ABSTRACT
T HE SUWANNEE RIVER PARTNERSHIP began in 1998 as a government-led voluntary effort by agricultural producers and conservation groups to avert a water quality crisis through incentive-based reduction of nutrient discharges. With key stakeholders reluctant to participate and their scope of authority constrained by legislation, the water managers designed a process that integrated scientific knowledge and won a high level of voluntary participation by large agricultural producers. The case illustrates the difficulty of obtaining full representation in consensual ad hoc policymaking, but shows the value of collaborative scientific fact finding, and may serve as a model for promoting public learning.
