An Ongoing Evolution! CWB's Targets for Watershed Well-Being
The Cowichan Basin Water Management Plan (2007) included an ambitious and daunting to-do list comprising a vision, six goals, 23 objectives, and 89 actions. However, when local people sat down together with the plan as the newly formed Cowichan Watershed Board, they decided that a more motivating and inclusive vision was needed to guide implementation. The list had to be refined to form a set of more manageable targets that the community, including Cowichan Tribes, could support.
Draft targets were considered for months by the Technical Advisory Committee, carefully running each through a set of criteria to arrive at the Target set that is still guiding CWB today. The targets were intended as aspirational initiatives, distilled into powerful statements that became rallying cries. Efforts were made to make each target tangible, measurable and achievable, either directly or by adding measurable progress indicators. A brief background on each target with updates as of 2018 was published here. CWB Targets for Watershed Health - 2018 Update.
From 2020-2025, the CWB staff has been working to review and update the Targets, and also to review the Targets strategy itself, recognizing that much has changed, and our strategy needs to keep up! This work is ongoing, and seen as a healthy growth cycle as our partners actively undertake much of the work that was envisioned to create a more resilient future for the watershed. See a slidedeck about our evolution here. We welcome all input!
Target Working Groups: CWB has always moved towards its targets in collaboration with partners who met as "target working groups". While these groups are also evolving into new working arrangements, often around tangible projects that were once envisioned during working group meetings, staff is currently working on new ways to keep our target-focused long-term partnerships strong. Learn more about that here and stay tuned to hear more in fall 2025.
