Progress 09/15/00 to 09/14/05
Outputs
Project objectives included expanded training and communication services, web-based communication, and educational tools for the Network. These objectives were all met. During the project period, the size of the NEMO Network was almost doubled, from 16 to 31 projects. Approximately 70 scoping and training workshops were held for multi-agency groups involved with new or prospective NEMO projects. Four NEMO University national conferences were organized. Each one had at least 20 state programs participating, including a record 29 programs represented at NEMO U-4 in April 2004. In addition to providing critical training and networking opportunities in themselves, the interpersonal contact between NEMO principals at these conferences created the foundation for improved communication between projects. A National NEMO Network list-serve was created early the project period, and remains an effective information sharing tool for members. The National website was created and
completely overhauled twice during the project. The latest revision added a Member Resources secure site with downloadable publications and Powerpoint presentations. In 2004, the web site added an Impact Reporting section. The information collected at this site becomes the basis of the NEMO Network Progress Report, which focuses on bottom-line impacts accrued by NEMO projects around the country (next section). During the project period, Progress Reports were issued for 2002 and 2005, and widely distributed to project partners, collaborators, and funders. During this period the National Facilitation office also produced a number of publications and other resources for NEMO projects. Journal articles and notable reports are listed in the Publications section. In addition, 9 newsletters were issued and widely distributed, both in paper and electronic format. Complete resource CD-ROMs were created for the NEMO U-2, U-3, and U-4 conferences, in addition to the EPA-sponsored Open Space
Planning Boot Camp (below). A NEMO Starter Kit CD for new programs, containing publications, information, advice, presentations, and links, was created in 2000-2001 and totally updated and revised in 2005. A Network Charter was devised based on input at the NEMO U-2 conference; the Charter spells out what membership in the Network means, and the obligations of members to the Network. Through over 40 conferences and workshops for non-USDA agencies and organizations, the National Facilitation office promoted the NEMO Network, cultivated new partners, and leveraged new resources for both the office and network members. Projects included the EPA Smart Growth Open Space Planning Boot Camp training session, the NOAA Coastal NEMO Enhancement Grants program, and the co-development with NOAA Coastal Services Center of the Impervious Surface Analysis Tool (ISAT). The Hub also organized 3 meetings of the National NEMO Network Interagency Work Group, which includes several offices of NOAA and
EPA, in addition to NASA, the American Planning Association, the National Association of Counties, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Impacts
New NEMO programs were initiated in 15 states, almost doubling the size of the National NEMO Network. These states are: CO, TX, DE, AZ, CA, NV, PA(2 projects), IL, KY, VT, MS, KS, MN, WI, TN. NEMO programs are acting as a support system and catalyst for communities around the country, resulting in a series of impacts including: (1) research and information synthesis; (2) changes to the local land use decision-making process; (3) changes to plans; (4) changes to regulations; (5) on-the-ground changes, including low impact development and open space and farmland protection, and; (6) changes to state policies and guidance. Examples are collected in the National NEMO Network Progress Reports of 2002 and 2005. This CSREES National Facilitation project also resulted in a major increase in local, regional, state and federal partners for NEMO projects, and the leveraging that partnership entails. The Network as a whole involves well over 200 partner agencies and organizations.
In addition, the National Facilitation effort leveraged over $300,000 of NOAA funds and $240,000 of EPA funds to assist in network coordination, and/or to be made available to network member projects. NEMO has provided USDA/CSREES with a model project spanning the worlds of natural resource protection, water management, land use planning, and geospatial science and technology. It has also facilitated the cooperation of the Land Grant system with the NOAA Sea Grant and NASA Space Grant/Geospatial Extension systems.
Publications
- Rozum, J., E. Wilson and C. Arnold. 2005. Strengthening Integration of Land Use Research and Outreach through Innovative Web Technology. Journal of Extension (accepted).
