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What is the National Watershed Forum?
Representatives from watershed initiatives around the country will gather in Arlington, Virginia for the first National Watershed Forum (Forum) from June 27th - July 1st, 2001. The Forum is an unprecedented event designed to give voice to geographically, politically, and culturally diverse individuals who will create a shared vision for the future of our nation's watersheds.
This event will forge a stronger partnership between government and its citizens. It will empower community residents to continue their progress in improving the health of their watersheds; and it will inspire government agencies to support the efforts of the growing watershed movement. The Forum will explore new directions for cooperative action to sustain watersheds into the next century and beyond by building on the efforts of Regional Watershed Roundtables being held around the country. These Roundtables have begun stimulating dialogue and interaction among diverse watershed interests to address barriers to watershed protection and develop solutions for overcoming these barriers. The Forum will take these efforts even further.
To ensure a balanced representation of the diverse interests that have a stake in watershed protection and restoration, 500 delegates from a wide variety of public/private perspectives and geographic regions will be invited to attend the Forum. Delegates will be able to:
- Voice their ideas and opinions, through interactive discussion sessions, to help build an agenda for the future of watershed management efforts,
- Participate in a wide variety of peer-to-peer learning opportunities,
- Interact with experts and key policy decision-makers from around the country
After the conclusion of the Forum, delegates will help communicate the results to others from their regions and/or interest sectors.
If you are interested in being considered as a delegate, please contact either the Forum steering committee representative most relevant to your area of interest or geographic region (link to Steering Committee Contacts list), or the convener of the Forum, the Meridian Institute at ssuriani@merid.org.
Please send us an email to ssuriani@merid.org if you would like to provide any input regarding the National Watershed Forum, the design or context of this web site or if you would like to be added to our email list so that you can receive an electronic copy of the final report on the National Watershed Forum process, following the meetings in June 2001.
