FY214 Floyd's Fork Watershed

Grants and Contracts Details

Description

This project will document stakeholder preferences for future watershed land use and management strategies for the Floyd's Fork watershed using both quantitative and qualitative metrics by employing a community based participatory engagement process (Ormsbee and Hoover, 2011). The specific tasks associated with the project are summarized as follows: 1) Background research -Initial research will be performed to document and categorize information and data about the Floyd's Fork watershed. This information will be summarized and used in support of the stakeholder interview process. 2) Stakeholder identification and interviews - An initial list of potential stakeholders will be solicited from the Division of Water. An interview schedule will be developed and submitted to the University of Kentucky Institutional Review Board. Following IRB approval, the project team will conduct stakeholder interviews. Individual stakeholders will be interviewed to determine stakeholder: 1) values, 2) concerns, 3) key issues, 4) acceptable nutrient management strategies, 5) information needs, 6) trusted information sources. 3) Management Strategy Identification- Following the stakeholder interview process, potential management strategies will be catalogued and used to develop an initial set of options. Additional research to support a proper description of each strategy will be performed. Summaries of each strategy will be prepared which will included both narrative and visuals aids/maps. 4) Stakeholder focus groups - Following the stakeholder interview process, individual stakeholders will be assigned to different focus groups. Protocols will be developed and submitted to the University of Kentucky Review Board. Following IRB approval, separate meetings will then be conducted with each focus group. During each meeting, the participants will be asked to identify relevant community values. The participants will also be asked to evaluate the developed set of potential management strategies through the use of anonymous key pad technology. Following the data collection session, members will be asked to discuss what they liked and disliked about each strategy. This will help to identify relevant concerns and issues with each vision. Finally, participants will be asked to identify any additional data needs as well as trusted sources for such data. The effectiveness of the meeting process will be evaluated through quantitative metrics. 5) Public informational meetings - Based on the data needs identified through the focus group process, relevant information will be researched and assembled. A public meeting protocol will be developed and submitted to the University of Kentucky Institutional Review Board. Following IRB approval, a public meeting will be conducted in which relevant information will be presented through an interactive process. The goal of this step of the project will be to: 1) assess the community's knowledge with regard to relevant project facts, 2) minimize misunderstandings or erroneous ideas associated with relevant project facts, 3) expose community members to the interactive engagement methodology, 4) provide information potentially relevant for use in supporting stakeholder's ability to indicate preferences with regard to potential management strategies. 6) Informational Website - In order to facilitate the distribution of relevant project material to the local stakeholder community, an informational website will be constructed similar to one used for a previous stakeholder engagement project: www.paducahvision.com. 7) Public Vision Meeting - following the stakeholder focus group meetings, a set of final potential management strategies will be developed. These strategies will then be presented to the participants at a management strategy evaluation meeting and the participants will then be asked to indicate their preferences for each strategy. This information will then be documented and summarized in a final project report. 8) Data Analysis and Final Report - following the completion of the data collection, the information will be analyzed and summarized in a final project report. A summary of the findings will then be presented at one or more public meetings.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date7/15/126/30/14

Funding

  • KY Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet: $151,228.00

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