TY - JOUR T1 - <em>Pathways for Getting to Better Water Quality: The Citizen Effect</em>—A review JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 65A LP - 66A DO - 10.2489/jswc.66.3.65A VL - 66 IS - 3 AU - Robin Shepard Y1 - 2011/05/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/66/3/65A.abstract N2 - Pathways for Getting to Better Water Quality: The Citizen Effect Edited by Lois wright Morton, and Susan S. Brown 2011, Hardcover, 273 p. ISBN 978-1-4419-7281-1 Published by Springer Science+Business Media Wise natural resource management relies on the actions of an actual resource manager to make the most appropriate decision. The book Pathways for Getting to Better Water Quality: The Citizen Effect is about understanding the human dimension of managing natural resources. The book's central message is that the pathway to achieving better water quality is through citizen empowerment and human engagement at a watershed scale. As the book states, too often public sector watershed management strategies involve the physical and natural sciences while often overlooking the human factors that are required to stop a problem or correct degradation. Lois Wright Morton and Susan S. Brown begin with several broad overview chapters that offer social science theory and practical applications on citizen involvement. They build an initial foundation for the reader on the principles of empowerment and shared leadership aimed at engaging local citizens in collectively taking actions that address water resource issues. Much of the book features a compendium of case studies and applied examples from those involved in watershed projects who offer insights into how the citizens took charge of resource management at a watershed scale. Many of those chapters could be considered as stand-alone success stories told in… ER -