The Watershed Framework
Expanding watershed-wide networks to build common understanding and coordinated actions that help us catch up with the pace of climate change.
The Water Solutions Network convened a group of high level land and water leaders to guide development of the WSN Watershed Framework. The Framework is designed to put us on a cross-sector, collaborative, watershed scale path toward climate resilience.
One hundred and thirty years of organizational and physical infrastructure later, we face a climate catastrophe the magnitude of which challenges every assumption we’ve made about how humans live on this planet.
From WSN’s Managing Director
If Congress had not summarily dismissed John Wesley Powell’s vision of watersheds in the American West in the late 1890s, we would not find ourselves trying to retrace our steps to that pivotal moment. One stroke of a pen unleashed generations of silos that continue to allow for the exploitation of our most precious natural resources and the perpetuation of both embedded and overt inequities. The elegance of Powell’s watersheds was in the revolutionary concept of integrating land and water, something unheard of in his era. Connecting the two would not have been a silver bullet, but it would have made it much harder to justify siloing naturally interdependent systems.
One hundred and thirty years of organizational and physical infrastructure later, we face a climate catastrophe the magnitude of which challenges every assumption we’ve made about how humans live on this planet. The Water Solutions Network Watershed Framework is an opportunity to recover what was lost when Manifest Destiny, political jurisdictions, and greed prevailed over the health of our watersheds. The Watershed Framework is designed to reintegrate humans into the ecosystems of which we are, sometimes, a reluctant part. At its essence, it is a pathway toward realizing and embracing our interconnectedness with each other and the natural systems that give us life.
The Framework is an invitation to leap into an uncertain future. It asks us to accept the discomfort of not having all the answers but also to embrace the commitment to acting and learning together. We look forward to learning with others who have and are developing processes and capacity that brings people together to accomplish more than they could on their own. We invite opportunities and partnerships to test-drive the WSN Watershed Framework in willing watersheds. We applaud everyone working toward this end, especially Tribal leaders who are willing to share the expertise they carry from thousands of years of living in this place. Nothing less than human survival depends on our shared efforts.
Thank you to everyone who contributed and participated in developing the WSN Watershed Framework. This work would not have been possible without the generous support of the Water Foundation. The report that follows is a reflection of the wisdom and insight that every participant brought to the conversation. We are grateful for the time and support offered by so many.
Onward,
Debbie
WSN is taking the Framework for a test drive in two watersheds this year. When we use the term “watershed” we mean headwaters to outflow including engineered elements. The test drives are being co-convened by leaders across each watershed that reflect the diversity of the watershed. The co-convenors will guide a process that includes connecting leaders across the watershed and building a perpetual network, developing a common understanding of the watershed and connecting the available data about the watershed. The group will establish watershed-wide values and identify cross-jurisdictional opportunities to improve watershed health. If they are willing, they will collaborate and coordinate on at least one project.
WSN will take the learning from the test drives to assess whether the Framework is producing value. If so, WSN will develop a playbook that others can use in their own watersheds.
The Framework is also available to anyone who wishes to take it for a test drive. If you would like more information or are planning to take the Framework for a test drive please contact WSN.
Check out our Watershed Framework Fact Sheet.
