Stage 2: Developing the Plan

The emphasis during the plan development stage is to develop and analyze alternatives and then come to consensus on a game plan that everyone in the partnership can accept. The following segment of this module briefly describes a general approach for selecting the best management alternatives for your watershed.

Selecting Management Alternatives
The first step in selecting management alternatives is to draft a list of management alternatives that could help achieve the objectives. Many watershed partnerships rely on their advisory team to assist them with this. It's important to list several alternatives, but do not try to rank them at this point. Next, using your advisors' help, try to determine the effectiveness of each of the alternatives. In this initial screening process, have the group consider economic, social, and environmental factors. Keep in mind that alternative selection is just beginning at this point, and may require substantial time and effort to get the information you need to make good decisions. The importance of selecting a good management alternative more than justifies spending significant time and funds on alternative evaluation and selection.

Watershed computer models
Your advisors may use a watershed model or models to help them understand the relationships within a watershed. Different types of models allow you to study different aspects. For example, one model may look at surface runoff of nutrients and pesticides while another might compare the economics of management practices. The advisors might have to use several models to address both economic and environmental concerns within your watershed. For more detailed information on the use of models to support watershed planning, see the Overview of Watershed Monitoring Module or the Watershed Modeling Module.

Models are just the beginning...
Watershed models aren't an end product, but a tool for evaluation. They allow your group to compare model results representing watershed conditions under the different management alternatives. This is done to see what might be the most economically and environmentally effective -- a process called evaluating "what-if scenarios". The partnership should use not only the scientific results of the models but also consider the social acceptability of those results, and other factors.

Don't forget to document!
Be sure to document the alternatives and corresponding advantages/disadvantages by adding this information to the other watershed plan documents. The information may be needed later when you are implementing your group's plan. In addition, if the group tries to obtain outside financial assistance, the documentation will be needed to support the request for funding.