This book determines that watershed protection and restoration in the 21st century requires adaptive and responsive strategies that incorporate regulatory frameworks in conjunction with community stakeholder engagement. The severity and pervasiveness of watershed pollution require building resource capacity through the formation of multi-sector strategic alliances. Given the complexities of watershed management and the need to leverage resources to achieve better environmental outcomes, understanding the role of motivations in watershed collaboration is vital to the efficacy of watershed protection and restoration endeavors. The authors use an in-depth case study to investigate the social processes and the motivations that drive organizations operating within a shared local watershed to voluntarily direct their resources and participate in watershed collaboration.

Luisa M. Diaz-Kope is assistant professor of political science at the University of North Georgia.John C. Morris is professor of public administration and public policy at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama

1Why Organizational Collaboration Matters2Theories of Organizational Motivation3The Setting: Lynnhaven River NOW4Organizational Motivations in Watershed Cross-Sector Collaboration5Implications for Practitioners and Researchers