Researcher(s):
Claire Manny Frances Swanson Zoey Bahardar
ENVS course(s): 220 Initiated: November 2014 Completed: December 2014 Go to project site
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Background: Watersheds, areas where all precipitation drains into a common water body, serve an important ecological function in that it can determine the quality of all the water that flows through its boundary. According to the Network of Oregon Watershed Councils, the main function of watershed councils is to implement projects that “maintain and restore the biological and physical processes in watersheds.” They are made up of representatives of private, local, state, federal interests in watershed management.
To zoom in on a singular organization in the massive network that makes up Oregon’s watershed councils we will focus on the Columbia River Slough Watershed council. This is of the largest and most complex watersheds in the Portland urban boundary. In the 32,700 acres that make up the Columbia River Slough, there is a mix of residential, industrial, recreational, and wilderness forms of land use in this watershed. Originally a floodplain, it is now home to 4,200 businesses, 170,000 people, the PDX International and the Troutdale Airports, six golf courses, the largest urban wetland in the United States, and thirty miles of flood control levees. These many forms of land use comes with many special interest parties that claim a stake in the Columbia Slough Watershed. Our intensive research on watershed councils in Oregon will be about the relationships between the interests in the Columbia Slough Watershed Council.
Framing Question: Are watershed councils in Oregon effective in ameliorating watershed conditions?
Focus Question: What are the dynamics of interaction between the various interests in the Columbia Slough Watershed Council?
Methodology: To research our framing question, we will use GIS to create two maps of Oregon’s watersheds: one overlaid with a metric of each watershed’s water quality and another overlaid with the founding dates of the water councils. To research our focus question, we will conduct social network and narrative analysis. We will conduct participant observation at a council-sponsored event, “Slough Stories,” interview council staff, and poll council members about their relationships with other members and analyze that information using Gephi, a social network mapping program.