Committees

Committees undertake the primary, substantive work of the Watershed Council.  They make recommendations for consideration, except where explicit decision-making authority has been granted by the Board of Directors.  Committees operate with a set membership of no specific number.  Membership is drawn from the Council Members, except in those circumstances where this requirement would limit access to needed expertise.

Technical Work Group (TWG)

• The committee’s main function is to advise the Skagit Watershed Council (Directors, membership, and subcommittees), and where appropriate external interests, on the technical aspects of salmon habitat recovery in the Skagit and Samish Watersheds.  This includes but is not limited to habitat strategy development, protection and restoration project evaluation and ranking processes, project development and sequencing, project vetting for funding recommendations that fall outside of the typical grant round (where that role is performed by the TRC), and project tracking.

Protection Subcommittee (PS)

• This committee’s main function is to advise the Skagit Watershed Council on the identification and acquisition of properties to protect high quality salmon habitat.  They are also responsible for the application of the protection strategy by selecting sites consistent with that strategy and allocating funding from reach-level grants to acquire those sites.  They report to the TWG.

Monitoring & Adaptive Management Subcommittee (M&AM)

• This committee’s main function has been to develop an adaptive management & monitoring framework to augment the Skagit Chinook Salmon Recovery Plan (2007).  They are currently filling monitoring, reporting, and other gaps identified in the framework.  They report to the TWG.

Technical Review Committee (TRC)

• This committee’s main function is to provide technical review and ranking of project proposals submitted annually through the Watershed Council’s salmon habitat funding program known as the lead entity process.  As outlined in the 2017 Lead Entity Program Guide, membership is drawn primarily from the TWG but is also supplemented with external expertise to enhance technical capabilities and to maintain an objective process.  Their work is utilized by the Lead Entity Citizen Committee.

Lead Entity Citizen Committee (LECC)

• This committee’s main function is to review and provide a final ranking of habitat projects proposed through the lead entity process based on their merits as measured by community and economic criteria.  As outlined in the 2020 Lead Entity Program Guide membership is composed of the Board of Directors plus additional Watershed Council Member representatives to enhance watershed representation and to maintain an objective process.

Community Engagement Committee (CEC)

• The committee’s main functions include advising the Council on developing, implementing, and monitoring our Community Engagement Plan. This will require two-way communication within and between Skagit educator networks and the broader community to include their needs and fulfill opportunities. It will also require the Council and its members and friends to support our cooperators with their own plans while incorporating the Council’s messages and materials where they can align.