, but must be decided within them. Economies of scale could be realized if groups know when they have opportunities to work together.

Strategies

• Educate communities on watershed-level communication: What are good watershed-related issues to let your up/downstream neighbors know about? How can you find out similar information from them in time to provide input on decisions? How do you go about doing this in a regular way without going nuts from information overload?
• Encourage regulations that promote cooperation rather than isolation.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Now that you are familiar with the strategic plan for your watershed you may be wondering what comes next. This plan contains a long and broad list of ambitions for the New River watershed. The next step is to develop an annual plan of work for each of the ten areas of main concern in the watershed. After that, stakeholders should be better prepared to both to complete coordinated programs and ventures and to apply for increased funding for water quality efforts. The Roundtable will help facilitate project implementation and grant application as well as provide up-to-date information sharing.

If you are reading this plan at its official release, you will want to get involved with one or more of the workgroups that are developing action plans for the year to come. Each of the ten categories has an associated workgroup and you are invited to help write an annual plan of work for the areas in which you have an interest.

If you are reading this plan at a later date, contact a workgroup leader and find out what plans are in the works for this year and which projects are taking place. If your idea hasn't been included, discuss adding it in the next annual plan.

The strategic plan itself will undergo a review and revision in approximately five years. We will check our progress and make sure that objectives are meeting local and regional needs. Be sure to stay involved in the ongoing process of strategizing for the continued beauty and good health of The New River Watershed!

~ End of copied material from the Roundtable's Strategic Plan ~
A notion of need for strategic action by Bob Giles, June, 2004, retired professor, College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech, is available.

The webmaster is XXXXXXXXX and will welcome suggstions for improvements in the site and its content.

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Last revision June 2, 2004.