Good morning, my name is James Davenport, representing the Nation Association of Counties on behalf of Charlie Hunsicker, Ecosystems Administrator from Manatee County, FL. He is very sorry he could not be with you today but he was involved in wetland workshop in Denver, Co but he is taking the redeye flight to be with us tomorrow. The National Association of Counties (NACo) was created in 1935. NACo is an advocacy organization representing the nation's 3,068 counties. NACo's membership totals over 1,800 counties, representing over 75 percent of the nation's population.

NACo, the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States, NACo is a full-service organization that provides an extensive line of services including legislative, research, and technical as well as public affairs assistance to its members. NACo is involved in a number of special projects that deal with such issues as the environment, sustainable communities, volunteerism and intergenerational studies.

County officials and their staffs also participate through NACo's 28 Affiliates, Caucuses, and Committees. The Committees, whose members include county officials from every region of the country evaluate issues and policies which leads to the publication of the American County Platform. NACo uses as a guide to deliver county government's message to the Administration, Congress and the American public.

Today, I am here representing NACo on behalf of Mr. Charlie Hunsicker, Mr. Hunsicker is a member of the NACo Environment, Energy, and Land Use Steering Committee and various environmental subcommittees which address many environmental issues including: the preservation of water resources; use of land resources, comprehensive planning, coastal zone management, growth management, and other issues. Mr. Hunsicker is one of the charter member of NACo's Watershed Management Advisory Committee. The Watershed Management Advisory Committee (WMAC) is composed of elected and appointed county officials from the Environment, Energy, and Land Use Steering Committee and representatives from state associations of counties. The WMAC is a resource for NACo members on watershed management issues and produces publications on watershed issues.

The work of the advisory committee is important because it has provided NACo membership with an understanding of why watershed management is becoming a priority for local governments and what role counties can play in watershed management. The committee provides technical assistance such as best practices and watershed management training to its members. Importantly, the committee serves as a forum for county officials to communicate with state and federal officials on watershed matters and facilitates information exchange and dialogue among county officials, federal and state agencies, NGOs and professional associations involved in watershed issues. County officials are key players in making water management a reality, and their leadership role serves as a catalyst in bringing partners together to focus on watershed management. There are various case studies, report to be out by mid-summer, which highlight a wide variety of tools and techniques counties are using to address watershed management issues. The case studies describe how some counties are using broad regional approach while other are targeting specific problems within their watersheds. Cases studies of multi-county and state-wide efforts, such as the Tampa region and County Commissioners of Georgia, provide models for broader watershed efforts. In all the cases documented, the counties played a leadership role to address the problems in protecting their watershed. Local and county government officials must have access to accurate water data in order to assess many impacts to its local watershed and drinking water resources and plan ahead in addressing those impacts.

This meeting today and tomorrow is an important opportunity to our members. The objectives of the ACWI being to provide water-information users and professionals, such as NACo members and other membership organizations, the opportunity to advise the Federal Government on the effectiveness of meeting the Nation's water-information needs. Charlie believes it is important that the partnership between our members, federal government, and all the organizations be strengthened; maintaining adequate and accurate water quality information to our members to properly plan for the future.

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