Deschutes River Basin Water Management Convening Report

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Deschutes River Basin Water Management
Convening Report
RESOLVE Results Through Consensus
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Summit Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions
• Convening Report Overview and Group Discussion
• Opportunities for Collaboration
• Next Step Tasks, Summary and Acknowledgements

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Overview

• Goal of the Convening and Assessment Process
• To assess the potential for a collaborative,
  consensus based process to address issues and
  concerns related to water management in the
  Deschutes basin and, if feasible, recommend a
  process design.

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Conveners

• Oregon Consensus Program
• Part of the Hatfield School of Government at
  Portland State University charged by the
  legislature to provide neutral services to public
  bodies and their constituents to assist them in
  collaborating on public issues
• RESOLVE
• Neutral non-profit providing process support to
  people addressing complex environmental and
  public policy issues

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Convening and Assessment Process

• An opportunity for stakeholders to
• gather information
• learn about each others interests, perspectives,
  issues and concerns
• test assumptions about barriers
• begin to develop a range of ideas for addressing
  issues

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Convening and Assessment Process

• Preliminary conversations
• Develop initial interviewee list and questions
• Conduct interviews
• individual, group, phone and in-person
• one to three hours
• Written questions to others
• Add names to list as identified in interviews

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Process and Approach

• Contacted 137 people with input from 94 including

• Federal, Tribal, State and County government
• Municipal and private water providers
• Conservation districts
• Irrigation districts
• Watershed Councils
• Non-governmental organizations
• Ag/ranching and other landowners

• Development interests
• Recreational interests
• Research education and policy interests
• Utilities and water business interests
• Political/legislative
• Engineering services
• Modeling group

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Summary of Convening Assessment Interviews

• Background, Involvement and Interests
• Major Issues, Concerns and Challenges
• Barriers and Obstacles
• Data and Information Needs
• Potential Outcomes of the Status Quo

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Background, Involvement, Interests

• Long time residents and recent arrivals
• Others from the region, state and beyond who use
  and enjoy the basin
• Depth and breadth of experience
• from hydrology to agriculture to wildlife to
  business
• Interests in water, fish/wildlife, recreation,
  livelihood, growth, traditional uses of water,
  open space, sustainability, legacy
• Common interest in long-term health and
  stewardship

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Major Issues, Concerns and Challenges

• Health and hydrology of the basin
• Land use, growth and competing demands for water
• Agriculture
• Managing change

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Barriers and Obstacles

• Substantive barriers
• Legal/technical barriers
• Cultural barriers
• Relationship/communication barriers
• Process barriers

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Data and Information Needs

• Difference of opinion on needs
• Plenty of data available vs.
• Better data needed
• Instream flows
• Groundwater hydrology
• Improved use of models

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Potential Outcomes of Continuing with the Status
Quo

• Basin becomes another Klamath
• Litigation over water and land use
• Development run amok
• Crisis in water supply
• Conflict over UGB expansions
• Loss of agricultural land and farming
• Rivers and streams suffer death of 1000 cuts
• Additional ESA listings
• Tragedy of the Commons
• Nothing bad will happen

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Convening Report Recommendations

• Overview and Key Characteristics of Collaboration
• Whether to Proceed Essential Process Elements
• Process Suggestions from Interviewees
• Process Design Recommendations

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Key Characteristics of Collaboration

• Clear objectives
• Manageable issues
• Identifiable representative parties
• Good faith participation
• Adequate resources and time
• Action forcing deadline
• No delay
• Implementation mechanism

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Whether to Proceed Essential Process Elements

• RESOLVE recommends proceeding with a stepwise
  approach to a collaborative process, however
• Essential to deal with process elements first
• Build a foundation of understanding
• Build working relationships
• Go slow now to accomplish more later

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Whether to Proceed Essential Process Elements

• Establishing process leadership
• Ensuring good faith participation
• Establishing operating principles
• Identifying issues, objectives and the outcome
• Managing time and resources

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Process Ideas and Suggestions from Interviewees

• Collaboration is preferred tool
• Separate but connected processes to address key
  issues
• Scope all of basin vs. part of basin
• Strong leader or champion from within the basin
• Include diverse interests
• Carefully structured, credible representative
  group
• Participants should avoid forum shopping
• Include dialogue and action components
• Most willing to participate and time is right

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Process Design Recommendations Initial Steps
and Process Components

• Convener
• Organization willing to take on long-term
  leadership and process support
• DRC identified a possible candidate
• Neutral process support
• To ensure transparency and effective support
• OCP can help parties select

