The Conasauga River Alliance

Location:

Tennessee and Georgia

Case description (read more)

The Conasauga River watershed is a 500,000 acre landscape that is home to 125,000 humans, and provides habitat for 90 species of fish and 25 species of freshwater mussels (many of them threatened or endangered). It is also a source of water for agriculture, local communities, and a carpet-dying industry that creates two-thirds of the nation's carpets. In 1995, Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) received a grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to study the Conasauga River watershed and suggest ways that the community could work together to improve the management of the Conasauga River. RC&D held participatory community meetings to identify the stakeholders' interests in the watershed. In 1996, after the study was finished, the stakeholders decided to continue working together. Thus was born the Conasauga River Alliance. Today, 36 partner organizations work together under the loose umbrella of the Alliance, conducting research, performing water-quality monitoring, and increasing education throughout the watershed. A steering committee of select local citizens guides the Alliance.

What is fostering progress? (read more)

• Monitoring and Evaluation: Monitoring has two main objectives -- to enhance understanding of the watershed ecosystem and share knowledge and data so that others can use it and to be better able to track and measure the progress and accomplishments of the Alliance and individual partner’s efforts.
• Information sharing: Alliance members annually participate in different forums, such as the Coosa Basin Summit, in order to share current scientific knowledge.
• Multiple small and large partnerships: The Conasauga River Alliance works at many levels to establish a long-term presence and relationships in the watershed.
• Effective Communication: The core team (Limestone Valley RC&D, the NRCS, USFS, and TNC) communicate effectively and frequently, continually sharing information.

What challenges were faced and how were they overcome? (read more)

• Building an effective organizational structure: The complex relationship between the Alliance members (local citizens on the Board of Directors) and the Alliance partners who are doing the bulk of the conservation work led to the creation of a free-standing non-profit organization.
• Lack of a Paid Staff: Although two of the partner organizations (TNC and FS) each have one full-time staff member solely devoted to the Conasauga River, until now the Alliance has no staff of its own and this limits the group's ability to pursue its unique goals. Efforts are currently underway to hire a full-time staff person devoted purely to the Alliance.
• Multiple groups with multiple objectives: Many of the partner organizations of the Alliance operate under different goals than the five identified by the Alliance so attempting to unite all the partners' goals under a single business plan was a considerable challenge.
• Managing growth in membership: Encouraged by the Alliance’s positive reputation and proven accomplishments, various individuals and businesses have expressed interest in joining the Alliance; however, the Board of Directors had been hesitant to expand membership, uncertain about the implications of further growth.
• Lack of Trust and Involvement: In 1995, local landowners in the watershed were initially distrustful of the federal, state, university, and NGO scientists conducting research in their backyards. These attitudes began to change after the participatory community study in 1995 and subsequent creation of the citizen-led Alliance. Today, a growing number of farmers are coming forward wanting to contribute to the Alliance's work by installing riparian buffers.

What lessons can be drawn? (read more)

• Maintain Focus on Larger Goals: Collaborative umbrella groups like the Alliance may have specific goals that are unique or overarching and consequently that differ from the goals of individual partner organizations. In such cases, the umbrella group needs to dedicate staff or find other ways to ensure that the Alliance-specific goals are not forgotten as individual groups focus on their own objectives.
• Designated Staff and Organizational Structure: Large partnerships need staff dedicated to coordinating efforts among partners and an effective organizational structure to guide actions.
• Build Trust: Building trust with the local landowners has been a key to success for many of the individual partner agencies and organizations.
• Partnerships benefit Agencies: Being part of the Conasauga River Alliance has “been a good thing for the Forest Service because they are constantly under attack from the environmental groups.” By being involved in community-based efforts and being visible, the Forest Service has earned the trust of local citizens in the watershed.

Learn more about related lessons from a broader set of partnerships

• How collaboration can benefit all parties involved
• How projects can be sustained over time

Contact information

Related Links

• Conasauga River Alliance
• Conasauga River Watershed Project Fact Sheet
• Conasauga River Alliance Business Plan
• Also, learn about the Upper Etowah Watershed Alliance, a nearby community-based protection group also working in partnership with Limestone Valley RC&D.

• cleanwater.gov highlights efforts to restore and protect America's watersheds

• EPA description of Caunasauga's Conservation and Education Initiative

This site was developed by the Ecosystem Management Initiative through a partnership with the US Forest Service and the US Department of Interior. Read more.