As human populations expand and demands upon natural resources increase, the need to manage the environments in which people live becomes more important but also more difficult. Land and water management is especially critical as the use of upstream watersheds can drastically affect large numbers of people living in downstream watersheds. An integrated approach that stresses both the importance of participatory planning and the institutional and technical constraints and opportunities is therefore necessary. The institutional and technical context for managing watersheds and river basins, including the involvement of both the public and private sectors, is also examined.

This publication presents selected hydrologic data for the calendar year 1965. The data include monthly precipitation and runoff for 188 watersheds, annual maximum discharges and annual maximum volumes of runoff for 177 the watersheds for time intervals of 1, 2, 6, and 12 hours and for 1, 2, and 8 days.

Watershed research is conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to expand our understanding of basic hydrologic mechanisms and their responses at the watershed scale and to provide information that serves as the basis for water and environmental management activities carried out largely by other governmental and private entities. The work of the USGS in this area is carried out by its Water Resources Division and occurs in three general program areas: basic research, regional and site assessments, and data collection. These activities are becoming increasingly important, especially in the context of water and environmental management, where contemporary problems are being approached more than ever on an integrated ecosystems or watershed basis and where the underlying physical, chemical, and biological science is complex. Although the value of this type of hydrologic research is well recognized within the USGS, available financial resources to support it remain modest. Thus, this study seeks to help maximize the effectiveness of the agency's work. The study took two years, during which time the committee visited field sites, received briefings, reviewed descriptive materials, deliberated toward conclusions, and wrote this report. Recommendations are intended to assist the USGS in improving its overall strategy for work in this area; descriptions of a number of scientific opportunities are included, and appropriate circumstances for collaboration with and support for others are identified.

Facilitating Watershed Management brings together myriad distinctive voices to create an experiential learning process drawn from the most important innovators in the field. Presenting an introduction to the diversity of tools (sociological, pedagogical, phenomenological) needed to implement watershed management in the real world trenches, the book helps move students and practitioners from being knowledgeable stewards of watersheds to becoming wise managers of watersheds.

A key question for individuals involved in managing watersheds is, "What is an effective process that will integrate science, policy, and public participation in order to help manage water resources effectively?" The Watershed Project Management Guide presents a four-phase approach to watershed management that is based on a collaborative process th