Participant Feedback

The following are direct quotes from local groups who have received assistance from WSN trainers:

"The strategic planning workshop gave us the tools to restructure and plan our work at the Molycorp Superfund site, and in the Questa community, for the long term. For the short term, the workshop helped the group bond and rededicate for what will be many years of work." - Hope Buechler, Rio Colorado Reclamation Committee, NM.

"The fundraising training will give us a fundraising plan that involves board and staff. We did CWA training last year which helped us pull in volunteers. The River Alliance benchmarking program has helped us stay focused on our most pressing issues." - Lynn Broaddus, Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers, WI.

"We are much better organized and are more financially sound than ever before. Membership has grown and a few more leaders have surfaced. Our projects have grown in scope and participation." - John Roberts, Friends of the Branch River, WI.

"The training helped us to move towards development of a work plan and a project-based budget that we now use as guides for our work to keep us on track with expenditures and on schedule with our projects." - Laura England, Friends of Lake Wingra, WI

"We are better able to plan our monitoring activities, analyze data, and coordinate with other groups. Also we can track our membership and donations more effectively". - Rob Buirgy, Big Thompson Watershed Forum, CO.

"It has helped make the Coalition for the Valle Vidal a strong, grassroots effort with media skills." - Jennifer Goldman, Oil and Gas Accountability Project.

"Lots of great ideas and new software from volunteer recruitment and water quality trainings! I've used a lot of what I learned already." - Teresa Steely, North Fork River Improvement Association, CO.

"I believe our existence as an organization would not be possible with out the training I received from the River Network, the Ohio Watershed Academy, the OEC and River Rally." - Kathleen Bradley, Rocky River Watershed Council, OH.

"Several of us attended a fundraising seminar sponsored by Amigos Bravos in June. The program was very good and it helped us see what we could do with the organization. We need to build the infrastructure and develop more leaders to put the lessons of that program into effect." - Kevin Reilly, Truchas Chapter, Trout Unlimited.

"The CWA training helped us understand the water quality standards in our watershed." - Rio Pueblo de Taos Watershed Group

"We received financial assistance to hire Conservation Impact to analyze our "position" in our community. The process and the analysis from Conservation Impact has helped us re-focus and work towards re-positioning us in the valley." - Wendy McDermott, High Country Citizen's Alliance, CO.

"We participated in the workshop on watershed monitoring and assessment within the regulatory framework. This excellent workshop was very timely for us as an organization since we were just starting to evaluate our water quality monitoring program. The workshop jumpstarted this effect and now, only a few months later, we have revamped our program for the better." - Rick Lofaro, Roaring Fork Conservancy, CO

"The training got me thinking about longer term goals and strategies for the group, and what the data can be used for. Prior to this, I focused mainly on recruiting, training, and fielding a good group of people to collect samples 3 days a year." - Deborah Bledsoe, Subterranean Watershed Watch, KY.

"The assistance helped us to understand how and why our river is polluted and also helped us draft our watershed restoration action strategy." - Kathleen Bradley, Rocky River Watershed Council, OH

"The consulting has helped us keep afloat as a group". - Hope Buechler, Rio Colorado Reclamation Committee, NM.

"The training session on the Outstanding National Resource Waters program was excellent and helped get us started on such designation for the Rio Guadalupe." - Ron Loehman, New Mexico Trout