COLVILLE TRIBES
Integrated Resource Management Planning (IRMP) is the cornerstone of the
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation's Nonpoint Source Management
Program. An interdisciplinary process to achieve resource management goals,
IRMP reflects the traditional Native American holistic view.
The IRMP is divided into three levels of activities, according to
priorities. The highest priority level includes upgrading the monitoring
program and database, on-the-ground application of nonpoint source controls in
the Omak Creek and Nine Mile Creek watersheds, a water quality chemical
analysis lab, maintaining existing nonpoint source control programs, and
evaluation.
Stream Restoration Uses Holistic Methods
Over many years, human use has severely degraded the streams that flow into
Buffalo Lake. Grazing practices and road construction have altered water
quality and traditional cultural uses in the watershed. In certain areas--like
Buffalo Creek--the stream had completely disappeared.
The Buffalo Creek Restoration Project focused on restoring the stream and
returning it to a natural ecosystem, while still meeting the tribes' economic,
cultural, and recreational needs. In this project, nature was both the teacher
and the model. Using a holistic approach, the Colville Tribes adopted
restoration methods from nature effective in less degraded watershed areas. To
demonstrate effective and inexpensive restoration, the tribes chose a small
area where the stream should be, but was no longer, present. Without visible
water, the creek had no name and was not found on any map.
The Colville Indian reservation lies within the Okanogan Upper Columbia
Region of Northeast Washington State. The reservation spans 1.3 million acres,
7,800 of which are covered by surface water, and has a population of 7,000. The
economy is dependent on government jobs, timber, and agricultural development.
The Colville Tribes have attained treatment as a state under sections 518, 106,
and 319 of the Clean Water Act.
To trap sediment, workers placed native logs and twigs in the streams as
nature would have done to make in-stream structures. The only nonnatural
materials used were coconut matting to support in-stream structures and fencing
materials to protect the riparian area.
In only four months, the stream emerged and defined itself. Nine months
later, small fish appeared and natural vegetation returned. The site has also
produced visible benefits upstream. And Buffalo Creek now appears on the
map.
With little likelihood of enough financial resources to restore all
watersheds on the reservation, the Buffalo Creek project demonstrates to
resource managers that this low-cost approach works. The project cost less than
$5,000, funded by section 319. Should a catastrophic incident occur,
replacement is possible. Long term goals for Buffalo Creek include improving
water quality and vegetation so that the natural ecosystem is restored. The
benchmark will be the return of beaver.
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