- Dickson, D. and C. Arnold. 2005. Charting a Course for Better Land Use: National NEMO Network 2005 Progress Report. Published by the University of Connecticut Center for Land Use Education and Research, publication # 050830.1. 38pp.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
A new National Network Coordinator was hired in July. NEMO Network presentations were made at the following conferences: USDA National Water Quality Conference; EPA National Nonpoint Source Conference; U.S. Conference of Mayors Urban Water Summit; EPA/NOAA/USDA Symposium on Land-based Sources of Pollution to Coral Reefs; American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Fall 2004 Specialty Conference. NEMO training workshops were held in New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky, Illinois. NEMO training sessions were held at University of Connecticut facilities for the Pennsylvania, North Carolina and South Carolina network programs. Substantial web site improvements were made, including: development and implementation of the Member Resources web section, incorporating information on geospatial and financial resources, network project web links, project tracking forms, and network Powerpoint presentations; development and implementation of a web-based Network Impact
Reporting Form for all network projects, which was returned by 19 programs; expansion of Member Projects page with detailed program information on most network projects. Preparations were made for the NEMO U-4 national network conference (April, 2005).
Impacts
New NEMO programs were developed and initiated in Arizona, California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky and Vermont. USDA funds were leveraged to gain an additional $171,000 in Network coordination support from EPA Nonpoint Source Control Branch and NOAA Office of Coastal Resource Management. Changes to local land use plans, policies, regulations and practices in order to better protect water quality are being catalyzed by NEMO programs in 30 states, as documented by the 2002 National Network Progress Report. The NEMO Network is mentioned as an exemplary land use education program in the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy Report.
Publications
- National NEMO Newsletter Volume 6(2). Summer/Fall 2004.
- National NEMO Newsletter Volume 6(1). Winter/Spring 2004.
- Arnold, C.L., E. Wilson. 2004. Local Decision, National Consequences: Meaningful Remote Sensing Tools, Education are Keys to Effective Decision Making. Earth Imaging Journal, Nov/Dec issue Pp. 12-17.
- Arnold, C.L. 2004. Considering Stormwater Management. Planning Commissioners Journal Number 54:14-16.
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
Five scoping and 6 training workshops have been conducted during the project year; well in excess of the 3 workshops anticipated during the granting period. The objective of a scoping session is to enable local partner agencies and organizations to successfully plan, assemble and eventually implement a NEMO adaptation. The scoping sessions resulted in the addition of 4 new programs to the Network. The training workshops resulted in new educational programs and partnerships being developed in 8 states. In addition to workshops, NEMO presentations were made at 8 national conferences. These presentations, along with special agency briefings and national publications, have served to raise the visibility of NEMO and generated more interest around the country. The third Network Conference was held on May 2003 at the UCONN Avery Point Campus in Groton, CT. Nearly 70 participants representing 23 states and 4 federal agencies attended the conference. The focus of NEMO U3 was
to help develop increased communication and expertise within the Network. Dubbed the distributed leadership model, the effort was the first attempt to organize expertise resident within the Network to address specific Network needs. The NEMO U3 agenda included pre-conference training sessions, keynote speakers from the development community and federal agencies, reports from Network projects, breakout sessions addressing Network needs, and field trips. During the year two issues of the National NEMO Network newsletter were issued, and the first ever National Network Progress Report was printed and distributed. The Progress Report describes Network goals and principles, with a major focus on individual state program descriptions that emphasize bottom-line impacts and partnerships. A significant redesign of the National web site was completed during the granting period. The national site now includes: an interactive Network map page with contact information for each project; a
publication downloading page; and member resources pages featuring a unique Geospatial Data Sets site created by the Network Hub in collaboration with the UConn Geospatial Extension Technology Program, which provides value-added information and instructions about various national digital natural resource data sets and is the first of its kind in the country. Pursuant to the recommendations developed at the NEMO U3 conference, a members only web site with downloadable presentations and publications from around the Network is now being developed. All Connecticut-generated publications are already posted on the website, including the Network newsletter and fact sheets. The annual National NEMO Network Interagency Work Group meeting was held in December, 2003 at the Commerce Department Building in Washington, DC. The meeting was hosted by NOAA this year, and representatives of EPA, NOAA, and USDA met to discuss Network progress and needs.
