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  You are here: WaterOur WatersOceans, Coasts, Estuaries & BeachesEstuaries and Coastal WatershedsIntroduction - Community-Based Watershed Management Handbook Introduction - Community-Based Watershed Management Handbook
  Community-Based Watershed Management: Lessons from the National Estuary Program (NEP) is designed for all individuals and organizations involved in watershed management, including states, tribes, local governments, and nongovernmental organizations. This handbook describes innovative approaches to watershed management implemented by the 28 National Estuary Programs (NEPs). The NEPs are community-based watershed management organizations that restore and protect coastal watersheds. Drawing on nearly 20 years of experience, readers will learn how the NEPs organize and maintain effective citizen involvement efforts, collect and analyze data, assess and prioritize problems, develop and implement management plans, and communicate results of program activities. While estuaries and their coastal watersheds are the focus of the NEPs, the estuary program experience can also be adapted to non-coastal watershed initiatives.
  Assistive Technology: For individuals with disabilities, download a copy of the Introduction to the Community-Based Watershed Management Handbook (PDF) (13 pp, 304K, About PDF) , designed for use with screen reader software applications, About Web Accessibility.