Core Working Group
This group consists of landowners and stakeholders with decision-making authorities and/or management responsibilities in the project area. This working group is responsible to the structured decision-making framework and will ultimately hold the responsibility to support implementation of the recommended actions.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders are individuals, groups, and organizations interested in the outcome of this planning effort.
Early involvement has come from the following:
More partners are always welcomed:
- Farmers
- Conservationists
- Flood Managers. One of the important drivers of this planning effort is the integration of habitat values and flood management. Any proposed actions to expand floodplain availability for juvenile fish must be synchronized with flood managers at DWR and several Reclamation Districts, recorded flood management authorities and the public safety needs of downstream and local communities.
- Water Managers. Another important driver is integration of human uses of the floodplain and the water during non-flood flows. Any proposed actions to expand floodplain availability for juvenile fish must be consistent with the desired and authorized human uses of the land and water in the Bypass and the Sacramento watershed at large.
- Habitat Managers. While it is desirable to target habitat restoration along Lower Butte Creek and the Lower Feather River to a natural state with zero on-going habitat maintenance costs, we cannot deny that the rivers and floodplains across the watershed have been dramatically altered. Much of the land within the watershed has been hardened irreversibly. Flows, floods, and floodplain inundation are modified from their natural condition. Human intervention (one-time or ongoing) will need to be considered as an alternative to completely unmanaged habitat processes. The costs and governance of such ongoing maintenance must be addressed.
- Researchers
- Hunters and Fisherman
- Birders
- Neighbors
- Partners
The Project Team
This team consists of facilitators and administrators tasked with designing and delivering the process and the plan. The Project Team is a group of friendly and hardworking folks who are not the decision-makers. We are here as part of this collaborative to assist in information sharing, daylighting potential conflicts, and navigating a path to success.
River Partners
River Partners is the project manager and supports the Facilitation and Technical Teams.
About Us: River Partners envisions interconnected, thriving floodplains that enhance surrounding communities, sustain abundant wildlife, support productive farmland, preserve freshwater resources, and serve as the first line of ecological defense in a changing climate. Our mission is to bring life back to rivers by creating wildlife habitat for the benefit of people and the environment. As a project-focused organization, we work on the ground to enrich riparian areas as nurseries for young salmon, rich habitat for birds, mammals, and pollinators, a buffer zone for floodwaters, and a place for people to reconnect with the natural world. Our experiences in the field and close connections with communities have taught us that restored floodplains can also provide much more.
Essex Partnership
Essex Partnership is the facilitator. Bruce DiGennaro is a Managing Partner and Lead Facilitator at Essex Partnership. With 25 years in facilitating collaborative multi-party planning and decision-making processes, Bruce will design our approach to stakeholder engagement, facilitate meetings with the Core Working Group, and assist in organizing and facilitating a series of Stakeholder workshops designed to engage on key issues.
cbec ecoengineering
cbec ecoengineering’s mission is to develop innovative, multi-benefit solutions in water resources engineering that improve the health of the natural environment while also meeting the needs of humanity. Their team consists of highly qualified and experienced professionals with extensive expertise in fisheries biology and ecology, hydrology and hydraulics, agriculture economics, outreach, and the Structured Decision-Making (SDM) process. Leveraging their extensive knowledge and experience working on several fishery habitat enhancement planning projects in the Sutter Bypass and Lower Feather River, we expect the development of a compatible and actionable habitat management plan.