Watersheds and Watershed Councils
What is a Watershed?
The definition of a watershed is the area of land that drains to a common water body, such as a river, lake, or ocean. Watersheds include not only waterways, but also the land, such that the boundary of a watershed follows the topography of the land through which the water drains. A watershed can be defined on many scales. In Alaska this can range from the 330,000 square mile Yukon River Drainage to a small creek in your backyard. Because water moves downstream, any activity that affects the water quality, quanity, or rate of movement at one location can affect locations downstream. For this reason, everyone living or working within a watershed needs to cooperate to ensure good watershed conditions. We all live in a watershed- our actions impact the watershed in which we live – and we are all collectively responsible for its care.
Southeast Alaska encompasses over 50,000 square miles. The region is more than 500 miles long, stretching from the Bering Glacier in the north to Prince of Wales Island in the south. The Southeast Alaska region has many intact functioning watersheds that provide the ecosystem services and natural resources upon which local communities rely.
Southeast, though only making up a small part of the state of Alaska is larger than the state of Maine. The region stands out for its vast wild spaces and landscapes that reside within the boundaries of the Tongass National Forest, Glacier Bay National Park, Admiralty Island National Monument, and Misty Fjords National Monument. Alaska’s Inside Passage connects Southeast Alaska’s 33 communities, 1,000 islands and 15,000 miles of shoreline.
This region presents diverse challenges and endless opportunities for Southeast Alaskans who are working for the sustainable use and preservation of these waters and lands. Although each community has its own unique identity, Southeast Alaska’s residents and visitors share a common dependence on natural resources and ecosystem services for our cultural vitality and economic livelihood.
What is a watershed council:
Watershed councils are citizen-lead, locally organized, voluntary, non-regulatory groups established to improve the conditions of watersheds in their local area. Councils work to represent the diverse interests in their watershed and strive to be balanced in their makeup.
Watershed councils and groups provide reliable data and information on the important ecosystem services and natural resources within their watersheds to citizens and decision makers who work for the wise management of these waters and lands. They offer education programs that enhance the ecological literacy of the community, as well as actions that steward these ecosystems. Councils develop and implement restoration projects, which emphasizes the potential for sustainable development projects and landscape-scale planning.
Watershed councils work to engage; landowners, conservation groups, industry, tribes and government to work together to understand their watersheds. Councils coordinate the sharing of knowledge, experiences and skills and engage in meaningful dialog. These collaborative efforts -that watershed councils strive to facilitate -provide the opportunity for diverse stakeholders to discuss alternatives and possible solutions to watershed issues.
These community organizations provide services that foster their communities way of life, bolster their local economies, and promote the environmental integrity of the watersheds that they depend upon.
