The final section of the Study page in this Toolkit explains how the Partnership Wild and Scenic Study is conducted. Generally, there is a fair amount of variability in PWSR legislation. The Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers model was established for designation and management for those rivers predominantly in private, municipal or state, as opposed to federal, ownership. The Partnership Rivers demonstrate the potential effects of designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers model features include:

• no reliance on federal land ownership or management
• reliance on local and state regulations and management as before designation
• administration and implementation of a locally led Management Plan facilitated by a locally appointed, broadly participatory Wild and Scenic Committee, convened for each river specifically for this purpose
• responsibility for management of river resources shared between the local, state, and federal partners on the Committee
• requires no establishment of a National Park or superintendent or law enforcement agent from the National Park Service
• does not require purchase or transfer of lands to the NPS
• succeeds through voluntary education, outreach, management efforts and local support

Legislation is drafted by the Congressional sponsors of the bill. These Representatives may request the assistance of NPS and include key PWSR legislative provisions plus specifics about each river proposed for designation. It is important to be on the same page as your Congressional sponsors. Ideally, these principles are included in legislation and are shown in the examples of warrant articles and legislation found below.

• Upper Missisquoi and Trout Rivers, VT
  Town Meeting warrant article: To see if the voters of the Town of insert town name will petition the Congress of the United States of America that the upper Missisquoi and Trout Rivers be designated as Wild and Scenic Rivers with the understanding that such designation would be based on the locally‐developed rivers Management Plan and would not involve federal acquisition or management of lands.
• VT designation legislation
• Enabling Legislation for the Lamprey River, NH
• More legislation may be found on rivers.gov.

The legislative process can be a long road, so Congressional support and local Study Committee support are key to success. Congressional support may come in many forms. This hiatus period between intense “study” and formation of management committee is a good breather, but Committees have to be sure not to lose all the momentum built up during the study. Continued education and outreach is a great way to keep momentum going.

More information on writing a management plan and completing a Wild and Scenic Study may be found on the Study page in this Toolkit. Once Congress passes legislation to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to include your river, and the President signs the bill into law your river is designated...now what?

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Once a river is federally designated as part of the Wild and Scenic River System, a local, post-designation Advisory Committee will be established to facilitate the work set forth in the Management Plan. This Committee often looks much like the Study Committee and will likely include some of the same members. Official appointees are chosen as communities see fit, often appointed by the municipalities in the designated area. The Committee also includes partnerships with interested organizations and citizens who choose to attend (in much the same way that the Study Committee was established). The Advisory Committee will use the Comprehensive River Management Plan written during the Study as a road map following designation, and work toward goals and recommendations included in the Plan with the help of the National Park Service. Once formed, members will choose to adopt bylaws specifying how to govern itself including election of officers and decision making. Some examples of bylaws from the post-designation can be seen from the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord River Stewardship Council and the Taunton River Stewardship Council.

The goal of the Advisory Committee would be use this Management Plan as a framework to encourage local, state and federal planning to take the Outstandingly Remarkable Values identified in this Management Plan into consideration, and make decisions which protect the resources of designated rivers. They would also administer any Wild and Scenic funds allocated to the designated rivers, and assist in any Section 7 Reviews (of only those projects with full or partial federal funding or permitting, construction and development and related to water resources with a potential adverse effect on the rivers). The Committee will not have a regulatory role but will have a formal advisory role related to the Wild and Scenic River designation and the National Park Service, and may also advise and assist landowners, local communities, State agency partners, and others.

One of the most important roles of the post-designation Advisory Committee is to serve as a communication and coordination body bringing together municipalities and key partners on a regular and ongoing basis to promote good decision-making regarding the rivers. With open, consistent meetings and activities providing a regular and reliable forum for discussion, research, and consensus building with around river matters, the Committee will support good river management.

The Committee may utilize funding support received through the National Park Service to undertake projects directly or, most likely, in partnership with one or more local partners. It is anticipated that similar activities that occurred during the Study will occur if after designation occurs, including education and outreach, and that the recommendations and opportunities for action discussed in the Management Plan design the road map for future Wild and Scenic activities. An example of the role of the Taunton River post-designation Wild and Scenic Committee.

The National Park Service provides advisory and technical assistance to the post-designation Advisory Committee. The NPS is charged with administering the Wild and Scenic designation, assisting in implementing the Management Plan with the Advisory Committee, and reviewing projects which fall under the protection of Section 7 of the Wild and Scenic Act. The NPS will help protect the ORVs from federally funded or permitted “water resource development projects” which could have a “direct and adverse impact” upon the ORVs which made the river eligible for designation.

