The Whole is Greater than the Sum of Its Parts: Engaging Communities for Flood Risk Reduction, Species Recovery and Other Community Priorities

A picture of a floodplain can invoke different meanings for the people of Puget Sound: home, working lands, livelihood, culture, floods, altered ecosystem, disappearing salmon and identify. Each of these meanings is valid and each is powerful. In many of Puget Sound’s large rivers over 70% of floodplain habitat have been altered or lost. Puget Sound Chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout, which rely on healthy rivers and floodplains are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act with habitat restoration playing a critical role in their recovery. Salmon are central to the culture and identity of the Native American Tribes in the region. Puget Sound’s rich floodplain soils are also home to vibrant agricultural communities, which were founded upon some of the most productive soils in the world. Floodplains are also increasingly encroached upon by residential communities and the businesses and amenities that accompany them. These communities are at an ever increasing risk of flooding as climate change is predicted to produce wetter winters with more frequent, large flood events. People working in floodplains understand that floodplains and the management of these important systems are viewed very differently by the sometimes conflicting interests of Puget Sound residents. One of the most pressing management issues facing our region is integrating multiple community, stakeholder, and trustee interests to maximize ecological and social outcomes for the region. By working with local communities and designing to address multiple objectives, several projects have been completed in which the whole is greater than the sum of their parts: functional habitat, flood risk reduction, and preservation of working lands. This presentation will focus on the regional context related to the need for floodplain restoration, and the potential for multiple-benefits project to meet this need. Through the use of case studies from Puget Sound, this presentation will highlight the specific ways local sponsors, NOAA’s Restoration Center and The Nature Conservancy are successfully working across interests to gain a broad base of support, and achieve greater gains than separate, single objective actions