It will allow folks in watersheds to find out the status of their watershed situation anywhere in the country. This is the kind of technology that did not exist 20 years ago. There is no doubt that these new technical tools, whether in modeling or in the dissemination of information on the Internet, are important and are enabling us to get to the next level of watershed management in the United States. We must continue to invest in developing technical tools. But there is something even more important than technology, and that is the people in the watersheds.
People can identify with their community, with their watershed.
When you are in Baltimore and you mention the Chesapeake Bay, I don't think you will find many people who don't know what you are talking about and why it is important. People pay extra for those tags, and they appear all over in Baltimore and all over Maryland. In watershed management, we need to have the kind of buy-in and recognition that comes with public participation. It's a different kind of power from technology, but one that is just as important. This has been especially true in the last three years, since Watershed 93.