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NOAA

PROJECT PROFILE

• Project Flow Chart
• NGI Conference Flyer
• NGI Conference Poster

A. NGI Project File Number: 06-MSU-02

B. Project Title, PI(s), Affiliation, Address, Email, Phone: Assessing the Impact of Ordinances, Outreach and Enforcement on the Resiliency of Gulf Coastal Watersheds

C. Key Scientific Question(s)/Technical Issue(s): Test the hypothesis that the most ecologically resilient watersheds are those with well-defined ordinances and regulations that include established enforcement and are supplemented with active and effective NGO (non-governmental organization) involvement.

D. Project Sponsor(s): NMFS, NRL, FSU, DISL, and etc. (plus any involved non-sponsor project partners)

E. Project Duration: (not to exceed 3 years, i.e., so as to be substantially complete by the start of Renewal Review that begins in mid- to late-FY 2009). 3 years.

F. Project Baselines:

• Contributions to Specific NOAA Goals/Objectives: This project satisfies NOAA Mission Goal 3: Serve Society's Needs for Weather and Water Information, specifically through informing society on the role of watersheds and water quality. This project also contributes to NOAA Mission Goal 1: Protect, Restore, and Manage the Use of Coastal and Ocean Resources through an Ecosystem Approach to Management.
• Problems and Priorities, i.e., how is the project tied to regional issues and priorities, identify priority stakeholders, e.g., Gulf Alliance, specific user groups, etc.: Coastal community long-term resiliency can only occur by the full implementation and public acceptance of regulatory codes and ordinances that ensure wise management practices that directly affect regional watersheds and NGM water quality. There is an expressed need for a comprehensive central database that lists all regulatory codes for each strata of government for all lands and communities within coastal watersheds directly bordering the NGM.
• Gaps (describe how the project will narrow gaps in regional knowledge, data, model performance, geographic coverage, etc.): The project activities proposed will provide a jurisdictional baseline for coastal watersheds and water quality issues and will reveal differences in governance structures that may influence success in water quality issues.

G. Project Abstract: Fulfilling the NGMCI mission "to design, develop and maintain a research and transition program that fills the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research's (OAR) priority gaps and provides understanding of upland-watershed systems, coastal and ocean ecosystems and hazards in the NGM," requires the establishment of baseline data and geographical distribution of current regional watershed management approaches.

This proposal outlines research to test the hypothesis that the most ecologically resilient watersheds are those with well-defined ordinances and regulations that include established enforcement and are supplemented with active and effective NGO (non-governmental organization) involvement.

A GIS database will analyze and map relationships between watershed regulation and water quality by compiling regulatory codes, ordinances, enforcement actions, and NGO outreach efforts for coastal watersheds. This data will be correlated with water quality data to determine the effectiveness of regulatory action.

Research activities will be coordinated with other initiatives in order to maximize results. The Year One pilot study will develop methods to assess the effectiveness of regulatory action and NGO outreach on water quality and community resiliency, while simultaneously improving the data available to other NGMCI researchers.

Further research will expand our efforts to larger watersheds and define the components and characteristics of resilient coastal watersheds. It is expected that results from this effort can serve as input for policy recommendations at state, county, and municipal levels.

H. Expected Project Contributions to:

• Regional Awareness: Increase the awareness of the influence and impact regulatory codes, ordinances and NGO efforts have on coastal watersheds through collaborative research and outreach.
• Regional Interest: Increase the interest in water quality within the coastal region by developing a methodology for assessing the impact regulatory codes and NGO's have on coastal watersheds.
• Regional Understanding: Improve the understanding of the relationship between regulatory action and water quality within coastal watersheds.
• Regional Acceptance: By presenting project findings to coastal watershed decision-makers through outreach efforts that demonstrate successful approaches to effectively regulate water quality in coastal watersheds.
• Transition to Decision Support: The goal for the project is to allow stakeholders to evaluate, and ultimately address water quality deficiencies within their governance structure through informed decision-making concerning regulatory codes and NGO involvement.
• Other Metrics Specific to this Project: The project will contribute to the identified research areas of watershed management, BMP's, and watershed models.

I. Contributions to Other CI Performance Measures:

• Publications: peer reviewed, non-peer reviewed
• Non-peer reviewed:Progress reports will be generated following completion of pilot study and subsequently throughout the project, culminating in a final report. In addition, a thesis will be produced in partial fulfillment for a Master of Landscape Architecture degree.
• Peer reviewed:The project findings will be submitted to peer reviewed planning and environmental journals.
• Conference papers: Conference papers will be presented at appropriate local, regional and national conferences that focus on issues related to the management, design, or understanding of natural resources.
• Contributions to NOAA Career Track: NA
• Student support

This project will support a Graduate Research Assistant and multiple Graduate and Undergraduate Student Workers throughout the project.