Full Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education, Issue ...

62Genskow and Bornthe first Dungeness River Management Team,partnerships, planning, and implementation effortsin the Dungeness are a model of coordination andhave led to significant accomplishments. Withoutknowledge of the intensive partnership efforts thatset it in motion, the Tomorrow-Waupaca projectcould appear to be a standard agency-drivenmanagement project. The transition in the Yakimafrom a model collaborative initiative to a planningeffort conducted in an environment of mistrustwith a reduced set of participants, sheds light onthe final plan recommendations and challenges ofimplementation.Conclusions and Implications for ResearchCollaborative and partnership-based watershedinitiatives for addressing complex water resourceissues are now commonplace. These efforts areoften perceived as single coordinating basin-wideorganizations, but we have suggested a broaderview of the organizational space in which watershedinitiatives take place. This expanded view recognizesthe ebb and flow of partnership initiatives and looksbeyond individual coordinating bodies to incorporatekey individuals, previous partnership incarnations,and the social capital developed or diminishedby related and previous efforts. Effectivelyaddressing complex environmental managementissues through integrated approaches requiresunderstanding the contextual dynamics shapingthe complex organizational field or “institutionalecosystem” in watersheds. In sum, partnershipsthat form around watersheds are fluid and oftenephemeral, which has implications for howagencies, funding organizations, and local partnersengage, evaluate, and provide resources for theefforts. We recognize the challenge of maintaininga long-term perspective in place and activitiesin an environment of close scrutiny, governmentaccountability, short-term time expectations, andoutcome-focused evaluations.It is clear that more research is needed regardingthe efficacy of this approach, assessing integratedinitiatives, and the influences of their many derivativepieces. Studies involving large sample sizes andstatic cross-sectional cases have been undertaken,and while important for helping understand theeffectiveness of integrated approaches, focus onpoints in time and often overlook critical long-termrelationships and cycles. The difficulty of adequateevaluation absent these factors demonstratesa need for combining methods for careful andcomparative longitudinal case-study research withstatistical analyses of multiple watershed initiativesto accommodate organizational change and itspotential influence on management outcomes.Such studies will be challenging and would benefitfrom coordination and shared approaches amongmultiple researchers.Finally, partnership approaches and integratedinitiatives are applied across the hydrologicalspectrum from very large river basins to smallwatershed systems. Dynamic organizational arrangementsand variations in institutional ecosystemsare relevant across that spectrum, reinforcingthe importance of situational and place-basedassessments. It is important for resource managersand funding organizations to recognize thatformulaic assessments of “success” and inflexibleprescriptive approaches to develop collaborationmay serve most effectively as general “guidance”but have limited use for successfully undertakingintegrated management efforts in watersheds.Author Bios and Contact InformationKENNETH D. GENSKOW is an Assistant Professor inthe Department of Urban and Regional Planning atthe University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Genskowserves as a water resources specialist with Universityof Wisconsin-Cooperative Extension and is affiliatedwith the University of Wisconsin’s EnvironmentalResources Center and the Gaylord Nelson Institutefor Environmental Studies. His research and outreachactivities emphasize watershed management, waterresource planning and policy, and collaborative andparticipatory approaches to resource management. Hecan be contacted at kgenskow@wisc.edu or Departmenttof Urban and Regional Planning, 925 Bascom Mall,Madison, WI 53706.STEPHEN M. BORN is Professor Emeritus in theDepartment of Urban and Regional Planning and theGaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies atthe University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Born focuseshis research, professional and outreach activities onwater and related resource planning and managementissues, and the theory and application of integratedenvironmental management concepts. As a formerWisconsin State Planning Director, he is also involvedwith state, regional and intergovernmental policy andplanning issues.UCOWRJOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY WATER RESEARCH & EDUCATION