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€li. C}ON`T MANC~ATE: tfoiuntary (3rganizations are More Successfui Of the four types of organizations studied for this project, only the Watershed Management Organizations (WMOs) were formed by mandate. The other organizations (Watershed Districts, JPBs and nonprofit organizations) were all formed by local actions. The WMOs have not achieved the objectives laid out before them and, in the 17 years since their enabling legislation was enacted, they have declined in number from an original 36 to a current 22. This level of attrition could be due to the fact that the WMOs did not arise from a local need to address local issues, but rather from a government mandate. Of all the organizations reviewed for this report, WMOs ranked the lowest in terms of implementation of water- quality efforts, citizen involvement, board involvement, level of staffing and even fundamentals such as their decision-makers concern for water quality. This leads us to confront an important question: "What should be done about WMOs?" 1'i'~~ .~~r~rnm~~ruL Convening a Citizen Jury comprised of Watershed Management Organization staff, board, advocates, detractors and selected others to address an array of issues facing urban watershed planning and imple- mentation. The Jury should then make a recommen- dation on the fate of WMOs. 2. Encouraging voluntarily-formed watershed organiza- tions -with authority granted by the State -over statewide or regionwide mandated organizations. iv. VVA7ERSHED EFFEGTi1/ERiESS EVALUATEOIV In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of local water- shed programs, watershed organizations and state and federal agencies must have self-evaluation tools to help them chart their progress towards their program goals. Watershed Evaluation Evaluation is needed to show watershed constituencies - including the public, public officials, funders and oth- ers -the outcomes and the impacts of watershed orga- nizations' projects and programs. One effective way to accomplish this is through systematic evaluations. A11 watershed organizations would benefit from setting up evaluation tools with specific criteria by which all of their programs can be assessed. This will help watershed decision-makers determine for themselves which pro- jects and programs are successful and which are failing to deliver. Rather than focusing solely on traditional crite- ria such as acres impacted and dollars spent, criteria can be expanded to include such factors as: ~- Changes in public attitude and behavior; -- Efficient use of resources, staff skills and time; v Measurable improvements in water quality. Monitoring One cannot over-emphasize the importance of good and accurate data on water quality. One of the most impor- tant conclusions that can be drawn from this research is that successful organizations all undertake a program of monuortng. We11-designed watershed monitoring will provide valu- able information about fluctuations in water quality over time, as well as information about differences between various watersheds. Local watershed organizations should first identify and take advantage of state or feder- al agencies that are monitoring within their watershed. The local watershed organizations can then access this data and prevent an overlap in monitoring work. Evaluatio~x by Agencies Evaluation of local watershed efforts would aid state and federal agencies with decisions on providing technical, financial and enforcement support to local organizations. We recommend the development of a standardized water- shed evaluation tool that meets state objectives and, as stated earlier, goes beyond the traditional and sometimes misleading criteria of dollars spent and acres affected. t~%'e recarttmettt~ that: 1. Watershed organizations develop a system for periodic self-evaluation; 2. Watershed organizations develop and implement a monitoring program and or work with state .and fed- eral agencies to accomplish effective monitoring; 3. State and federal agencies develop a standardized evaluation to assess watershed organizations. IS