Community-based Planning Process

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Community-based Planning Process

• Terry Hickman
• Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality
  (NDEQ)

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Purposes

• Maximize stakeholder input
• Maximize partner cooperation
• Maximize efficiency
• Minimize conflict
• Accelerate Best Management Practices (BMPs)
  adoption
• Concentrate treatments
• Achieve measurable results

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Cardinal Rule!

• Get
• Community
• Support

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What is CBPP?A systematic process

• Identify and quantify resource problems
• Assess stakeholder concern, ability and interest
  in resolving problems
• Identify acceptable solutions to resource
  problems
• Identify tools and funds to implement solutions

See next slide
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Stakeholder definition

• Someone who has a stake in the outcome of the
  project
• Neighbors, business, sportsman, family users, etc.

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What is CBPP?A systematic process

• To clarify the roles of partners
• To prioritize and guide implementation of BMPs
• To measure success
• To celebrate achievement in solving resource
  problems

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How Does It Work?

• Agency identifies a resource problem (e.g.,
  excess nutrient load)
• Identify a potential sponsoring organization
• Identify appropriate agency partners
• Recruit stakeholder participation to develop a
  restoration plan (watershed management plan)

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How We Do It

• Develop a technical advisory team (TAT)
• Develop a watershed council of stakeholders
• Council creates sub-committees as needed, with
  TAT info support
• Sub-committees and council develop detailed
  management plan
• Council and agencies implement the plan

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Watershed Council

• Stakeholders
• Local businesses
• Sporting clubs
• Local schools
• Non-government organizations
• Resource users

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Technical Advisory Team Local/Regional

• West Pottawattamie County Soil Water
  Conservation District
• City of Carter Lake
• City of Omaha
• Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District
• Metro Area Planning Agency
• Carter Lake Preservation Society

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Technical Advisory Team State/Federal

• NE Dept. Environmental Quality/Iowa Dept. of
  Natural Resources (DNR)
• Game and Parks Commission/Iowa DNR
• Iowa Division of Soil Conservation
• Iowa State and Nebraska Universities County
  Cooperative Extension Services
• Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

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Other Potential Partners

• Army Corps of Engineers
• Commodity groups
• Non-Governmental Organizations (e.g., sports,
  environmental groups, associated businesses like
  bait shops, other?)

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The Outreach

• Extensive advertising and outreach to
  stakeholders
• Personal letter (2)
• Posters
• Post card
• Personal phone call
• Follow up call
• Local public meetings

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First Public Meeting

• Agencies explain resource problems and causes
• Water, Soils, Wildlife
• Social/Economic Impacts
• Mandates like Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
  regulations, etc.
• Stakeholders develop a vision statement

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Second Public Meeting

• Stakeholders
• Identify leaders
• Elect Watershed Council
• Develop goals for watershed plan
• Identify resource concerns

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Council Meetings

• Work with technical advisory team to identify
  potentially effective BMPs
• Set specific quantifiable resource restoration
  and conservation goals
• Poll neighbors to identify acceptable BMPs
• Outline WS Management Plan

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Third Public Meeting

• Council presents outline or draft management plan
• Stakeholders review and amend the draft WS plan
• Council measures initial interest in project
  participation

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Council Follow-up Meeting

• Revise and refine watershed management plan
• Select and prioritize BMPs
• Determine cost share rates
• Calculate implementation cost
• Identify funding and technical assistance sources
• Finalize plan

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Fourth Public Meeting

• Council presents watershed plan
• Stakeholders make the commitment to participate
  or not

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Implementation

• Secure funds and technical assistance to install
  BMPs
• Implement watershed management plan
• Celebrate successes!

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Secrets to Success

• Put the stakeholders in charge
• Stick with the plan
• Be timely with assistance
• Follow through with commitment
• Celebrate success
• Be flexible

• See next slide

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Be Flexible

• Know that a less-efficient BMP that a landowner
  will maintain is better than a more-efficient one
  he will neglect.

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Celebrate Success!
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Formula for Failure

• Focus on funding first
• Insist on pre-determined BMPs
• Make the application process a bureaucratic
  nightmare
• Keep the goals shifting a moving target

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To Repeat the Formula for Success

• Put the stakeholders in charge
• Stick with the plan
• Be timely with assistance
• Follow through with commitment
• Celebrate success
• Be flexible

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Leave a Stakeholder Legacy

• Community enjoyment of the resource
• Pride of accomplishment
• Ownership of the watershed
• Continued stewardship by stakeholders to protect
  their investment into the future