Progress 09/01/07 to 08/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities included an internet survey of a random sample of households with e-mail capability in the seventeen western states, excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Two staged research identified the public's values, attitudes, preferences, and knowledge related to water resource management in 17 western states. In stage 1, focus groups of households and water management professionals were conducted. Two separate focus groups were held in Fall 2007 in Denver, Colorado that included professionals in community water management in the first focus group and private citizens in the second focus group. In addition, focus groups were held in Reno, Nevada at the National Water Congress in February 2008 that included academic and other professionals. Information collected from focus groups informed the development of a public survey. In stage 2, an internet survey of a random sample of households throughout the study region was conducted to collect information about public perceptions of water management issues. Results were synthesized into a summary document and presented to stakeholders.Events: Presentations were made at a variety of conferences and symposia, including tha Annual American Geophysical Union Hydrology Days in Fort Collins, Colorado in March 2009; the USCID Fifth International Conference on Irrigation and Drainage for Food, Energy and the Environment in Salt Lake City, Utah in November 2009; the Western Agricultural Economics Association Meetings in Kauai, Hawaii on June 26, 2009; the Rocky Mountain Agribusiness Association in Aurora, Colorado in January 2009; the Colorado Water Congress Annual Convention in Denver, Colorado in January 2009; the Colorado Water Institute Spring Seminar Series in Fort Collins, Colorado in February 2009; the Colorado Big and Small Crops and Livestock Business Conference in February 2009. An important approach to dissemination of knowledge and results from this study is a Special Report entitled 2009 Public Perceptions, Preferences and Values for Water in the West: A survey of western and Colorado residents put forth by the Colorado Water Institute, available at http://www.cwi.colostate.edu/publications/sr/17.pdf. Other outputs include refereed and nonrefereed manuscripts publishes or in review at a variety of relevant journals and publications. PARTICIPANTS: Participants in the project included: Dr. James Pritchett, Associate Professor, Agriculture and Resource Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Dr. Alan Bright, Associate Professor, Human Dimnensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. Troy Bauder, Senior Research Associate, Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Dr. Reagan Waskom, Director of Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Matt Neibauer, Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State Unviersity, Fort Collins, Colorado Jennifer Thorvaldson, PhD candidate, Agriculture and Resource Ecnoomics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Andrea Shortsleeve, Masters candidate, Human Dimnensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Partner organizations in the study included the Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University Extension, the Family Farm Alliance, the Colorado Public Policy Institute, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board TARGET AUDIENCES: This projects facilitates a western water resource dialogue and outreach by disseminating survey results to a number of stakeholders and target audiences, including: a. the USDA-CSREES Water Quality Coordinators in the five Western EPA Regions: to help build regional capacity and provide agricultural water use research to assist regional water coordinators in planning appropriate outreach activities. b. the Western Governors Association and Western States Water Council: to address and communicate important water policy issues in the West, exchange ideas, positions and experiences with 17 Western Governors, build regional capacity, conduct research and disseminate findings, and build public understanding and support for regional water issues. c. the Family Farm Alliance (FFA): to utilize agricultural water use and water policy research to ensure the availability of reliable, affordable irrigation water supplies to Western farmers and ranchers. Further collaboration will support FFA's mission in the following ways: Impact key issues in Congress, as well as federal and state regulatory agencies on irrigated agriculture issues, Build coalitions and create powerful alliances to advocate for irrigated agriculture, Facilitate the delivery of accurate and timely information to Congress, regulatory agencies and our members on issues which impact Western irrigators, Communicate with the media and the public on critical issues impacting Western irrigated agriculture. d. Support, in part, the Bureau of Reclamation