The post-designation Advisory Committee would be expected to carry out regular review and updates to the Management Plan. Study Committees can recommend a timeline for this review and updating of the Management Plan, which typically occur every five years post-designation due to the constantly changing nature of the regulations, technology, plans, and community goals within the area. Since Management Plans are the recommended actions for river management, how they are to be revised is often included in the plan itself. Commonly, if the post-designation Advisory Committee proposes a major or significant revision to the Management Plan a full review process may occur, such as that prior to the adoption of the Management Plan with a public review and comment period on the draft followed by adoption by the locally appointed Wild and Scenic Advisory Committee.

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Once the post-designation advisory committees are established for Wild and Scenic Rivers, there are many ways to keep committee members engaged. Engaging jobs could include committee roles such as secretary or treasurer, budget management, tracking of the cooperative agreement with a government agency such as the National Park Service, advise and coordinate with local level, state, and federal governments, liaison with local partners, stakeholders and landowners, and development and implementation of annual work plans.

Should any conflict arise with committees and their partners the establishment of the management plan prior to designation ensures priorities and balance. The building of relationships with stakeholders that began during the study process can continue to facilitate river management after designation.

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Along with designation typically comes federal funding meant to aid in implementation of the Management Plan and protection of the values for which the rivers are designated, the Outstandingly Remarkable Values (ORVs). The amount of this funding varies, but in previous years designated Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers (those predominantly running through privately, rather than federally owned lands) have been considered fully funded at $170,000 each. Though funding is not automatic, any much from the NPS needs to be added to the NPS budget and should happen in preparations of the NPS "Greenbook," which is the detailed budget request from the agency.

According to nps.gov, the National Park Service develops a budget each February for the next fiscal year, which starts October 1. The NPS budget—published in what they call the Green Book—defines goals and objectives and the funding necessary to accomplish them. The NPS budget is rolled up into the budget for the Department of the Interior and then with the rest of the Executive Branch and submitted to Congress for its review and approval.

The FY (Fiscal Year) 2017 Greenbook and FY2018 Greenbook section on PWSRs are available. A digital copy of the Greenbook can be found on the NPS Budget webpage and goes back to FY2002.

Generally, lobbying Congress is not permitted by employees of the National Park Service. The NPS can request funding for PWSRs in their budget, but that is all. Partnership Wild and Scenic River Committee members have been working together for years to advocate for funding for Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers, and to fully fund NPS budget requests for WSRs. This is predominantly done through discussions with Representatives and Senators, through Dear Colleague Letters and with a PWSR White Paper.

The Dear Colleague Letter is official correspondence sent by a Representative or Senator to other members of Congress. It may be circulated for many reasons but is usually stating an opinion about a bill or measure and asking for support (or opposition) to a bill. Congressional representatives from states with PWSRs will often start the process of circulating a PWSR Dear Colleague letter each year requesting signatures of support from other members of Congress. Examples of a Dear Colleague Letter the House and the Senate are available.

Along with this Dear Colleague Letter, a white paper on PWSRs is typically circulated. This White Paper is a way ask for full funding for the PWSRs and to show the difference between the funding levels written into the River Comprehensive Management Plans and the actual appropriations from Congress and in the NPS budget.

This group of PWSR advocates have recently had the following notable achievements:

1. On October 1, 2014, Northeast Regional Director Mike Caldwell published the first PWSRs policy paper regarding "
2. In the FY2017 Department of the Interior (DOI) Budget, the Obama Administration put in a budget request for a $439,000 increase for PWSRs as part of a broader program to "Support New Areas and Critical Responsibilities". Congress passed this increase which was specifically directed at newly designated rivers to bring them up to the base operational budget of around $175,000.

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Any funding to Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers goes a long way and is supplemented by the partnerships and volunteers that manage designation locally. Post-designation Advisory Committees draft workplans each year. At the end of each year the work plan is reviewed, and a list of highlights of accomplishments is provided to the NPS. Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers have all been funded by a Cooperative Agreement, usually between the National Park Service and a non-federal entity, typically a non-profit organization such as the study sponsor. This organization becomes the Fiscal Agent for the funds. More information on Cooperative Agreements may be found on NPS.gov or Grants.gov. Director’s Order #20 provides the directive for how the NPS enters into Cooperative Agreements. An example of a Cooperative Agreement for a Partnership Wild and Scenic River is available.