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Process Design Recommendations Initial Steps and
Process Components

• Vision for the basin
• Unified vision is needed
• Will help participants understand each other
• Could be a large public process or smaller
  working group

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Process Design Recommendations Process Components
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Process Design Recommendations Initial Steps
and Process Components

• Core Team
• Small, balanced, representative group
• Could be created through nomination process
• To establish vision, provide a leadership role
  and forum to resolve difficult issues
• Comprehensive overview of water management issues
  and implementation activities
• Openness and transparency are key

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Process Design Recommendations Initial Steps
and Process Components

• Core Team Member Characteristics
• Credible to a variety of stakeholders
• Able to communicate effectively with own and
  other stakeholders
• Willing to consider interests of others as well
  as their own be able to move beyond positional
  negotiation to results that benefit all
• Be available to attend meetings and conduct
  between meeting tasks

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Process Design Recommendations Initial Steps
and Process Components

• Core Team composition

• Agriculture and Ranching Interests
• Irrigation Districts
• Water Right Holders/Landowners
• Utilities
• Recreation Interests
• Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Soil and Water Conservation Districts
• Oregon Department of Water Resources

• Municipal/Private Water Providers
• Development Interests
• Conservation Non-Governmental Organizations
  (rivers/water/fish)
• Tribal Interests
• Federal Agencies
• Land Use Non-Governmental Organizations
• Convenor (with opportunity for dual role of
  participant)

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Process Design Recommendations Initial Steps
and Process Components

• Science Advisory Team
• Experts with broad credibility with diverse
  stakeholder interests
• To help with information needs or to provide
  impartial answers to key questions
• Will need to identify resources, describe roles
  and process

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Process Design Recommendations Initial Steps
and Process Components

• Ad Hoc Issue Resolution Teams
• Ad hoc teams established to address identified
  issues
• Would be formed by the Core Team and include
  representative stakeholders
• Issue teams could present completed work to Core
  Team for wider discussion and endorsement

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Process Design Recommendations Initial Steps
and Process Components

• Legal and Legislative Team
• Available to address legal or legislative issues
  that impede the ability of a collaborative to
  implement comprehensive solutions
• Could undertake specific tasks as requested by
  the Core Team
• Could be a small team with five to six expert
  members

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Process Design Recommendations Initial Steps
and Process Components

• Implementation and Action Components
• On-the-ground or pilot-based components
• Link with Core Team will help integrate
  on-the-ground work with overall collaborative
  effort
• Examples include water conservation efforts,
  water banking, habitat and stream flow
  restoration efforts

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Process Design Recommendations Initial Steps
and Process Components

• Public Outreach and Education
• To provide information sharing opportunities
• To disseminate information on collaborative
  efforts
• Can help educate newcomers on unique aspects of
  the basin
• Could include roundtables, workshops, newsletters
  and web links

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Process Resources

• International Waters Learning Exchange and
  Resources Network (www.iwlearn.net)
• Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
  (http//www.gefweb.org)
• Pacific Institute (http//www.pacinst.org)
• TwinBasin (www.twinbasin.org)
• OSU Institute for Water and Watersheds
  (www.water.oregonstate.edu) 

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Summary and Acknowledgements

• Report highlights an informative and productive
  interview process
• Parties provided ideas, insights, wisdom and a
  wealth of information
• Deschutes Basin water management is a complex
  topic that deserves dedicated attention

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Summary and Acknowledgements

• We hope this report provides useful process
  recommendations to assist stakeholders in
  designing and implementing a collaborative
  approach that results in enduring agreements and
  outcomes.

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Opportunities for Collaboration

• A Proposed Stepwise Approach
• For Success

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Stepwise Approach

• Proposed Ad Hoc Planning Team
• Planning Team Core Team

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Stepwise Approach

• Ad hoc planning team composition
• Agricultural interests
• NGOs
• Irrigation districts
• Municipal/private water providers
• Tribal
• Federal
• State
• Utilities
• DRC
• Others?

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Stepwise Approach

• Planning team tasks to include
• Identify roles and responsibilities for convener
• Identify funding, staffing, neutral process
  support, core team nomination process
• Prioritize key issues for resolution

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Stepwise Approach

• Planning team tasks to include
• Agree on process design components, proposed
  operating principles, milestones and timeframes,
  meeting locations and schedules
• Completing tasks and timeframe for kick off
  meeting

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Next Step Tasks

• Who will complete what next step tasks by when?
• How to communicate with stakeholders about
  progress?

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RESOLVE Results Through Consensus