Abstract
The Tomales Bay Watershed Council, whose 24 members represent community and environmental groups, agricultural, maricultural and recreational interests as well as public agencies, provides an example of a successful collaborative approach to watershed stewardship. The Council formed in 2000 to develop a comprehensive watershed management and stewardship plan for the Tomales Bay watershed, a 220 square mile area in Marin County, California. The Council mandated a consensus decision-making process to insure that all constituents were heard. Of primary concern were problems related to water quality in the bay and tributary streams. This chapter focuses on the actions the Council adopted to address these problems. Specifically, it chronicles the implementation of a water quality monitoring plan and practices to reduce nonpoint sources of water pollution in the watershed within a consensus framework.
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Notes
- 1.
Preservation of land around Tomales Bay and in West Marin was possible because people were actively committed to the environment. That these people had social and political connections as well as financial means made the initial efforts to curb urban development possible (see Griffin 1998). Ongoing efforts, including education, advocacy and land acquisition from groups such as EAC, ACR and MALT were also crucial. However, land ownership by various governmental organizations – the NPS, GGNRC, State Parks, County Parks and Open Space – was the major force in keeping significant areas of West Marin undeveloped. For another example of land conservation and preservation strategies in places adjacent to urban centers, see the Dreaming New Mexico project at http://www.dreamingnewmexico.org/
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Pileggi, M., Carson, R., King, N. (2012). Tomales Bay Watershed Council: Model of Collective Action. In: Karl, H., Scarlett, L., Vargas-Moreno, J., Flaxman, M. (eds) Restoring Lands - Coordinating Science, Politics and Action. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2549-2_20
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