National Association of Counties * Washington, DC            Vol. 30, No. 17 * September 14, 1998

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NACo Survey Finds Many Counties Working on Watersheds and Wetlands

How many counties are working on watershed management and wetlands protection? A recent survey by NACo's Research Department found that more than half (54 percent) of the counties that responded ranked watershed protection/water pollution as one of the top five issues facing their communities, followed by transportation planning (48 percent), farmland preservation (47 percent), infrastructure cost (46 percent) and accelerated growth (42 percent).

NACo received survey responses from 181 counties representing 37 states. Populations of the counties ranged from below 10,000 to more than one million. The survey was intended to acquire baseline knowledge about county government operations throughout the nation. Counties responded to a number of questions regarding environmental issues and water resources protection.

Watershed management
Seventy-two per cent of the responding counties are involved in watershed management planning or management efforts. These 131 counties indicated they have implemented a range of policies and land use tools to manage their watersheds, including:

• ordinances (30 percent),
• memorandums of understanding/ partnership agreements (27 percent),
• public education efforts (27 percent),
• resolutions (25 percent), and
• policies (25 percent)

The types of groups involved in the county watershed efforts include county staff (109), elected officials (90) citizen groups (78), state officials (77) and consultants (60). The primary county staff departments are planning (48), public works (32) and environmental (25).

Wetlands protection
Forty-one percent (74) of the responding counties are implementing wetland protection or restoration efforts. The primary types of tools counties are implementing in their wetland protection/restoration efforts are policies (19 percent), ordinances (18 percent) and public education efforts (18 percent).

NACo Watershed Management and Wetlands Protection Project
To assist counties, NACo's Watershed Management and Wetlands Protection Project provides technical assistance and information to counties on these issues. The project also maintains files on county watershed and wetlands efforts. To learn more about the project or submit information on your county's programs, visit the NACo Web site at http://www.naco.org/programs/environ/watermgt.cfm and http://www.naco.org/programs/environ/wetlands.cfm or contact Abigail Friedman at 202/942-4225 or afriedma@naco.org.

To order a copy of NACo's 1998 Operations Survey Analysis Report, contact NACo's Publications Department at 202/942-4256.

Counties Working on Watersheds*

Juneau Borough, Alaska Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Kodiak Island, Alaska Bibb County, Ala. Blount County, Ala. Jefferson County, Ala. Mobile County, Ala. Gila County, Ariz. Mariposa County, Calif. Riverside County, Calif. Sierra County, Calif. Sisikyou County, Calif. Solano County, Calif. Routt County, Colo. Summit County, Colo. New Castle County, Del. Sussex County, Del. Chatham County, Ga. Gwinett County, Ga.  Jackson County, Ga. Monroe County, Ga. Davis County, Iowa Lee County, Iowa Polk County Iowa Woodbury County, Iowa Ada County, Idaho Allen County, Ind. Batholomew County, Ind. Knox County, Ind. Lake County, Ind. Marshall County, Ind. Martin County, Ind. Owen County, Ind. St. Joseph County, Ind. Vigo County, Ind. Wayne County, Ind. Ballard County, Ky. LaRue County, Ky. Calcasieu Parish, La. East Baton Rouge Parish, La. Anne Arundel County, Md. Baltimore County, Md. Garrett County, Md.

Howard County, Md. Kent County,Md. Cumberland County, Maine Ingham County, Mich. Iron County, Mich. Kalamazoo County, Mich. Kent County, Mich. Keweenaw County, Mich. Macomb County, Mich. Newaygo County, Mich. Oakland County, Mich. St. Joseph County, Mich. Big Stone County, Minn. Clay County, Minn. Dakota County, Minn. Fillmore County, Minn. Morrison County, Minn. Nobles County, Minn. Olmsted County, Minn. Pine County, Minn. Ramsey County, Minn. St. Louis County, Minn. Winona County, Minn. Chariton County, Mo. Cole County, Mo. Greene County, Mo. Custer County, Mont. Phillips County, Mont. Cleveland County, N.C. Cumberland County, N.C. McDowell County, N.C. New Hanover County, N.C. Cass County, N.D. Dunn County, N.D. Stutsman County, N.D. Rockingham County, N.H. Gloucester County, N.J. Clark County, Nev. Eureka County, Nev. Washoe County, Nev. Clermont County, Ohio. Erie County, Ohio. Hamilton County, Ohio. Clackamas County, Ore. Linn County, Ore.

Allegheny County, Pa. Bradford County, Pa. Chester County, Pa. Juniata County, Pa. Montgomery County, Pa. Union County, Pa. Aiken County, S.C. Berkeley County, S.C. Charleston County, S.C. Laurens County, S.C. Richland County, S.C. Minnehaha County, S.D. Pennington County, S.D. Shelby County, Tenn. Bexar County, Texas Denton County, Texas. Palo Pinto County, Texas. Kane County, Utah. Utah County, Utah. Bath County, Va. Chesterfield County, Va. Culpeper County, Va. Fairfax County, Va. Stafford County, Va. Asotin County, Wash. Cowlitz County, Wash. Grant County, Wash. Kitsap County, Wash. Kittitas County, Wash. Lincoln County, Wash. Mason County, Wash. Pierce County, Wash. Snohomish County, Wash. Brown County, Wis. Manitowoc County, Wis. Marquette County, Wis. Rock County, Wis. Hancock County, W.Va. Harrison County, W.Va. Kanawha County, W.Va. Lewis County, W.Va. Albany County, Wyo. Uinta County, Wyo. *NACo survey respondents

(County Services News was written by Abigail Friedman, project manager.)