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1998
Convention & Trade Center – Chattanooga, Tennessee
In August of 1988, 85 watershed leaders representing a broad array of public and private interests in nine states were invited by the Southeast Watershed Forum to participate in a regional dialogue. The dialogue centered on identifying and communicating local watershed needs and issues to state and federal agencies who were involved in the development of a national program to restore and protect watersheds. In addition, attendees suggested that the Southeast Watershed Forum continue to serve as a clearinghouse on local, regional and national watershed issues, programs and resources.
1999
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
In August of 1999, 125 watershed leaders attended the second Southeast Watershed Forum Roundtable in Knoxville. At this Roundtable, attendees determined the major environmental challenges to the region, identified the elements which led to successful locally-driven initiatives, and the barriers to effective watershed protection. Attendees asked that the Forum to bring more local city/count officials to the table, since many attendees felt that the biggest impediment to watershed protection was the lack of understanding on the part of local officials, of the relationship between land use and water quality. Local city/county officials determine local land use and they needed to better understand how land use actions and policies contribute to the decline of water quality and quality of life in Southeast communities. At this meeting, delegates also described using the Southeast Forum and the annual Roundtable as an opportunity to relay local watershed issues and concerns to government agencies.
2000
Radisson Birmingham – Birmingham, Alabama
In August, 200 watershed leaders attended this Roundtable, which was planned in consultation with the National Association of Counties and the International City/County Management Association. The attendance by 37 mayors and county commissioners energized the meeting and led to lively discussions in the facilitated breakout sessions. Three workshops were offered prior to the Roundtable. The Center For Watershed Protection offered a short version of its popular Watershed Training and Site Design workshop. The EPA Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina, offered a workshop in Innovative Financing for Environmental Programs. River Network offered a workshop for watershed groups on fundraising. The first Southeast Natural Resource Leaders Group Watershed Leadership Awards were offered at this event. The breakout sessions at this Roundtable led to state-based action plans and two state-based Roundtables emerged from this meeting. The Southeast Forum was asked to facilitate planning for the Mississippi Watershed Roundtable, which took place in September 2001. The Southeast Forum also facilitated development of the Tennessee Roundtable, which is planned for March, 2002.
2001
Atlanta Airport Hilton – Atlanta, Georgia
Held in conjunction with the Georgia Water Leadership Summit, over 450 people attended the 4th annual Southeast Watershed Forum Roundtable. Special emphasis was placed on making the connection between land use and water - both water quality and quantity. Nearly 100 county commissioners attended the program, where speakers from NASA and American Forests offered a dramatic visual presentation of the impact of growth and development on the Southeast. A special focus on TMDL education brought in community case studies where TMDLs had been developed and the implementation phase was beginning. Watershed-friendly developers discussed the value of reducing impervious cover and maintaining open space to create more desirable communities. Nearly 23 speakers broke into eight discussion groups to offer a wide diversity of regional, watershed success stories. Pre-Roundtable workshops covered three topics; The ABC'c of TMDLs for Stakeholders, Protecting Water Resources Through Land Use Education, and the Funder's Dialogue. State-based action plans were further refined. Delegates from the Southeast who attended the National Watershed Forum near Washington, D.C. provided a short overview of some of the recommendations to emerge from the meeting.
2002
Renaissance Vinoy Resort Hotel – St. Petersburg, Florida
Watershed leaders from across the Southeast attended the 2002 Southeast Watershed Forum Roundtable in Tampa, Florida on July 12. This year's roundtable was hosted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and focused on "Building Regional Partnerships for Watershed Protection." Speakers highlighted efforts at balancing water supplies and water quality, a hallmark of the Tampa Bay area. The Savannah River Compact and Lake Gaston-Virginia Beach Interbasin transfer dispute were analyzed for future directions in inter-state water management. And innovative local initiatives, like pollution trading, Growth Readiness, Clean Marina Programs, riparian restoration efforts and state-based roundtables provided numerous replicable programs for attendees to take back to their communities. Dr. Bill Graham from NASA's Earth Science Applications Directorate at Stennis Space Center, rounded out the day with a presentation of new remote sensing tools that can assist in local, as well as regional water management. One of the exciting outcomes from the regional Roundtable has been the development of state and basin-based roundtables in Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky (in 2003).
The Watershed Leadership awards were presented by Benjamin Grumbles, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, U.S. EPA. William Leary, from the White House Council on Environmental Quality, also attended to address the Roundtable audience on the importance of public-private watershed partnerships.
Facilitated discussions elicited feedback from attendees on ways to increase interstate and intra-state watershed cooperation and the need for a national versus regional watershed strategy. In addition, attendees were surveyed for their attitudes on interbasin water transfers.
Two workshops were held prior to the Roundtable. One titled "How to Make Regional Planning Work" focused on the successful partnerships and water quality improvements created by the Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium and the Suwannee River Water Quality Partnership. The Institute for Conservation Leadership led an organizational development workshop on "Benchmarking For Success." In addition, a field trip to view restoration activities at Fort De Soto Park was led by Jake Stower, Pinellas County Administrator.
2003
Biloxi, Mississippi
2003 Southeast Watershed Roundtable was held in conjunction with the Southern States Environmental Conference (SSEC) at the Biloxi Coliseum in on September 23-25. We encouraged Roundtable attendees to participate in the two-day Water Resources track that was designed to elicit stakeholder input on regional resource issues. James Palmer, Jr., EPA Regional Administrator was interested in hearing from Southeast stakeholders on their priority issues for the region, which would be incorporated into the EPA regional strategic plan. The Southeast Watershed Forum saw this as an important opportunity for our diverse regional stakeholders to provide EPA with their suggestions. One of the priorities identified was to use multi-stakeholder forums for discussing regional water quality/supply management.
2004
Nashville, Tennessee
The 7th annual Southeast Watershed Roundtable was held in conjunction with the 3rd annual Tennessee State Watershed Roundtable in Nashville Tennessee on October 27-29, 2004. It was well attended, over 200 people from 10 states. The theme was “Growth, Development & the Future of Southeast Water Supplies”. Forty presentations were made in four categories; Growing Greener Communities, Transport and Natural Context Design, Farmland Protection and Rural Issues, and Saving Aquatic Habitat and Open Space.
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