Cooperative Watershed Management

Reclamation’s WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CWMP) provides funding for the establishment or enlargement of grassroots, local watershed groups to encourage diverse stakeholders to develop collaborative solutions to address their water management needs. A watershed group is a self-sustaining, non-regulatory group that is composed of a diverse array of stakeholders, which may include, but is not limited to, private property owners, non-profit organizations, Federal, state, or local agencies, and tribes. Funding is provided on a competitive basis for the development of watershed groups, watershed restoration planning, and watershed management project planning and design.

CWMP provides funding to local watershed groups to encourage diverse stakeholders to develop collaborative solutions to address their water management needs. Watershed groups bring together a diverse group of stakeholders, some of which might otherwise be at odds, to provide a platform for collaborative, locally-led, and community-based water resource management. Stakeholders may initially unite around one issue that affects multiple stakeholder groups, for example food control or wildfire mitigation. However, these groups often evolve to have a more holistic approach: aiming to address multiple issues within the watershed and benefit a wide range of stakeholders.

To be eligible, the entity must be either an existing watershed group or sponsoring the establishment of a new watershed group, as defined in Section 6002 of the Cooperative Watershed Management Act (see definition below), that is located in one of the following states or territories: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

As defined in Section 6002 of the Cooperative Watershed Management Act (see “Legislative Authority” below for full citation), a “watershed group,” is a grassroots, non-regulatory entity that addresses water availability and quality issues within the watershed and is capable of promoting the sustainable use of water resources. A watershed group makes decisions on a consensus basis, and represents a diverse group of stakeholders, such as hydroelectric producers, livestock grazing, timber production, land development, recreation or tourism, irrigated agriculture, the environment, municipal water supplies, private property owners, Federal, state and local governments, and Tribes.

New Watershed Groups: State, Tribe, local or special district (e.g., irrigation, water district, water conservation district), local governmental entity, interstate organization, a non-profit organization, or an institute of higher education sponsoring a watershed group located in a state or territory identified above. In addition, you must meet all the following requirements:
1. Be sponsoring the development of a new watershed group;
2. Be able to significantly affect or be affected by the quality or quantity of water in the watershed; and
3. Be capable of promoting the sustainable use of water resources.

Existing Watershed Groups: The watershed group must:
1. Meet the definition of a watershed group as described under the Cooperative Watershed Management Act,
2. Be located in a state or territory identified above; and
3. Be legally incorporated as a non-profit organization.

A watershed group member or fiscal agent may apply on behalf of the watershed group if they are a state, Tribe, local or special district (e.g., irrigation, water district, water conservation district), local governmental entity, interstate organization, or a non-profit organization.

The Cooperative Watershed Management Program benefits a diverse array of stakeholders, which may include but is not limited to, private property owners, Federal, State, or local agencies, and Indian Tribes that are located in the states and territories previously described in applicant eligibility.

Proposals received in response to the funding opportunity announcement are reviewed through a competitive, merit-based review process, and are rated in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. Reclamation will make awards to the highest rated proposals based on the amount of funding available each year.

See Reclamation’s WaterSMART website, https://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/, for schedule information.