Community volunteers collect information on the water quality of a stream in Cranston, Rhode Island. Using volunteers to collect water quality and land-use information helps involve local residents in watershed projects.		Meg Kerr, Environmental Scientist URI Coastal Resources Center Meg Kerr earned a BS in aquatic biology from Brown University and an MS in environmental biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has extensive experience working with community activists and state and local governments on watershed management issues. Before coming to URI, she coordinated nationwide volunteer-based monitoring programs for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water.
		People are key to the success of watershed management initiatives. Most people support watershed initiatives. But some are actively involved, serving on committees or working on specific projects such as a stream bank restoration, a watershed festival, or an historic watershed tour. Those who have a personal relationship with the watershed are often the ones who ensure that attention and action is focused on problems and issues important to the future of the area. Without constituent support, even the best management plans may never be implemented.       URI's Coastal Resources Center (CRC) works in the United States and internationally on projects designed to sustain our natural resources through wise use and management. All CRC projects place an emphasis on building constituencies for improved resource management, both at the local level and within government agencies. The watershed has emerged as a natural unit of management as researchers and resource managers realize that it is the ecological rather than the political boundaries that determine how resources respond to change.       We all live in a watershed, so the pool of potential constituents is large and broad. But who is most likely to get involved in watershed projects? In general, the people or groups who can make a watershed management initiative succeed are people who live in the watershed, community leaders, and people who own or work in businesses in the watershed, particularly businesses that depend on clean and plentiful watershed resources. Among these are farmers, water suppliers, and the operators of tourism-related industries such as marinas, canoe and kayak shops, and bait and tackle shops. Other people are those who enjoy hiking, biking, swimming, and boating in the watershed; federal, state and local government employees who work on projects or issues related to the watershed; and children living or going to school in the watershed area.       We at CRC have learned that there are several important elements to securing community support for watershed management. Successful watershed initiatives are often managed by people who work within their communities and who use public education and public participation to engage their communities. They look for common ground between management's priorities for the watershed and the issues important to local residents. Understanding how a watershed initiative will benefit them encourages residents and local advocacy groups to participate in watershed management projects.       Watershed managers should clearly identify their audience and the desired outcome when they plan educational programs, workshops, and meetings designed to create interest in a project. Managers should be certain they have the resources needed to respond to the interest they generate. Will there be follow-up meetings? Are there jobs to do for interested people? Is there someone to train volunteers? Is the manager prepared to respond to people who get involved and want to change priorities?       Watershed management initiatives move through a logical sequence of phases. The phases include gathering information, assessing and defining the problem, setting goals and strategies, developing a plan of action, implementing that plan, and reflection and evaluation. Constituency-building activities, such as public involvement and participation, are important throughout, but they are especially critical at the beginning when a project is first introduced to a community. Projects that begin as open, inclusive, and participatory are likely to continue in this mode.       The first phase of any watershed management project is spent gathering information about the historic and current condition of the watershed. Watershed managers meet and talk with as many people as possible who live in, work in, or know the area. These conversations are designed to gather specific information and data pertinent to watershed management. They also provide invaluable insights into the historical uses of the watershed, people's connections to the area, and their dreams and concerns about the future of the area.       Managers should utilize existing organizations as much as possible during the initial outreach phase. They should talk about the watershed initiative with local boards and commissions, the Chamber of Commerce, and civic and recreational organizations, and elicit ideas and input.       Watershed team members should meet personally with community leaders in both the public and private sector. These meetings provide an opportunity for managers to establish a personal relationship with influential local leaders and to learn what they think are the important issues for the community and the watershed. Why are these issues important? How do these issues merge with other plans and priorities? Managers can encourage community leaders to participate in the project and perhaps invite them to join an advisory council.       The results of this information gathering and issue identification phase can be effectively summarized in a fact sheet, brochure, or short report and used to expand community interest in the project. In Rhode Island, the Aquidneck Island Partnership summarized several months of local information gathering in a video, "Sharing Visions: Shaping a Future for Aquidneck Island." The video was shown on local cable television and at local meetings.       Strong leadership, vision, and successful actions build and sustain interest through all phases of a watershed management project. Strong leadership can be found in a variety of people---a local landowner or farmer, a business person, a local or state government representative. Good leaders know how to set things in motion and are committed to making their vision a reality. They empower and excite people to keep them involved in a project.       Clear, compelling visions developed through an inclusive and participatory process will bring people together to focus their efforts on specific goals. On Aquidneck Island, the community has a vision of being able to walk or ride a bicycle from one end of the island to the other. This vision has brought together bikers, horseback riders, walkers, and runners to develop a plan to link open space throughout the island.       A final key to building long-term support for watershed projects is getting results. People grow impatient with unending planning and information gathering. For this reason, successful watershed management initiatives often start with a small demonstration project in a sub-watershed. These pilot studies are used to engage stakeholders, build constituencies, and test ideas for improved management. Success at this level builds support for management of the watershed as a whole.       Creating and maintaining natural places and sustainable communities cannot succeed without the participation and commitment of all sectors of society. When we create constituencies, we listen to other points of view and try to merge interests so our programs are beneficial to many groups. Flexibility and adaptability enhance the prospects for success.