WHAT IS IT?
The Nooksack-Fraser Transboundary Nitrogen (NFTN) Project is a collaboration of local constituents with a shared concern about nitrogen management in the airsheds and watersheds of the Nooksack River, Lower Fraser Valley, and the associated Sumas-Blaine aquifer. The Project gathers scientists and stakeholders from the U.S., Canada, and tribes/First Nations to work collaboratively to understand and address problems and opportunities associated with modern beneficial uses of nitrogen (N). While locally-driven, NFTN also has broad regional participation, and serves as the North American demonstration project of global networks [the International Nitrogen Initiative, and the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS)], designed to share experiences and strategies among regions with similar nitrogen use and management paradigms. NFTN serves as the North American Demonstration Project of INMS.
ACTIVITIES
NFTN activities to date include the following:
1. Coordinating project goals developed by NFTN with those developed by INMS. NFTN Steering Committee members Jill Baron (Colorado State University and USGS), Jana Compton (US EPA-ORD), and David Hooper (WWU) have attended global INMS meetings and communicated the results of these meetings with the full NFTN project participants during monthly telephone calls.
2. Developing a nitrogen budget for the project area (Nooksack River and Lower Fraser River watersheds). Jana Compton (EPA-Office of Research and Development) and post-doc Jiajia Lin (National Research Council) have led efforts to develop a nitrogen budget for the U.S. component of the project area and to merge these results with those developed for the Canadian side by Shabtai Bittman and colleagues (Agriculture and AgriFoods Canada). They have had input from many NFTN project partners and presented results at regional and international meetings, such as the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (April 2018, Seattle, WA) and the American Geophysical Union (AGU 2017, 2018):
Lin, J., J. Compton, J. Baron, D. Schwede, S. Bittman, D. Hooper, P. Kiffney, N. Embertson, B. Carey, H. MacKay, R. Black, G. Bahr, and E. Davidson (2018) A study of nitrogen inventories in the Nooksack-Fraser Transboundary Watershed. Contributed talk at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference, April 4-6, 2018, Seattle, WA
Lin, J.; Compton, J.; Baron, J.; Clark, C.; Schwede, D. B.; Bittman, S.; Hooper, D. U.; Carey, B.; Homann, P.; Winter, H.; Kiffney, P.; Embertson, N.; Boggs, G.; Black, R.; Sheibley, R. W.; and Bahr, G. 2018. ‘A tale of two cities’: Nitrogen inventories in the Nooksack-Fraser Transboundary Watershed. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting, 10-14 Dec., 2018, abstract #GC23H-1302. Washington, D.C.
3. Participation in the EPA’s Nutrient Sensor Action Challenge, Stage II, 2018. Collaborators from USGS, Whatcom Conservation District, Western Washington University, and EPA tested the new ecoN real-time optical nitrate sensor, by OTT Hydromet, side-by-side with a Seabird SUNA sensor in Fishtrap Creek. Our report is turned in, and we’re anxiously awaiting the results in this $100,000 competition.
4. Outreach to stakeholders. In addition to outreach to local stakeholders via Whatcom Conservation District, and local and regional decision-makers through the Whatcom Clean Water Program, NFTN’s work with regional agencies has pulled together substantial information on nitrogen problems and management in the region. NFTN has also hosted a community stakeholder meeting to engage the local agriculture and environmental communities in nitrogen issues.
PARTICIPANTS
The NFTN Project aims for broad-based participation to maximize resources, data, and perspectives. Multiple other groups are working on related problems, and we seek collaborative interactions with them. So far, about 50 individuals from a diverse array of stakeholders have participated as technical support in initial meetings and correspondence. Note that technical participation does not imply agency or governmental commitment of resources or to adopt policy recommendations. Participants include:
Academic: Colorado State University, Northwest Indian College, University of British Columbia, University of Maryland, University of Washington – Seattle, Washington State University Extension, Washington State University – Vancouver, Western Washington University.
Agencies: Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Northwest Straits Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Agency, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. National Park Service, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State Department of Health, Whatcom Conservation District, Whatcom County Public Utility Districts, Whatcom County Planning and Development Services.
Tribes/First Nations: Lummi Nation, Nooksack Indian Tribe
NGOs: International Nitrogen Initiative, International Nitrogen Management System, International Plant Nutrition Institute, Natural Resource Marketplace Working Group, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, North American Nitrogen Center, ReSources, Whatcom Family Farmers.
ORGANIZATION
The Steering Committee is currently composed of the following participants: Jill Baron (USGS & Colorado State Univ., jill.baron@colostate.edu); Shabtai Bittman (Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, shabtai.bittman@agr.gc.ca); Robert Black (USGS, rwblack@usgs.gov), George Boggs and Nichole Embertson (Whatcom Conservation District; gboggs@whatcomcd.org; nembertson@whatcomcd.org); Jana Compton (US EPA Office of Research and Development, Compton.Jana@epa.gov); David Hooper (Western Washington University, hooper@wwu.edu).