What We Do
We work with communities to care for land and water in the Upper Willamette Basin
After two years of exploratory meetings, Executive Directors from four watershed councils, a land trust, and a conservation nonprofit launched the Upper Willamette Stewardship Network (UWSN) in 2018. Through this collaborative effort, Network members are working to improve and expand programs, and share information & resources in the interest of our shared conservation goals. We understand the value of investing in partnership to build trust, identify opportunities, and determine how to best partner on shared programming and initiatives.
Organizations participating in the network include the Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council, Friends of Buford Park and Mount Pisgah, Long Tom Watershed Council, McKenzie Watershed Council, McKenzie River Trust, and Middle Fork Willamette Watershed Council.
WHAT
Network members have identified the following opportunities for productive collaboration:
Increased revenue generation
Engagement with a diverse range of communities
Outdoor and environmental education
Habitat restoration projects where overlapping expertise and geographies align
More effective and sustained land stewardship and conservation efforts at the regional scale
Shared staff and equipment
Anyone who has worked with land and water resources knows that Nature functions without regard for jurisdictional boundaries. As a result, effective regional stewardship only happens through the efforts of multiple individuals, organizations, and agencies, and by addressing not only biological and ecological factors, but social, political, and economic factors as well.
Many of our member organizations were active participants in the Willamette River Initiative, which was instrumental in bringing together numerous partners across a large geography to work collectively toward a healthy Willamette River. The work of the Network’s members has become increasingly collaborative. Member organizations already partner with each other – as well as with public agencies, landowners, and other community organizations – on projects and programs to increase conservation outcomes and community benefits. Examples of our collaborations include the hiring of a fulltime Network Coordinator, submitting joint grant proposals, a new regional initiative for stormwater management, a regional environmental education planning team, hosting the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, and increased sharing of resources and expertise across a wide range of program areas from restoration projects to fiscal management.
Funding for conservation and stewardship requires a collaborative approach. Foundations and funding agencies increasingly expect conservation organizations to submit joint grant proposals and work together to achieve shared outcomes. An intention of the Network is to “grow the pie” – by joining forces across a larger geography and putting collaboration over competition, we hope to leverage additional resources to fund our work.
WHY
HOW
The Upper Willamette Stewardship Network is designed for two levels of participation. Network Members, consisting of organizations that have committed to advancing the network’s goals, will define the network’s agenda and benefit from closer working relationships with other members.
A second tier of network participation is the collaboration of Network Members with Active Partners. Active Partners are organizations that are working in the same programmatic areas and with similar goals, but that aren’t specifically committed to the network itself, such as other nonprofits and federal, state, county, and municipal agencies.
Executive Directors from each member organization serve as the Network’s Core Team, which meets for a half day in person each month and regularly via video conference and a shared messaging platform to share information, advance the Network’s goals and implement related activities, and make decisions about the Network’s evolution.
In addition to the Core Team, there are several Project Teams that meet regularly to work on regional planning and programming related to outreach & communications, environmental education, administrative and fiscal management, restoration & stewardship, and diversity, equity & inclusion.
The Network Coordinator, with support from the Executive Directors, is responsible for coordinating the activities of the Network, planning and facilitating meetings, budgeting, internal communications and public relations.