mission of Managing, developing, and protecting water and related resources to meet the needs of current and future generations; Increasing opportunities for tribes to develop and manage their water and related resources; Improving efficiency of water use e. Other unidentified potential stakeholders in water allocation in the west by developing and publishing technical bulletins and fact sheets to be made available to water stakeholders in hard copy and over the internet. These bulletins and will include state reports, EPA region reports and Western region reports; making presentations at national meetings including the American Soil and Water Conservation Society annual meeting, the Western Resource Conservation and Development Annual meeting, the Western Agricultural Economics Association Meeting, the Colorado Water Congress, USDA-CSREES National Water Conference, Western Governors Association Conference, and the American Society of Agronomy; developing a comprehensive, geospatial website which serves as a clearinghouse to outline issues, project, and stakeholders related to survey. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
A multistate approach such as the one incorporated in this study provides represents a significant improvement in the public involvement process by providing a broader, more accurate generalization of results across states within a region, recognizing commonalities that exist in each state. Further, values and attitudes have been collected for traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in the public involvement process. Outcomes of this study include increased the awareness of water stakeholders through popular presentation at meetings including Western Governor's Forum, Colorado Water Congress, WESTCAS and US Committee on Irrigation and Drainage. The project also facilitated discussion of western water resources as Family Farm Alliance distributed project results to US Congress and among federal agency leadership. There is also increased awareness and collaboration with academic researchers at other land grant institutions including those in Arizona, Texas and Idaho who have requested data and sought additional information. Survey information was compiled into graphical and tabular summary data that was made available to stakeholders and researcher in all states. Conclusions generated from summary information include a description of western households values, preferences and attitudes toward water allocation and use, information heretofore unavailable. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this information is important in forming additional research efforts and in water planning. More outcomes and impacts are expected as the project website becomes publicly available and fact sheets are prepared this Fall.
Publications
- Pritchett, J., J. Thorvaldson, A. Bright, A. Shortsleeve, T. Bauder, R.Waskom. 2009. Water Perceptions, Strategies, and Willingness to Pay: A Survey of Western Households. Colorado State University. Poster presented at 29th Annual American Geophysical Union Hydrology Days. Fort Collins, CO. March 2009.
- Thorvaldson, J. , J. Pritchett, A. Shortsleeve, A. Bright, T. Bauder, and R. Waskom. Water Use, Sharing and Willingness to Pay: A Survey of Western Households. A selected paper for the Western Agricultural Economics Association Meetings. Kauai, HI. June 26, 2009.
- Thorvaldson, J., J. Pritchett, A. Bright, A. Shortsleeve, C. Goemans. 2009. Water Use in the Western U. S. Household Knowledge, Priorities and Willingness-to-Pay. USCID Fifth International Conference: Irrigation and Drainage for Food, Energy and the Environment. Salt Lake City, UT. November 5, 2009.
- Pritchett, J. 2009. Colorado Water Issues. Rocky Mountain Agribusiness Association. Aurora, Colorado. 14 January 2009. 200 in attendance.
- James Pritchett, Alan Bright, Andrea Shortsleeve, Jennifer Thorvaldson, Troy Bauder and Reagan Waskom. 2009 Public Perceptions, Preferences and Values for Water in the West: A survey of western and Colorado residents. Colorado Water Institute. Special Report 209. February. Available at: http://www.cwi.colostate.edu/publications/sr/17.pdf
- Pritchett, J. 2009. Public Attitudes and Values on Water Development, Conservation, Use and Reuse. Colorado Water Congress Annual Convention. Denver, CO. 29 January 2009. 125 in attendance.
- Pritchett, J. 2009. Public Perceptions, Preferences, and Values for Water in the West. Colorado Water Institute Spring Seminar Series. Fort Collins, CO. 19 February 2009. 6 in attendance.
- Pritchett, J. 2009. Competition for Colorado Water: Balancing Ag and Urban Needs. Keynote Address. Colorado Big and Small Crops and Livestock Business Conference. 20 February 2009. 120 in attendance.
- Thorvaldson, J., J. Pritchett, A. Bright and C. Goemans. 2009 Water Use, Sharing, and Willingness to Pay: A Survey of Western Households. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics. Under Review.
