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Citizen Led Watershed Management
Steve Tonn, Extension Educator-Omaha Metro Area Lakes

Water is a precious resource that belongs to everyone. It is used for drinking, recreation, irrigation, power generation, wildlife habitat, transportation, quality of life enhancement and many other uses. It has many owners but not a designated caretaker. As a common resource, it is easy for no one to take responsibility for it.

We all live in a watershed. A watershed is all the land that drains to a particular creek, stream, river, lake or body of water. Watersheds come in all sizes and shapes. They can contain farmland, forests, wilderness, small towns or large cities, commercial or industrial areas.

A watershed community is a group of people who are bound together by the land that drains water into their common streams, rivers, lakes or other bodies of water. Community watershed management means that the people of the watershed invest their time, talents, energies, and personal resources in acquiring the knowledge they need to take an active role in managing their watershed. Watershed residents partner with elected officials, stakeholders, and natural resources experts to gather information and make decisions about local policies and land use practices that protect and add value to their land and waters.

The community based approach is a concept whereby local people lead the watershed planning process based on local identified needs. Watershed citizens help to define resource issues and implement a planning process that will help to achieve the desired resource conditions. Citizens evaluate the plan and the impacts of the management plan on the watershed.

Citizen led watershed management efforts are underway in the Zorinsky Lake, Standing Bear Lake, Cunningham Lake and Walnut Creek Lake watersheds. Citizens have stepped forward and taken responsibility for the water resources in their watershed. They understand the land and water relationship and are managing them in ways that benefit the whole community. To learn more about these citizen led watershed management efforts or to become involved with one of these citizens’ groups, contact the Douglas/Sarpy Counties Extension Office.