Publication Type: Oral Presentation
Abstract: Long-term drought coupled with continuous growth in the Southwest mandates the sustainability of water resources. Maintaining the quality and quantity of this resource is one of the most important and challenging issues facing the State of Arizona. To engage Arizona’s residents in addressing our state’s environmental concerns, the Arizona Master Watershed Steward (MWS) Program was established in 2003 by the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, in collaboration with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. The MWS Program educates and trains citizens across the state of Arizona to serve as volunteers in the protection, restoration, monitoring, and conservation of their local water and watersheds.

MWS courses are offered throughout Arizona in local county extension offices; the classes feature a uniform curriculum with University and local experts that tailor presentations to reflect local watershed issues. After completing 50 class and field hours, participants are expected to contribute 40 hours of stewardship to their community. Over the last four years, the MWS Program has trained over 300 volunteers who have contributed over 11,000 hours of volunteer service in various projects directed at both improving the state’s watersheds and educating local communities.

Master Watershed Stewards are utilized by federal and state agencies, watershed partnerships and other local environmental groups as trained volunteers. Most MWS-affiliated service is on-the-ground ecosystem restoration and monitoring to support management decisions (e.g. Tonto National Forest photo point monitoring), as well as public outreach campaigns to educate the general population about water quality and conservation issues in Arizona.