Supporting Restoration from the Ground Up

By: Michelle McGree

I am an ardent supporter of fish, fish habitat, and healthy watersheds. Seeing habitat restoration transform a landscape to something nature can support, and that supports humans, too, feels like magic. But recently I asked myself, have I been admiring the gift without asking where it came from?

In 2014 I joined Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) as a Program Manager of the Future Fisheries Improvement Program (FFIP). The main responsibilities of running a grant program were obvious: follow the rules and guidelines, release requests for proposals, and facilitate project funding. When I started with the FFIP, I immersed myself in Program history, statute, and administrative rule, and how to run the Program as efficiently and effectively as possible. I did, and still do, take the guidance seriously to keep the FFIP in compliance and doing exactly what it was meant to do – help fund impactful improvements to fish habitat. This is not a bad thing; it is a great way to keep the grant program in good standing.

Seeing the Bigger Picture
At a very basic level, my job as a Program Manager is to focus is on part of the restoration process for many, many projects, and not necessarily to know all the details, progress, challenges, and successes of each individual project. With that said, even though it’s not a requirement, I believe understanding more about each restoration project and the people involved makes me a better grant manager and restoration professional.

I haven’t always been that insightful. In a statewide position, without a solid tie to any one local community, it isn’t easy to understand how restoration truly works, or where it begins. Years ago, I would have defined pre-project work as design; something required for construction. Now I know that pre-project work means much more than that, and begins well before the drawings and engineers.

It Takes Capacity
Initiating projects – having conversations, building trust, identifying priorities, and developing ideas – isn’t what I focused on, or really understood. To local biologists and project partners, this part of project planning is probably obvious, but I’d argue that it isn’t always clear to a grant program manager. I didn’t truly grasp the value of a starting point, and didn’t realize how challenging it was to fund these things. How do you pay for people to build trust with a landowner? Those things just happen, right?

I’d like to say that I learned these things solely by administering grants, but I didn’t. I expanded my view of restoration thanks to MWCC. Having deeper conversations at MWCC events and tours and serving on the Board of Directors opened my eyes to how restoration happens from start to finish, as well as the struggles and support needed to get all of it done. I was aware of local partnerships and the role of FWP biologists, but I didn’t really understand the dynamics. I got to know the handful of people that run an entire watershed group, conservation district, or nonprofit for far less money than they deserve. I met the people dedicating their lives to making their home watershed better, working side-by-side with local FWP field staff and so many others.

I learned that just because someone loves a watershed doesn’t mean that they should, or can, work for free. If these individuals don’t get paid sufficiently, the organizations don’t continue. And if they don’t continue, who are the non-governmental locals that help build trust with a landowner? Who are the people sitting at a kitchen table with a coffee talking about possible restoration work? A team is needed to get an idea to a design phase and beyond.

Planting the Restoration Seed
Through the FFIP we can’t pay for these organizations to operate. We can’t financially support the staff time for individuals to go from an idea to a ready-to-implement project, but it is in our best interest to see that happen. We want to fund impactful on-the-ground restoration. What we can do, however, is advocate for this important work in other ways, including support of organizations like MWCC to provide Capacity Support funding to these groups. We can raise awareness that capacity is not only important, it’s vital to seeing restoration happen across the state. We can use MWCC’s Theory of Change in these conversations.

At FWP, we prioritize fisheries habitat restoration as a critical part of wild fish management. We value restoration projects; through the FFIP we’ve funded over 800 projects since 1996. By doing all we can to support initiating ideas and building relationships, we can do much more down the road. It’s planting a seed knowing someday it will grow. MWCC helped me understand that concept, and I am now a better partner to the entire restoration community – truly supporting restoration from the ground up.