Should Watershed Management Professionals be Certified?

While watershed management is not a new concept to natural resource and environmental management, it is within this decade that it has come of age as a major paradigm for water resources remediation and protection. Watershed management brings together science, engineering, policy, and education, in an attempt to alter human behavior to achieve a common vision for a specific water resource. It is an iterative planning process that provides feedback mechanisms for refinement in implementation. It is a process rather than a product. Federal and state agencies are embracing this process as they move beyond command and control approaches to environmental improvements. Local government and citizens are finding the process to be a meaningful way to address local water resource concerns such as flooding, combined sewer overflows, beach closures, water supply, and eutrophication.