The Watershed Wealth Cooperative is “the business of restoration” - it restores lost or degraded habitat using native plants that include commercially valuable species. Marketable plant materials are selectively collected for sale by trained and certified Watershed Wealth Delivery Agents who operate as independent franchise businesses supported by the Watershed Wealth Cooperative. Implementation is simplified and based on forestry, farming, and wildcrafting skills, but the science informing the process is of the highest order and includes soil sciences, hydrology, the whole range of biological and ecological disciplines and the nutritional and pharmaceutical analysis of the end products for market. Basic principles include preservation of ecosystem function, biodiversity and native species.

The Watershed Wealth Cooperative brokers and markets the products and programs, and facilitates program expansion including development of the Delivery Agent businesses. The program is suitable for farmers, small and large landowners, developers, volunteer groups and government at all levels in both rural and urban landscapes. Implementation is through certified and supervised Delivery Agents. Substantial job creation will result from the program. Crews will be developed and trained through social service agencies and NGOs. Maintenance and material collection is combined with ecological monitoring. Do-it-yourself packages for homeowners are being developed.

Incorporating a "Goods & Services" model, the concept decentralizes and privatizes as much as possible without sacrificing either efficient management or accountability. The structure is similar to a franchise business with a coordinative centre, combining local responsibility with larger scale purchasing, management and marketing efficiencies. Coordination and internal exchange of information is through a Virtual Private Network such as those used by many government ministries and businesses. This same network accommodates digital collection and dissemination of site data including live sensor feeds, web-cam streams and manual data input by certified contractors or landowners. All of this information will be made available by subscription or provided as a service to the public. Educational and promotional opportunities are plentiful.

Marketing of botanical products is through existing ornamental, food and nutraceutical markets. Preliminary discussions with representatives of some of these indicate that products produced in such carefully designed, carefully monitored and ecologically sound environments demand the highest prices. Niche market branding is important to maximize return and outreach. Among the marketable goods and services provided in addition to selectively collected botanicals are native planting materials for ongoing expansion of the program itself, and to fill the critical need for native plants by restoration and mitigation projects. Provision of training for contractors and do-it-yourself landowners provides another revenue stream. Over a longer term, specialty timber and other mature-tree products will yield substantial returns to be shared by landowners, contractors and the program. Greenhouse gas mitigation credits, pine beetle restoration funding and SARA/ESA compliance requirements will greatly increase the demand for such projects, especially those that are potentially self-sustaining in an economic sense. Well conceived and executed environmental projects almost always result in increased property values. Startup and R&D financing will come from economic development and governmental organizations.

Why is Watershed Wealth Different?

* Watershed Wealth is a social enterprise, not a non-profit activity. The enterprise is specifically designed to take advantage of the near “perfect storm” of issues which has aligned from climate change, food security, energy crisis and biodiversity collapse, to social entrepreneurism, open-source software, wireless technology and social networking on the internet, and from the restoration economy, consumer health and demographic trends, to genetic and nano-technology developments to urban housing and smart growth movements, carbon credits, and physical habitat needs.

* Watershed Wealth has developed a new model. Drawing on two traditionally separate “camps” of the business world, Watershed Wealth takes advantage of the best features of both coop and franchise business models to accomplish environmental objectives but also generate economic activity, put control of large enterprises more directly in the hands of shareholders but still preserve the potential for investors, and get money to environmental projects that need it but encourage business capacity development of non-profits undertaking them rather than continued reliance on grants.

* We are making it possible for the environmental crises to be solved well biologically AND economically.

Thanks for your interest in Watershed Wealth!

To describe the concept, we’ve written a 1.5 page narrative, a downloadable Watershed Wealth slideshow that describes the “who what where when and whys” of the program, or a recently published 10 page concept paper. We welcome requests to present and explain the concept, which can be done by email or by using the form below.