Results presented here may be used to better understand watershed community interests in the upcoming Action Plan. Obviously, a great deal of information has already been gathered from agency staff, town planners, and Council members, but a coherent and organized method of ranking had yet to be established. Which 14 topics and over 60 issues, we run the danger of spreading our resources too thin and not being able to implement significant and meaningful projects. This project serves as a first step toward an informed ranking of watershed topics and issues.

Problems and inconsistencies in the prioritization methodology may limit the confidence with which one can claim a real survey prioritization of watershed issues. The lack of statistical robustness means that basing solid policy decisions on survey results is unrealistic. (See Analysis-- Sensitivity for further discussion.)

However, DEM could compensate for this by considering findings from the survey as guidelines for completion of the Action Plan, informed by background and technical experience. The results and methodology should be transparent to other watershed organizations wishing to experiment with the process, improve, or expand it.

The ethics of soliciting public participation (and the entire purpose for doing so) require not just consideration and respect for opinions expressed therein, but implementation of overriding goals. (See Public participation-- Role in the watershed approach)