Thief River Watershed – One Watershed, One Plan

Background

As part of the second round of One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) efforts, the Thief River Watershed 1W1P Partnership, made up of several counties and the Red Lake Watershed District, sought a consultant to provide plan writing and facilitation services to develop the Thief River Watershed 1W1P. The Partnership hired HEI to lead the plan’s development.

The Project

Through our work writing and facilitating the planning process for other 1W1P projects, we’ve developed a proven process for developing effective 1W1Ps that all stakeholders can agree on. This process includes public kick-off meetings where the public can vote on what resource concerns they care about most. This ensures public involvement and excitement for plan development.

The Thief River Watershed had plenty of existing information on the state of its water quality. HEI is using this data with the Prioritize, Target, and Measure Application (PTMApp) to identify where practices will be most effective. This gives us a roadmap to develop a comprehensive plan that will deliver results across the watershed. By pairing the existing information, PTMApp outputs, and the concerns identified during public information meetings, HEI is writing a plan that:

• addresses the public’s top concerns,
• details watershed characteristics that affect water quality,
• demonstrates implementation accountability and justifies the receipt of implementation block grants, and
• can be easily and efficiently implemented.