Historical and Sociopolitical Context of the Western Watersheds Movement¹

The 1990s have featured a rapid proliferation of “watershed initiatives” in the western United States and elsewhere. Watershed initiatives are ad hoc, voluntary associations typically featuring both governmental and non‐governmental actors organized together to collaboratively seek new strategies for addressing water and related natural resource problems at physically relevant regional scales. These efforts are a response to historical and sociopolitical trends that have resulted in increasingly ineffective forums and processes of resource management decision‐making, and that have subordinated the role of local stakeholders in problem‐solving efforts. In most cases, watershed initiatives appear to provide a pragmatic vehicle for resource managers and stakeholders to address common concerns in a more efficient manner than is otherwise possible, and as such, deserve further application and continued support.