Collaborative Restoration of Aquatic Resources in the South Central Lake Superior Basin

Partners for Watershed Restoration (PWR), a coalition for the South Central Lake Superior Basin (S.C. Basin), was formed in July 2013 and has attracted over 40 agencies and organizations including Federal, State, County, Tribal, non-profit, and private. Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Natural Resources Department (KBNRD) in close partnership with U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Superior Watershed Partnership, and Trust for Public Lands seeks to bring this diverse group of researchers, resource managers and business groups together to develop a vision for restoration of riparian and aquatic resources in the S.C. basin. Thus far, little coordinated decision-making has occurred between agencies.

We are developing a collaborative geo-database of inventoried connectivity barriers within the South Central Superior Basin to prioritize restoration from approximately 1,800 inventoried stream crossings. We are compiling publicly accessible GIS layers relevant to local restoration within the watershed into geodatabases so that they are easily accessible and ready to utilize. We are using current remote sensing tools, including Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technologies, as strategy support tools for targeting additional restoration and management needs that meet multiple natural resource objectives.

By the end of this two-year Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) Collaborative Restoration project, we will achieve the following goals:

1) Develop a vision and associated goals, objectives and strategies within the PWR coalition for restoration of riparian and aquatic resources in the S.C. basin,

2) Develop a collaborative geo-database of inventoried connectivity barriers within the S.C. basin,

3) Incorporate the collaborative geo-database into a Great Lakes basin wide LCC prioritization model project, and

4) Utilize current GIS and LiDAR data tools to evaluate conditions for further restoration needs.

This LCC pilot landscape conservation project brings together a conservation community that by utilizing decision support tools will allow professionals within the PWR coalition to assess a broad scope of resource conditions, plan accordingly, and work together to achieve landscape level benefits and results now and into the future.

Partner Organizations as of September 2015