Watershed Education, Outreach, and Funding to Support Planning etc.

Getting in Step: Engaging and Involving Stakeholders in Your Watershed (EPA, Jan. 2003)

This document builds on an earlier guide called "Getting In Step: A Guide to Effective Outreach in Your Watershed" (PDF, 5.3MB). This new guide provides the tools needed to effectively identify, engage, and involve stakeholders throughout a watershed to restore and maintain healthy environmental conditions.

Various Reports and Publications at River Network

River Network's Mission is to help people understand, protect and restore rivers and their watersheds. They envision a nation whose rivers are cared for by those who use them and live in their watershed. Their constituency is comprised of grassroots river and watershed conservation organizations, public agencies, tribal governments and coalitions, and other working to save freshwater ecosystems.

Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection

The Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection Web site is a searchable database of financial assistance sources (grants, loans, cost-sharing) available to fund a variety of watershed protection projects.

This publication of the Sierra Nevada Alliance is a fine introduction to the mechanics of establishing and maintaining a local watershed council.

Understanding community social systems can be key to successful environmental protection outreach and education. The Community Culture and the Environment: A Guide to Understanding a Sense of Place is a flexible toolbox for understanding the social dynamics involved in community-based efforts. Users will learn about such things as local knowledge about community issues, the language community members use, influential subgroups within the community, historical trends in the community, environmental and other community priorities, and other social factors. This information is crucial in developing sustainable strategies for community participation and planning regarding environmental protection.

California CRMP Council

There are many resources available for local groups, group members and individuals to help you in your watershed organizing, planning, implementation and monitoring. Check out the pages below for useful information. To find information about agency programs, etc. visit the CRMP Council pages in this website.

The CRMP Handbook
Group Process & Meeting Resources
Other Organizations (that have useful websites)
Sample Documents
General Funding Sources
Becoming A 501c3
"CRMP Connection" Newsletters
Speakers Kit

River Network

Among national environmental organizations, River Network has assumed primary responsibility for building and supporting the river and watershed movement. River Network takes the initiative to help others learn how to organize in their local communities, and to provide tools and training they need to be effective. Resource library, training programs, publications, and small grants are some of the efforts available through this website. The mission of its River Watch program is to help people collect, understand and use information about the health of their rivers and the people who depend on them.

Watershed Education & Training Program (CDFG)

The CDFG Watershed Education and Training Program (formerly the Watershed Academy) provides government, industry, and the public with education and training in the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively assess, protect, restore, and enhance watersheds and stream habitats that support salmon and steelhead trout populations in California.

Oregon Watershed Stewardship Education Program (OSU Extension & Oregon Sea Grant)

WSEP works in collaboration with other organizations, such as watershed councils, soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs), federal and state agencies, and non-profit groups to meet the watershed education needs of Oregon citizens and to help carry out the mission of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watershed. The aim of WSEP is to increase the capacity of watershed groups and community members to identify and address water resource issues at local levels.

Know Your Watershed

Know Your Watershed is a coordinated national effort to encourage the formation of local, voluntary watershed partnerships and help assure that these partnerships successfully attain their goals. The national effort is coordinated by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), a non-profit data and technology information transfer center. Original watershed guides for watershed planning and stakeholder outreach and useful links are some of the strengths of this site.