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Development and Adoption of a Watershed Approach to Compensatory Mitigation: Experiences in Colorado and California
Citation:
Sumner, R., J. Johnson, AND B. Orme. Development and Adoption of a Watershed Approach to Compensatory Mitigation: Experiences in Colorado and California. National Wetlands Newsletter. Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC, 35(1):25-29, (2013).
Impact/Purpose:
The article explains a set of activities used to encourage adoption by agency staff and mitigation practitioners of a watershed-based assessment framework and associated wetland assessment methods. The desired impact of the article is increased technology transfer activity by developers of assessment methods. Technology transfer is most successful when conducted in collaboration with program practitioners. Activity will lead to a better understanding by methods developers of how assessment information is used to inform specific types of decisions, and specifically decisions about compensatory mitigation.
Description:
In this article, we examine the adoption of the watershed approach and its technical methods into regulatory programs in Colorado and California. Specific steps and motives for the adoption are explained. Through close collaboration, regulators have systematically been made aware of the watershed approach, have grown interested in its applicability, have tried it out on selected projects, and are now taking steps to apply it in routine practice. Others engaged in the development of wetland monitoring and assessment methods can use the lessons learned from our experience with information transfer.
