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from member counties. Only one WMO (Middle Missis- sippi) has been accorded a very limited taxing authority. Other WMOs tum to grants, and especially to the Min- nesota Pollution Control Agency's Clean Water Part- nerships, to fund projects. 2. Enformatian and [3ecision-It~aking Sources When asked about their primary sources of information and the factors that influenced their decision making in several categories, watershed-decision makers supplied the following information. .-~ec~~s rr, Crtr~~eru ~~'czter-(.~t~c~{it~~ Darn For planning and implementation of projects, it appears crucial that organizations have access to current data. Ninety percent of decision-makers from JPBs, Water- shed Districts and watershed-based nonprofits say they have access to this information. On the other hand, almost 20% of WMO board and staff say that they do not know if they have access to water-quality data. This could be attributed to poor organizational communica- tion or a general lack of involvement and/or interest in project design and implementation. hi?B i I\LF;" TRs,7EGIE~ (C)R '{F~t:1',1c.\-L.~ .. '~_. mob Finley, Execu?we Director or r Cottonwood divers Cantroi Area JPB, i beery very suceessfui at Tundra+sing fo, his organization. He recommends the fo?iow~ng fundraising strategies: Foster creative, innovative ideas in your organiza- tion and deveiop the ability to convey them. Thoroughly research and develop all proposed program concepts; have a clear understanding of how funders' money will be used Know what funding is available, and be ready to take advantage of it when the opportunity arises. ~~Cif t~i(I iaiit Lti Asked how frequently recommendations from consul- tants influence their decision making, surveyed water- shed decision-makers at Watershed Districts and WMOs indicate that they are significantly more Likely than nonprofit organizations and JPBs to work regularly with engineering consultants. Nonprofit organizations and JPBs are more likely to utilize federal, state and other Local agencies for their technical assistance. l n~' i:rt~^~`ri~: Overall, the four surveyed watershed groups rank the Internet very low as a source of information. Interesting- Iy,JPBs and nonprofits (the two primarily outstate groups} rank the Internet's usefulness somewhat higher than did WMOs and Watershed Districts. It appears, in any case, that the time has not yet arrived to distribute information solely via the intemet. When asked about how important state and federal agen- cies are as a source of information, surveyed watershed decision-makers at nonprofits indicate they are more likely to obtain information from state and federal agen- cies than any of the other three types of organizations. There are two main reasons for this trend: one is the nonprofits' ethic of cooperation with other groups; the other is their limited financial resources. This second factor obliges nonprofits to obtain low- or no-cost advice from other agencies, whereas Watershed Districts and WMOs have the option of hiring outside expertise. ~ )n~,-~y-'.n~ hiou of .rrtormcrtio~l The majority of watershed decision-makers indicate that they do not know if the information they gather (through monitoring and other projects) is utilized by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This result may be reason for concern, especially if monitoring is being duplicated by state and local organizations. ~° 8