Effective stakeholder education and involvement provides opportunities for identifying public concerns and values, developing consensus, and producing efficient solutions. Ideally, an event should incorporate multiple types of involvement (e.g., a watershed tour that also functions as a public meeting).

There are three critical types of involvement:

• Public Education: Building awareness about watershed issues and potential strategies.
• Public Participation: Gathering meaningful input via workshops, tours, and meetings.
• Public Relations: Building political and local support for the WRAPS development.

A “stakeholder” is anyone who lives or works in the watershed and has an interest in the outcome. This includes rural landowners, producers, urban residents, businesses, and local governments.

Project Cooperators: It is also helpful to identify agencies or individuals (“movers and shakers”) who have demonstrated leadership in environmental issues, such as the local Chamber of Commerce, Farm Bureau, or Extension agents.

Stakeholder interest is highest when natural resource protection is linked to economic livelihood or quality of life (e.g., drinking water, recreation, tourism).

How to determine interest: Host public meetings, watershed tours, or meet one-on-one with key stakeholders to gauge their willingness to support the WRAPS process.

Gather existing data from available sources, including:

• KDHE: Watershed Evaluations and TMDL reports.
• Kansas Water Office: Kansas Water Plan and archived basin plans.
• Biological Survey / Wildlife & Parks: Natural resource inventories and surveys.
• Local Government: Land use plans, zoning maps, and sourcewater assessments.
• Conservation Districts: County nonpoint source management plans.

Local stakeholders typically have extensive knowledge about local conditions. Meeting formally or informally with them is crucial to identifying the unique concerns that should be addressed in the WRAPS.

A local core planning group (5–12 members) is needed to guide the process. This team should include a mix of stakeholders, cooperators, and agency staff.

Local Host Entity: It is helpful to recruit an organization (e.g., Conservation District, Extension Office, or Rural Water District) to provide administrative support, accounting, and meeting space.

Commitment can be formal or informal. Examples include:

• Approaching local boards (municipalities, watershed districts) to pass a resolution of support.
• Asking organized groups (Farm Bureau, civic clubs) to designate a representative for the Leadership Team.
• Asking partners to “sign on” as cooperators for publicity materials.

The final outcome is a report that identifies:

• Who the stakeholders are and how interest was generated.
• Information/Education activities provided.
• Summaries of known watershed information and local concerns.
• Members of the Leadership Team and level of stakeholder commitment.