TO: All Interactive Watersheds web site discussion group members.

(Potomac Watershed Partnership, Conasauga River Alliance, Coalition for the
Upper
South Platte, Upper Sevier River Community Watershed Project, and Pit River
Watershed Alliance.)

I think I have sent a personal message to individuals involved in the
maintenance of
each Interactive Watershed web site project to explain that there is a lot of
value to
these discussion groups. The one now existing on each web site should be
available
for web site users who want to join in the discussion in the future. It is also
pretty
easy to create another discussion group for your steering committee and others
that
you need to have regular communication with. To create another group for your
organizational use I will need your help. Please contact me if and when you
want to
do this.

For your information the National Association of RC&D Councils has developed one
of
these Yahoo discussion groups and I get interesting messages from them almost
every day. The web site address for their Yahoo home page is below. They have
543
members who have joined:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NARCDC/

I am also involved in dozens of other similar and interesting discussion groups.
Just
one, for example that allows people to organize hikes, outings and photographic
trips
near Boise, Idaho has 428 members. They have many messages a week and it is
really
exciting to see the kinds of "community" exchanges of ideas that show up. I
really
believe that it is possible for the Conasauga River Alliance Bulletin Board to
develop a
similar kind of communication dialogue and exchange of ideas for volunteer
projects,
photography trips to watershed restoration sites, etc., etc., etc., in the
future. For
your information I will give you the address of the Idaho Outdoors discussion
Group
mentioned above:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/idahooutdoors/

I hope these links helps everyone see the potential growth and use of these
discussion groups. Please join the specific Interactive Watershed discussion
groups
you are interested in and also please encourage others to use these discussion
groups
as well.

Thanks,

Gary Grimm
A Discussion Group Moderator