Impacts
New NEMO programs were developed and initiated in Arizona, California, Nevada and northwest (Lake Erie) Pennsylvania. USDA funds were leveraged to gain an additional $100,000 in Network coordination support from EPA Nonpoint Source Control Branch and NOAA Office of Coastal Resource Management. Changes to local land use plans, policies, regulations and practices in order to better protect water quality are being catalyzed by NEMO programs in 30 states, as documented by the 2002 National Network Progress Report.
Publications
- Rozum, J. and C. Arnold. 2003. The National NEMO Network: 2002 Progress Report. Publication #030212.1 of the University of Connecticut Center for Land use Education and Research.40pp.
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Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
Network training and conferences: NEMO University II was held in January, 2002 in Charleston, SC, in concert with the SC NEMO Project and the NOAA Coastal Services Center. 65 people representing 19 NEMO projects from 21 states participated in the training and information-sharing sessions of the 3-day conference. In a collaborative project with the EPA Smart Growth office, staff from 14 Network projects attended a training session in conducting educational programs on open space planning to protect water resources, held at the UConn Marine campus in July 2002. Follow-up workshops were conducted on-site in Delaware, Maine, and Indiana. In collaboration with the NOAA Coastal Services Center and the UConn Geospatial Technology Program, in October 2002 the National NEMO staff held a network training session on the use of the Impervious Surface Analysis Tool (ISAT), an ArcView extension developed jointly by UConn and NOAA to estimate impervious coverage in watersheds. Staff
from 7 Network projects attended. National NEMO staff conducted training (in Connecticut) for existing and potential NEMO project staff in Louisiana, Colorado, Maine, New York and Pennsylvania. Staff conducted out-of-state training workshops in Georgia, Maine, North Carolina (for the Cherokee Nation), Colorado, Pennsylvania, and California. Communication services: The National Network web page was redesigned and enhanced. A new National Geospatial Dataset web page was created, in concert with the Connecticut NEMO Project and the Geospatial Technology Program; the site gives detailed evaluation and downloading instructions for a number of national natural resource digital datasets. Two issues of the Network Newsletter were written and issued, both in hard copy and digitally. A National NEMO Network listserve was created. A National NEMO Network Charter was developed, and was signed by a majority of the Network projects. Regional conference calls (Northwest, Southeast, Northeast,
Midwest) were initiated as a way for adjacent NEMO projects to share regional concerns and issues. Liaison activities: Briefings on the Network were held for the following agencies: USDA/CSREES; EPA Smart Growth; EPA Nonpoint Source Control Branch; NOAA Sea Grant; NOAA Office of Coastal and Resource Management. Presentations were made at the following national meetings: National Smart Growth Summit; national Coastal Nonpoint Source Control conference; national NASA "Earth Grant" Geospatial Technology Program workshop; international World Watershed Summit. New programs developed: The Coastal NEMO Enhancement Grants Program, funded by NOAA, provided competitive funding for five existing and one new Network projects. New educational modules were developed focusing on: open space planning and preservation; conducting community natural resource inventories, and; NEMO for lakeside communities.
Impacts
$188,000 in additional funding was provided to NEMO Network projects, through the collaboration with NOAA on the Coastal NEMO Enhancement Grants program. New NEMO projects were initiated and funded in Colorado, Texas, and Delaware; all three projects are led by Extension and/or Sea Grant Extension personnel. A new ArcView GIS tool, the Impervious Surface Analysis Tool (ISAT) was created by UConn and NOAA personnel; the tool is downloadable from the Internet. At least five state NEMO programs added educational programming focused on protecting water resources through open space planning and community resource inventories. Facilitated and assisted by the National NEMO effort, 26 NEMO projects in 24 states are now working directly with communities to produce a long list of changes to local land use plans, regulations, policies, and on-the-ground development and management practices.
