Confluence November 2011 - Western Watersheds: It's about the People

Greetings!

For over two years now, the work of Carpe Diem West’s Healthy Headwaters Project has focused on the vulnerability of the watersheds that provide the West’s drinking water. The scary part of that work has been learning about the growing list of threats that a warming climate is bringing to the West’s headwaters: catastrophic wildfire, drought, increased flooding, erosion, invasive species, and reduced snowpack—to name a few.

But the inspiring part has been working with the innovative leaders in communities across the West who are finding new ways to respond to these threats by creating healthier and more resilient landscapes.

Below are the stories of four successful headwaters protection partnerships. In each case, we have been struck by the degree to which success depends on individual leaders—having the right people in the right places coming together at the right time.

Their stories make for compelling reading. And for information on what other communities are doing to protect headwaters, you'll also want to read the updated Carpe Diem West report Watershed Investment Programs in the American West.

While landscapes loom large in these stories, at their core they are really about people.

Regards,
Kimery

Kimery Wiltshire
Director
Carpe Diem West