Watershed Team Work
The Cherokee National Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (CNFLRI) Steering Committee determined that there was a need to take the recommendations that they produced for the North Zone of the CNF and scale them down to the watershed level. Therefore, they created the Watershed Team. This team is a subset of Steering Committee members who still operate using the policies and procedures of the Steering Committee and will report back to the full Steering Committee when their recommendations are complete. The goal of this group is to collaboratively develop Watershed Scale Restoration recommendations and provide a model process that the Forest Service may use for future restoration planning and implementation. This will be done in the form of recommendations to the Forest Service.
The objectives of the Watershed team are to:
- Work together to seek meaningful collaboration.
- Develop achievable monitoring recommendations. These recommendations should focus on, but not be restricted to the pilot watershed.
- Use the best available science within the pilot watershed to help determine collaborative restoration recommendations and develop a model process for other watersheds.
- Strive to provide site specific examples of recommendations via site visits and photos whenever possible.
- Encourage a meaningful Forest Service led public participation process by making recommendations for format and structure of the public process and participating and encouraging constituencies to participate in the process.
The pilot watershed chosen for this project is the Paint Creek watershed (see map below). The team's January 2013 recommendations are available through the links below. Should there be time available; the team will also look at the Laurel Creek watershed. Notes from team meetings and other important documents will be posted to this site regularly, so, please check back often.
Watershed Team Recommendations Report
- Watershed Team Recommendations for Paint Creek - Final Report
- Appendix A - Site Assessments
- Appendix B - Monitoring Questions for Cherokee NF Landscape Restoration Initiative Management Strategies
- Appendix C - Species to Benefit from Restoration Treatments
- Appendix D - Recommended Treatment Acreage
- Appendix E - Map Overviews