Publications
- Giannotti, L.A. and C. L. Arnold. 2002. Changing Land Use Decision Making One Town at a Time: The NEMO Project at the Ten Year Mark. NWQEP Notes: the North Carolina State University Water Quality Group Newsletter, May 2002, Number 105, pages 1-7.
- The National NEMO Network Newsletter Volume 4(1), Winter 2002.
- The National NEMO Newsletter Volume 4(2), Summer 2002.
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Progress 01/01/01 to 12/31/01
Outputs
The objectives of this grant included: (1) establishing formal coordination of the national network projects; (2) conducting scoping and training workshops for existing and potential national NEMO adapters; (3) expansion of the National NEMO Network Web Site: and (4) liaison activities with USDA/CSREES staff and key representatives from other agencies involved in the Network. Progress on these objectives is reported below. (1) Enhance the NEMO project's ability to respond to requests for information coordination, assistance, and training. National Coordinator John Rozum has established and maintained communications with the key contacts of the NEMO projects in other states. He has redesigned the national website to serve as a communications nexus for the Network. Mr. Rozum regularly supplies updates and information to the Network and is the main point-of-contact for all national activities. (2) Conduct Scoping & Training Workshops as Requested, to Expand National
Network. National Network team members have conducted nearly 20 workshops or conferences around the country since September 2000. The majority of these workshops have been scoping sessions where NEMO personnel introduce the program and give ideas on how to start and organize a NEMO program. NEMO personnel also conduct training sessions for funded projects, which are usually one to two days long and take a more detailed look at the topical materials, educational principles, and technology that make up a NEMO program. (3) Establish a National NEMO Network Nerve Center via the Internet. The NEMO Starter Kit CD-ROM provides publications, presentations and advice on how to get a NEMO project started. In addition to publications and CDs, the National Network has also been working to provide internet services to Network projects. The National website (http://nemo.uconn.edu/nathome.html) has been upgraded and now provides more detailed information on network projects, news, publications, and
communications. Another important Network activity was the first NEMO University Conference held in Haddam, Connecticut on October 17th through 19th, 2000. Over 40 participants representing 20 states came to the conference to discuss how to collaborate, share methodologies and research, and develop new educational strategies. (4) Provide liaison with Interagency Work Group agencies. The National NEMO Network Interagency Work Group has met on two occasions since September 2000. The December 2000 meeting was held at EPA Office of Water. The December 2001 meeting was held at the USDA/CSREES offices. Both of these meeting resulted in a productive exchange of information and collaboration between agencies and organizations in promoting NEMO. In addition to the formal Work Group meetings, NEMO staff conducted a number of briefings for the work group agencies and their partners, including USDA, EPA, NOAA, and NASA.
Impacts
1. NEMO Network Coordination will result in additional research-based educational projects around the country, focusing on the impacts of land use on water quality. 2. These NEMO Network projects will provide the information and education that catalyzes community officials around the country to change their land use planning policies, practices, plans, and regulations to better protect water quality.
Publications
- Arnold, C. L. 2000. Land Use Is the Issue, But Is Land Grant the Answer? Journal of Extension 38(6), December 2000: http://www.joe.org/joe/2000december/comm1.html
- Arnold, C.L. and T.R. Schueler. 2001. New Tools for Communities are Needed if NPS Regulation is to Succeed. Nonpoint Source News Notes, published by the EPA, March 2001. http://www.epa.gov/owow/info/NewsNotes/issue64/64_issue.pdf
- Rozum, J. National NEMO Network Launched. Nonpoint Source News Notes, published by the EPA, March 2001. http://www.epa.gov/owow/info/NewsNotes/issue64/64_issue.pdf
- Arnold, C.L., D.L. Civco, M.P. Prisloe, J.D. Hurd, and J.W. Stocker. 2000. Remote-Sensing-Enhanced Outreach Education as a Decision Support System for Local Land Use Officials, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 66(10): 1251-1260.
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