CriteriaYesNoEffectiveness of CVC 1. Continuity of Participation4100% 2. Representation and Access3175% 3. Self Efficacy4100% 4. Information Exchange and Learning4100% 5. Decision Making Authority4100% Establishing Evaluation Criteria for Effective Landowner Stewardship Within the Credit River Watershed E. Agro, J. Chambers, M. Hoculik, S. Johns, E. Leslie, J. Lintern, A. Vallarino Results Lacking evaluation guidelines for private landowner stewardship programs, the project examines common techniques within the literature to evaluate and qualify these programs. Five indicators adapted from participatory democracy evaluation were used to create a survey aimed at evaluating stewardship. The survey was subjected to a trial run with a private landowner steward. Subsequently, suggestions for improvement were made. Faculty of Environmental Sciences University of Guelph April 2009 Goal Statement Methods Figure 1: Credit River Watershed. Source: CVC Acknowledgements 1. Parrella Annual Review of Entomology, 32: Murphy Personal communication. 3. Jones et al California Agriculture, 40: Legin & Broadbent. Unpublished data. Discussion Abstract Background To create criteria for evaluating effective stewardship on a private land owner level. These criteria will then be used to create an evaluation survey which can be given to private landowners. Information gained from the completion of the surveys will be used to give suggestions for improvement to CVC’s current stewardship programs. Problem Statement Credit Valley Conservation evaluates their stewardship practices on an ecological basis Current evaluations do not assess private landowner stewardship success A method for assessing stewardship program effectiveness with regards to participation, satisfaction This project focuses on developing a necessary framework of analysis to complete the assessments Figure 2: Methods Process Map Credit Valley Watershed covers 1500 km 2 Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) est to protect environmental integrity Outreach into the community through Conservation Youth Corps, volunteer programs and partnerships Public and private land stewardship projects CVC’s main program is the tree planting program. The program is advantageous because it has diverse benefits such as improving water quality, acting as a carbon reservoir, creating wildlife habitat, and furthering outdoor recreational options Suggest that landowners partake in the Ontario Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program and the Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program CVC also has a Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide this is a tool for education, planning and land assessment Table 1: Results of Preliminary Test Survey Vision and Values Organizations need a clear vision, mission, and goals that are reflected in the organizations’ activities and values Community Engagement Organizations understand the needs of their communities and adapt their conservation priorities accordingly Sustainability Organizations demonstrate long-lasting impact by soliciting funds from a variety of sources Partnership-BuildingOrganizations value and nurture collaboration with a variety of partners Leadership and Commitment Organizations have diverse boards and effectively recruit and retain both staff and volunteers Risk Management and Evaluation Organizations are able to demonstrate measurable outcomes to their constituents and are able to identify and deal with risk in a strategic way. Table 2: Key Indicators of Effective Stewardship Creation of Project Newsletter would increase success in Representation and Access Positive present in preliminary survey results is attributed to participants long relationship with CVC Initial Survey results demonstrate ease of participant use Further recommendations include improved circulation