NPCC Research Director, Rebecca McLain, presented research on the Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force at the 2022 Pathways Conference in Bremerton, Washington. The research is titled “Reaching Consensus on Numerical Goals for Salmon: A case study of the Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force”
From 2017-2020, the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (NOAA Fisheries) convened the Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force, comprised of diverse representatives, to collaboratively develop shared basin-wide visions and goals for salmon and steelhead recovery. The research project is identifying the lessons learned from the collaborative process to better understand the ways in which natural resource agencies, environmental organizations, and other groups interacted with tribal governments and engaged with underrepresented communities. The research particularly seeks to understand how tribal considerations and knowledge about salmon and steelhead were incorporated into the process.
The research has produced preliminary results that include emerging themes: 1) Reaching agreement on numerical goals for salmon and steelhead recovery was a major step forward for the Columbia Basin; 2) good facilitation by a neutral third-party was critical to this successful outcome; 3) repeated constructive interactions, in formal and informal settings, built trust and positive relationships; 4) deliberately creating opportunities for members to develop shared understandings of scientific and local knowledge about salmon enabled agreement on numerical goals; 5) now that numerical goals exist, leadership capable of making tough decisions about the trade-offs is needed to achieve those goals. The research is ongoing.
Ultimately, the research will identify key themes and lessons that contributed to the development of the goals for Columbia basin salmon and steelhead recovery. Those themes and lessons learned could help inform future large-scale collaborative processes seeking to address complex policy challenges.
Research authors are Rebecca McLain, National Policy Consensus Center; Molly Stenovec, William D. Ruckelshaus Center; Serina Fast Horse, Institute for Tribal Government; Alissa Essig, William D. Ruckelshaus Center; Amelia Webb, William D. Ruckelshaus Center; and Kyle Byers, National Policy Consensus Center
See the PowerPoint from the conference presentation (PDF)