From fragments to connections to restoration: A case history of emergent sociocultural services in the Clark Fork River and Lake Pend Oreille fishery

Authors

  • Charles E. Corsi Idaho Department of Fish and Game Panhandle Region, 2885 W. Kathleen Ave., Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815
  • Matthew P. Corsi Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 600 S. Walnut St., Boise, ID 83712
  • Kenneth E. Wallen Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 600 S. Walnut St., Boise, ID 83712
  • Kenneth A. Bouwens Idaho Department of Fish and Game Panhandle Region, 2885 W. Kathleen Ave., Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815
  • Paul C. Kusnierz Avista Natural Resources Field Office, P.O. Box 1469, Noxon, MT 59853
  • Kaitlyn E. Shaw University of Idaho Department of Natural Resources and Society, 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 1139 Moscow, ID 83844
  • Nathan E. Hall Avista Natural Resources Field Office, P.O. Box 1469, Noxon, MT 59853
  • Joseph S. Maroney Kalispel Natural Resources Department, P.O. Box 39, Usk,, WA 99180
  • James S. Williams Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, 490 N. Meridian Rd, Kalispell, MT 59901

Keywords:

collaboration, multi-institutional governance, mitigation, services to ecosystems

Abstract

Lake Pend Oreille and the Clark Fork River provide essential ecosystem services, including fisheries and hydroelectric power, to residents of Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Although conflicts exist, these services are maintained in concert by emergent sociocultural services created by a multi-institutional, transboundary collaboration. This has been enabled by an innovative Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license settlement agreement among a multitude of stakeholders. The consensus-based agreement promotes connections among people, projects, waterways, and fish populations. Collaborative management efforts allow stakeholders to address controversial issues, such as invasive fish suppression. We demonstrate how reciprocal cultural ecosystem services and services to ecosystems can enable ecosystem-scale restoration that addresses invasive species, habitat protection, and water quality management. Continued ecosystem management success relies on sustaining the relationship-building and shared knowledge services that have emerged over the past 25 years.

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Published

2022-01-01

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 1 (2022): Ecosystem services of fish and fisheries: Social, cultural, and economic perspective Part 1 - North and South America

Section

Research article

License

Manuscripts must be original. They must not be published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. It is required that the lead author of accepted papers complete and sign the MSU Press AEHM Author Publishing Agreement and provide it to the publisher upon acceptance.