In the early 1990s the Environmental Protection Agency formed the Pacific Northwest Ecosystem Research Consortium (PNW-ERC). The principal aim of this group was to offer scientific analyses to help both policymakers and local citizens make better decisions about land and water use in the region. This consortium quickly recognized that the 'driver' of environmental change in the basin in the next 50 years was the rapidly growing population. They wondered, "What might the Valley look like in 50 years?"
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