Institutional readiness for integrated watershed management: The case of the Maumee river

Is there such a thing as “institutional readiness” for integrated watershed management? One element of readiness is the ability of managers with watershed-related responsibilities to identify the policy and management objectives of potential partners. The geographic areas encompassed by large watersheds are under the overlapping jurisdictions of many agencies and organizations from each sector (public, non-profit, and private) as well as private landowners. Developing a watershed-based institutional atlas is a promising strategy for coping with this jurisdictional complexity. The authors examine the potential for developing such an atlas in the Maumee River watershed of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, and they assess other signals of readiness and partnerships in progress in the basin.