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Network History

The Birth of NEMO

The original NEMO Program, still going strong after 14 years, was created in 1991 at the University of Connecticut as a partnership between the Cooperative Extension System, the Connecticut Sea Grant College Program and the Natural Resources Management and Engineering Department. The initial goal was to help three Connecticut coastal towns address nonpoint source pollution in order to better protect the water quality of Long Island Sound. It evolved into a statewide program that uses geographic information system (GIS) images of natural resources and remote sensing-derived images of land cover to help local decision makers understand the connection between the decisions they make and the quality of their water (and other) resources.

Because land use issues are complex, multifaceted and often political, the program coordinators found that there is no substitute for the give-and-take of direct communication with local officials. Thus, although the use of remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies are often important elements of NEMO educational programs, the basic approach remains face-to-face workshops for local officials.

A Network Forms

By 1995, Connecticut NEMO staff began to conduct workshops to help their colleagues in other states plan, organize and initiate their own NEMO adaptations. By 1997, with the number of NEMO programs growing and with the advice of an Interagency Work Group that included USDA, NOAA, EPA and NASA, the idea of a national network began to take hold. By October 2000, 15 NEMO programs from across the country met for the first time to share experiences and expertise, and to discuss ways to better collaborate. It was during this first NEMO conference, dubbed NEMO University or “NEMO U,” that the National NEMO Network was truly founded.

Shared Values

While institutional leadership, geographic coverage, topical focus, methodology, funding and staffing vary from state to state, all Network programs share these few key elements:

• The impact of land use on water resources is the issue
• Education is the method
• Local land use decision-makers are the target audience
• Natural-resource based planning is the solution offered
• Geospatial Technology is used to enhance the education.