Funding received is managed by the post-designation Advisory Committee made up of locally appointed representatives, and budgets and expenditures are subject to vote by the local, post-designation advisory committee. Other designated rivers have used these funds to hire local staff support (a Committee Coordinator), and protect and enhance ORVs in some of the following ways (though no Advisory Committee is bound or limited to these uses):

• improved river access for recreation including safe steps for anglers, boat launches, or boardwalk construction
• boater trail and recreational maps
• studies of and best management practices for stormwater management
• small grant programs providing grant opportunities for local organizations to provide education about or protection of ORVs
• biological studies monitoring water quality (through chemical and physical, geomorphological, macroinvertebrate, mussels, or fish) or vernal pool and wetland studies
• use and economic impact surveys
• historical and archaeological assessments
• conservation easements
• river-themed music and arts festivals
• invasive species management
• natural resource inventories

As one can see, Wild and Scenic designation advisory committees utilize funds for the betterment of the community and the designated rivers. Project prioritization for funding will be set by the local Advisory Committee and will focus on those projects which educate about or provide protection for the ORVs. Decision-making about how funds will be used post-designation are made by the local Advisory Committee. Please see the study section of this toolkit (How does a study Committee Form?) for the options for how a PWSR Committee may be formed and staffed. The Committee will design and adopt a working budget as the Study Committee did at meetings with valuable input by local citizens and key Committee partners.

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The intention of Section 7 of the Wild and Scenic Act is to protect the designated rivers from new federal projects which would adversely affect the free-flowing condition and outstandingly remarkable values for which rivers are designated. This Section requires the evaluation of partially or fully federally funded or permitted construction and development water resource projects within the designated area. This Section prevents licensing or exemption by FERC (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) of new dams or hydropower facilities on or directly, negatively affecting the designated area; prevents federal projects which have a direct and adverse effect on the free-flowing nature, outstandingly remarkable values, or water quality of the designated area, and limits federal projects which would invade the designated area or unreasonably diminish the free-flowing nature, outstandingly remarkable values, or water quality of the designated area.

Designation provides local input into the Section 7 review process (pdf explaining use of flowchart, Section 7 flow chart ). Under Section 7 of the Wild and Scenic Act only those projects with full or partial federal funding or permitting, construction and development and water resource related projects are reviewed by the post-designation Advisory Committee and the National Park Service for potentially adverse effects on the rivers. This gives local input into the design and outcome of federally assisted projects. Examples of the types of projects which would typically fall under this category include those river-related projects which already fall under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act administered by the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Environmental Policy Act’s (NEPA) including Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Statements implemented by the EPA. The NPS and the local Advisory Committee would be consulted by the federal assisting (permitting, funding, etc.) agency during the normal review process that would occur regardless of Wild and Scenic designation. Projects might include dredging for repairs to a bridge piling, or construction at a border crossing station on the river. This review is meant to assess proposed projects to be sure federal actions are reviewed with full consideration of the potential impacts on the Wild and Scenic River and its ORVs, and to avoid these impacts. Please see Chapter I of this Management Plan which further discusses Wild and Scenic designation for more information.

Since many Wild and Scenic River projects that would trigger Section 7 review would have involvement by the Army Corps of Engineers, it is important to important to develop good working relationships with local Corps districts. In Massachusetts, general permit language has been developed. An example of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers WSR General Permit condition for Wild and Scenic Rivers in Massachusetts is as follows:

8. Wild and Scenic Rivers

• The following activities in designated river or study river segments in the National Wild and Scenic River (WSR) System require a PCN unless the National Park Service has determined in writing to the proponent that the proposed work will not adversely affect the WSR designation or study status:
  • Activities that occur in WSR segments, in and 0.25 miles up or downstream of WSR segments, or in tributaries within 0.25 miles of WSR segments;
  • Activities that occur in wetlands within 0.25 miles of WSR segments;
  • Activities that have the potential to alter free-flowing characteristics in WSR segments.

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Annual Reports and Accomplishments illustrate the work of Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers each year.

“As to successes, we have had a very active role in protecting land since in this particular Wild and Scenic Rivers program, most of the land along the river is privately owned. From 1999 to 2009 we have protected almost 2,000 acres mostly land that lies within the 1/4 corridor along the river, including about 12 miles of river frontage. We have produced a 22 minute video about the river, and have offered grants to enhance our outreach efforts. We have also supported watershed-wide activities such as a conference last June to support watershed planning. We've published a curriculum for grades 3-12, developed a recreational map for the 23.5 miles of the river that are in the Wild and Scenic Rivers program, and are currently working with the town of Durham on a small park. We have some wonderful partners in our endeavors and we strive to work more closely with the four towns in the Wild and Scenic portion of the river.” Sharon Meeker – Lamprey River (NH)

Yet, these reports never really seem to capture the breadth and scope of accomplishments on PWSRs.

The successful river management projects listed above, that have been implemented through Wild and Scenic Committees with their funding, are some of these examples of success. The 20 Years of Success report recently published by the NPS illustrates these successes as does the PWSR Video River Connections.

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Enhancing Recreation

River Restoration

Outreach and Education

Supporting Science & Citizen Science

Supporting Land Protection

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