The Workshop # 1 for Phase III for the Coquitlam River Watershed (CRW) Strategy was held in Coquitlam on February 2nd, 2010. The meeting notes for this workshop provide a full summary of the presentations and discussions, expanding on all the topics outlined in this summary.
Entitled “Governance for a healthy Coquitlam River watershed (CRW): Getting Started on terms of reference for a new CRW team,” the evening workshop was opened by Mayor Stewart, City of Coquitlam, who thanked all the organizations that had teamed up to support development of the Coquitlam River Watershed Strategy. Stressing the value and importance of the Coquitlam River to the community and to future harmony between endangered fish stocks, water quality and gravel production, he noted the strategy under development would form the foundation for responsible watershed governance and stewardship planning.
Using the presentation slides, Margaret Birch, Environmental Services Coordinator, City of Coquitlam, reviewed the latest steps, and Julie Gardner of Dovetail Consulting, the facilitator of the workshop, provided an introduction to the evening’s tasks. The input gathered from this workshop would be used by the project team to develop a draft of parts of the terms of reference for this governance body for discussion and refinement at a second workshop scheduled for March in Port Coquitlam.
Birch noted that a definition for this urban watershed was an outstanding task from a previous phase of work. She noted that some work with industry representatives and the project team had been done recently on the definition piece, and she read aloud the draft description from one of the presentation slides. Participants were invited to provide comments to guide further edits so that a revised draft could be presented during the next workshop. Since February 2nd, the input received to date has resulted in an updated Coquitlam River watershed definition, which will be presented during Workshop # 2, on March 18th.
Following the presentations, participants formed seven work groups in the lobby of City Hall. Copies of a draft framework for the terms of reference were distributed to participants, were invited to comment on the basic outline. One of the first of four parts of terms of reference is Overall Direction, and includes: Vision, Values, Mission and Guiding Principles. Gardner reviewed the Common Vision and Values, and made reference to the final draft Mission Statement, which remains an outstanding task for Phase II. The discussion that ensued is provided in the meeting notes.
The remaining workshop agenda involved work group and full group discussions about guiding principles, goals, and structure for the new governance body. A synthesis of the results provided by the work groups is detailed in two appendices of the meeting notes.
Information displays and reports were available for participants to view as additional background material in support of watershed governance elsewhere. A poster display highlighted what was most common amongst five watersheds: Chilliwack, Cowichan, Englishman Nisqually and Salmon rivers watersheds. Another panel display showcased information on the Coquitlam River’s watershed assets.
