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Keeping Our Water Clean through Forest Conservation Local Collaborative Builds Support and Funding for Healthy Forests
By Matt Inbusch, International Paper, and Lisa Lord, The Longleaf Alliance
International Paper Savannah Containerboard Mill. Photo courtesy of International Paper.
People often view forests from a forest production, wildlife habitat, or recreational perspective, but healthy, well-managed forests also help keep drinking water safe, reliable, and affordable. In the United States, nearly two-thirds of freshwater comes from forested watersheds. How forests are retained and managed impacts the quality and the quantity of water from them. Southeastern forests face threats such as forestland conversion, climate change, and forest diseases, causing drinking water quality and quantity declines. Watershed collaboratives are forming all over the country, combatting these threats by bringing forward their collective resources around a common goal of protecting their local forested watershed. There are many different types of ecosystem financing mechanisms to fund watershed activities, including those where the beneficiaries (utilities or water customers) pay through utility rates or fees, bonds, state revolving funds, or other revenue streams and sustainable markets. These watershed collaboratives are an important new strategy for water conservation and forest retention. Together these coalitions can leverage their combined resources and achieve significant benefits. Forestland conservation and stewardship clearly benefit drinking water and public health, but they also benefit forest landowners and local economies. Landowners have [ 30 ]
an essential role to play, as most large drinking water supplies in the southeast originate in forested headwaters, much of which are privately owned. Building the Coalition to Support Drinking Water The 2.8-million-acre Savannah River Watershed provides drinking water to more than 1.5 million people in two states. And one collaborative, the Savannah River Clean Water Fund (Fund), has been actively working to protect the lower Savannah River basin since 2014. The Fund coordinates efforts among public water utilities in Georgia and South Carolina, state environmental and forestry agencies, local land trusts, and others to facilitate a holistic approach to land protection in the watershed. It is a ground-breaking example of how actors from unique sectors can work cooperatively to protect water resources. The Fund also overlaps the South Lowcountry – ACE Basin (SoLoAce) Longleaf Partnership’s focal area and works closely with the partnership to identify properties for protection or restoration. “The Fund’s goal is to keep 60% of the lower watershed (around 1.67 million acres) in forests by protecting the 210,000 highest priority acres in terms of water quality impact,” says Lisa Lord, Conservation Programs Director with The Longleaf Alliance. “Collaborating with partners like International Paper
