America’s Great Watershed Initiative Report Card Framework

America’s Great Watershed Initiative Report Card Framework

Heath Kelsey University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Jonathan Higgins The Nature Conservancy, Global Freshwater Team

27 September, 2012St. Louis, Missouri

• Why report cards?• Framework• Applications for AGWI• Next Steps

Framework as a tool for assessment and management

• Communicate complex information in a simple way• Highlight critical issues for decision makers• Engage communities, gain support• Provide accountability• Provide a unifying framework

Why report cards?

Example: Local watersheds

Example: South River, Maryland

Example: Great Barrier Reef

Example: Gulf of Mexico

Example: Puget Sound

Application to AGWI

Moving the process forward

Does the scorecard framework make sense? If not, what changes or clarifications do you suggest?

Question 1:

Question 2:Is it appropriate to define objectives for Values and Goals, and to measure progress by sub-basins as well as for the entire basin? If so, should we add the Red River and a portion of the Gulf of Mexico?

Question 3:What are a set of draft Values you would assign for a given Goal? What matters most to you?