Saco River Watershed Collaborative Assessment

Abstract

The Saco River watershed, spanning two states and more than 23 municipalities, is home to a complex political and social fabric. A range of governments, economies, and activities exist in different sections of the watershed. To explore the possibilities for creating a Saco River watershed collaborative, this nonpartisan, independent assessment of current values, aspirations, and issues in the watershed and perceptions of collaboration was conducted. It is intended to inform and advise anyone living and/or working in the Saco River watershed who aspires to greater collaboration. It is also intended to provide insights to the existing Saco Watershed Collaborative that has taken shape over the same time period as this project.The research team utilized three methods in this assessment: a literature review of elements of successful collaboration in natural resource management, semi-structured interviews with 52 individuals representing 30 organizations in the watershed,and case profiles of nine existing watershed collaboratives in New England and elsewhere that face analogous issues or arose in similar contexts.

When asked what they valued most about the Saco River watershed, interviewees cited recreation, clean water, biophysical attributes, aesthetic qualities, and the water's use for drinking and irrigation. Interviewees held many aspirations for the watershed. These included a future where the unique ecology and high-quality water are protected, particularly via better land management practices, more land conservation, recreation that does not degrade the river, and more coordinated and credible science to inform decision makers. Shared valuesand aspirationscan provide afoundationfor collaboration. Interviewees mentioned a wide array of issues related to the Saco River watershed, including recreation, development, dams and fish passage, and water extraction.

Given the wide range of issues, a collaborative should prioritize which issues it seeks to address, in addition to engaging with individuals and organizations that have differing jurisdiction over and capacities to address these issues. Though interviewees expressed a clear interest in creating a collaborative organization to improve communication and coordination between individuals and organizations, they had an array of ideas about what purpose{s) such an organization might serve.These included bolstering networking and information sharing; influencing the behavior of others through education, advising governments, and advocacy; and enabling watershed-scale management by integrating an ecosystem perspective into decision making. A collaborative should discuss these varying ideas about potential roles and decide which purpose{s) to adopt. Finally, while most interviewees have not given much prior thought to a collaborative's potential structure, interviewees wanted any process that might be established to be credible and transparent in order to ensure trust that the collaborative would fairly attend to their interests and the watershed's well-being.