Alabama Water Watch began in 1992 and has conducted more than 1,000 workshops in nine levels of physical, chemical and biological monitoring for about 4,000 citizen volunteers.  Monitors have cumulatively submitted over 40,000 data records from 1,800 sites on 700 waterbodies using EPA-approved protocols.  About 80 percent of data records are currently entered by monitors into a customized database via the Internet and all data may be accessed, analyzed, mapped and graphed online by the general public.

There are three ways in which AWW data have been used for watershed management:
1) solving water quality problems at the local level through education, neighbor-to-neighbor persuasion and local ordinances, 2) adding or removing streams from the 303(d) list, developing TMDLs and including the data in the 305(b) report to Congress by the state regulatory agency, and 3) development of watershed management plans on various scales by stakeholder groups.  Most AWW monitors do not seem to be deterred by the slow pace of using their data for watershed improvements, and about 80 citizen groups consistently test water because it is “the right thing to do,” personally enriching and enjoyable.

The Forest Legacy Program was established in 1990 to ascertain and protect environmentally important forest areas that are threatened by conversion to non-forest uses, and to promote the long-term sustainability of forest lands.  Most Southern States elected to join the program in the last five years and will hold title to lands and conservation easements purchased with these funds.  States and non federal partners commit to a 25% non federal cost share on each project.

Priority is given to conserve lands that can be effectively managed as working forests.  A goal of the Forest Legacy Program is to contribute to watershed based efforts to protect important private forests.  Thus many projects focus on riparian areas, forested wetlands, shorelines, and riverine systems.  Individual projects that center on watershed values will be discussed in this session.

• South Carolina Cooper River Corridor
• Town Creek Initiative, North Carolina
• Newnan’s Lake, Florida

In 1990, Miami-Dade County voters approved a 2-year ad valorem tax for a 2-year period from 1990 to 1992 to fund acquisition, protection, and maintenance of environmentally endangered lands and wetlands.  A total of $90 million was raised for land acquisition.  The county established an Environmentally Endangered Land (EEL) program to administer the funds.  EEL is administered by the county’s Department of Environmental Resources Management.

From The Tennessean.com & the Fairview Observer
October 2008

Fairview Mayor Ken Brison reveals a new sign to be posted at the entrance to Bowie Nature Park, recognizing the park as property now protected by a conservation easement. The sign generated a round of applause following the official signing of the conservation easement. The signing ceremony took place prior to last Thursday night’s City Commission meeting at City Hall before a large crowd of park enthusiasts. John Stark, former Fairview mayor and activist for park protection, summed up the thoughts of many in the room, “This has been a long time coming!” City Commissioner Wayne Hall added, “The light is shining on Fairview tonight.”

The Greenprint Georgia program is an innovative way to help local governments protect their critical natural and cultural resources and build enduring, prosperous communities.  The program is currently working in several counties throughout the state. In Hall County for example, Trust for Public Land helped to initiate a series of public meetings that resulted in the development of a vision map, helped the county government apply for funding from the Georgia Community Greenspace Program, and continues to acquire and convey to the county properties such as Williams Mill in Hall County.

International Paper, The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund Protect 218,000 Acres of U.S. Forestland Through Historic Land Acquisition Project.

In the early 1990s, Indian River Lagoon's six counties (Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach) and two water management districts, with the cooperation of the National Estuary Program (NEP), jointly developed a broad proposal for CARL state funding to create an Indian River Lagoon Blueway. Through acquisition of almost 9,000 acres of wetlands and uplands, including 626 parcels in 45 targeted areas, Blueway lands would connect with other public lands to form a natural buffer corridor along the lagoon.  The NEP's Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Indian River Lagoon notes that such a program "will be a critical step toward protection, preservation, and restoration of the integrity, productivity, and biodiversity of the Indian River Lagoon's resources for this and future generations."

On February 21, 1991, Governor Gaston Caperton, along with state and federal officials signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to create a national demonstration project for the rehabilitation of the Middle Fork River watershed.  The officials agreed to cooperate and coordinate efforts to address nonpoint source water pollution from acid drainage and accelerate the development of acid mine drainage reclamation efforts in the watershed.  This is the country's first multi-agency, multi-program, integrated abatement approach to deal with acid mine drainage.  Interest in this coordinated watershed approach was initiated by the 1987 re-authorization of the federal Clean Water Act, which placed added emphasis on the control of nonpoint source of water pollution.

The multi-county area referred to as the Research Triangle in central North Carolina is highly developed. “There’s a lot of fast construction and bad construction,” said Vojta who described “massive clearing and grading” and “an insane number of homes” being built in one of the nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas.

Last February, the district co-sponsored a comprehensive two-day seminar on trees: GROWING Value in GREEN Infrastructure. “We wanted to help people see trees in a holistic but also a monetary aspect. Planting a four-year-old tree does not replace the value of a 50-year-old tree,” Vojta said.

In January 1999, Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney established a $312 million acquisition program called Preservation Project Jacksonville, which is designed to manage growth, preserve environmentally sensitive lands, improve water quality, and provide public access to the City of Jacksonville’s vast natural areas.  The land acquired through this program will play a crucial role in diversified urban planning in Duval County and throughout northeast Florida.

The Urban Forestry Program administers Chapter 17B of the Code of Ordinances: “Street Trees and Article 26 of the Zoning Ordinance-Tree Protection”, which includes the Reforest the Bluegrass program.  Started in March of 1999, its purpose is to recreate pre-settlement, streamside forests that were once native to the Inner Bluegrass Region of Kentucky.  One major goal of the program is to have 50% forest canopy in the entire county.

The key component in Charlotte's and Mecklenburg County's efforts to restore the quality and usability of its surface water resources is the Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Program, which was established by the Mecklenburg County Department of Environmental Protection (MCDEP) in November 1995. The objective of this program is to produce measurably cleaner surface waters in Mecklenburg County and restore the usability of the area’s streams.