On April 8, the Texas Watershed Coordinator Roundtable brought together water experts from across the state. The day’s speakers and panels focused on how important partnerships are in watershed-based planning. The Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) hosts two watershed roundtables annually.
The morning kicked off with a presentation from Urvi Dani, Texan by Nature’s associate director of membership. This presentation highlighted Texan by Nature’s partnership work, including the Texas Water Action Collaborative, a program that connects funders with projects that provide quantifiable water benefits.
Then, Julia Schmidt, Texas Partnership for Forests and Water coordinator, presented on the project and partnership opportunities provided by the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Lessons learned in watershed-based partnerships
The morning concluded with presentations from watershed coordinators Athena Frasca, Mary Michael Zahed and Samantha Colunga, and a question-and-answer session.
“With partners, you can get little ideas to come to life,” Zahed said in response to a question about collaborations.
After lunch, attendees broke into groups to discuss the challenges and opportunities in developing partnerships.
“Build the trust, build rapport, and then focus on what stakeholders really want to talk about,” said Amanda Tague, TWRI research specialist, regarding building stakeholder partnerships. “If it is water quantity, you want to address that before you get into water quality. Otherwise, they might never come back to your meeting again.”
Ward Ling, TWRI program specialist, discussed the challenge of maintaining partnerships when leaders change. Watershed coordinators usually need to collaborate with city and county officials and must also be flexible when elections come around.
“We have to establish those relationships with people with the understanding that that relationship you may have with somebody may be gone in six months or a year at the next city election or county election,” he said.
Tips for watershed coordinators building coalitions
The event also discussed the challenge of making time to connect with others.
“I know we like to jump on a video call and be off in 45 minutes so we can make it to our next commitment, but that doesn’t allow time to really connect and form a bond with a person that could be a partner,” Ling said.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service county agents are local experts who can be an invaluable partner when building trust with community members and leaders, they said.
“It’s also important to remember that if you’re attending a public meeting and you are really interested in connecting with the hosts, give them a heads up that you’re coming so you’re not just introducing yourself out of the blue,” said Ryan Ono, Clean Coast Texas Coordinator.
How to attend a future watershed coordinator roundtable
TWRI brings together both experienced and new watershed coordinators at roundtable events to foster the sharing of insights, experiences and questions.
For presentations and notes from the meeting, check out the Texas Watershed Coordinator Roundtable website. To stay up to date with roundtable news and events, join the Listserv.
