Knowing the Players: County Government and Watershed Management

County governments play a significant role in many governmental functions that affect watersheds - both in positive and negative ways. This paper attempts to define some county roles, as a starting point for discussions in the stakeholder process. The Project Team hopes that this paper will improve the understanding by these stakeholders of the roles they and others play in this important venture. Based on this understanding, elected and appointed county officials and staff should be motivated to be involved in the watershed management process to advance and protect county interests and to ensure that county actions are seen as productive by other participants. Key issues for counties will be the potential impact on a county's provision of public services, costs of service, opportunities for improved services and limits on activities, the county's role as a major landowner, and choices among strategies to address watershed issues including consideration of environmental and cost effectiveness.Part of a series of documents, Knowing the Players: Roles of Stakeholders in Watershed ManagementPurpose: To describe the role of various stakeholders in watershed managemen