Collaborative Watershed Management in the Finger Lakes Region, New York

Abstract

"This paper presents an overview of collaborative watershed management in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Keuka Lake will be highlighted as a case study of how one Finger Lake has addressed comprehensive watershed management. The authors have spent over ten years working with elected officials and citizens within the Keuka Lake Watershed to collaboratively develop a management plan which would improve regulations to address water quality problems and ensure proper enforcement of those regulations. This profile outlines the myriad steps and changes adopted along the way in order to incorporate various stakeholder viewpoints and guarantee that the processes and outcomes were ones which produced and built upon consensus. It presents an example in which a collaborative approach resulted in an agreement across municipalities to work together to develop better regulations and stricter enforcement of these regulations. The analysis section following the profile highlights the unique aspects of this case study and broader lessons learned."