Using Watershed Assessments to Inform Planning for Rural Watersheds

Abstract

Excerpt from the Introduction: This guide focuses on a process for developing a baseline watershed assessment, and is based on both the Water Resource Research Center’s (WRRC) broader watershed management and planning experience, and lessons learned through working with the Gila Watershed Partnership in eastern Arizona on a baseline assessment for the Gila River watershed. A baseline watershed assessment is an accounting of the existing conditions in a watershed. In this guide we provide recommendations for engaging with stakeholders to assess natural resource conditions, as well as basic information to collect to create a baseline assessment. Stakeholder engagement is critical to the success of watershed planning efforts. By incorporating input from your stakeholders in the baseline assessment you will ensure that your watershed planning efforts contain the information necessary for decision making and build partnerships that will be essential for implementing a watershed plan. The exact data collected to construct the baseline assessment will vary based on the interests of stakeholders, the amount and type of information available for the watershed, and the focus of the overall watershed planning effort.