- Thorvaldson, J., J. Pritchett, A. Bright, A. Shortsleeve, C. Goemans. 2009. Water Use in the Western U. S. Household Knowledge, Priorities and Willingness-to-Pay. USCID Fifth International Conference: Irrigation and Drainage for Food, Energy and the Environment. Salt Lake City, UT. November 5, 2009.
|
Progress 09/01/07 to 08/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Data Collection was conducted during the summer of 2008. Western households were surveyed to learn about preferences for water acquisition and use relative to other resources. The goal is to improve the ability of states and other agencies to meet growing water needs while remaining sensitive to public attitudes toward agricultural water use, rural communities, water re-use and conservation, and water pricing. This study focused on the seventeen westernmost states of the continental US. Region-wide research can allow for more accurate generalization of results across states within a region. Inclusion of a broader constituency ensures that traditional and nontraditional stakeholders are included in the process. Data were collected in two stages, a focus group stage in selected regions of the study area and household questionnaire developed and administered via the Internet. FOCUS GROUPS - Three focus groups were conducted; two technical focus groups and one nontechnical focus group. Participants in the technical focus groups were stakeholders focused on water administration, supply, conveyance and planning (e.g., representatives of the agricultural industry and policymakers related to agriculture and water). One desired outcome of this stage was the identification and prioritization of key issues related to water use, reuse, and security in the West. A second desired outcome was to determine important areas of focus for the internet questionnaire used in the second stage of the study. Participants in the non-technical focus group were members of the general public. Information gleaned from the non-technical focus group provided insight into the specific beliefs people have about each of the key areas identified from the technical focus groups, and further assisted in the design of the stage 2 survey questions. INTERNET SURVEY - The survey was developed by scientists at Colorado State University and administered by Survey Sampling International (SSI). An e-mail was sent to 203,750 randomly selected households throughout the 17 western states that included an invitation to participate in the survey and a link to the webpage on which the survey could be found, completed, and submitted. Of the 6,883 people who opened the initial e-mail, 6,250 completed the survey. Respondents came from all seventeen states in the study area. Demographic information was collected from survey respondents and compared to U.S. Census data for their state. For each of the 17 states and the western region as a whole, survey results were weighted according to gender, income, and population to reflect current demographics. As of 8/31/2008, limited reporting of activities had been conducted in the form of a National Facilitation Project Update held at the USDA-CSREES National Water Project Summer CSL Meeting in Boulder, CO. on July 10, 2008. PARTICIPANTS: The principal investigators in this study worked in consort in the planning, developing and administration of the study. In addition, two graduate students took the primary role of administering the focus group and internet survey stages and initial data analysis. They were Jennifer Thorvaldson, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Andrea Shortsleeve, MS candidate in the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources. TARGET AUDIENCES: Facilitating a western water resource dialogue and outreach will be achieved in the future by disseminating survey results to a number of stakeholders. This will include efforts to A) Collaborate with USDA-CSREES Water Quality Coordinators in the five Western EPA Regions to build regional capacity and provide agricultural water use research to assist regional water coordinators in planning appropriate outreach activities; B) Partner with Western Governors Association and Western States Water Council to address and communicate important water policy issues in the West, exchange ideas, positions and experiences with 17 Western Governors, build regional capacity, conduct research and disseminate findings, and build public understanding and support for regional water issues; C)Work with Family Farm Alliance to utilize agricultural water use and water policy research to ensure the availability of reliable, affordable irrigation water supplies to Western farmers and ranchers; D)Present findings at national meetings including the American Soil and Water Conservation Society annual meeting, the Western Resource Conservation and Development Annual meeting, the Western Agricultural Economics Association Meeting, the Colorado Water Congress, USDA-CSREES National Water Conference, Western Governors Association Conference, and the American Society of Agronomy; and E)Develop a comprehensive, geospatial website which serves as a clearinghouse to outline issues, project, and stakeholders related to survey. As of 8/31/2008, no results were available to report to the various stakeholders. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
As of the report date, no reporting of data to project stakeholders had taken place. Therefore, as of 8/31/2008, there were no substantive outcomes and impacts to report.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|