Context
The initial goal of the Devils River Watershed Project was to bring people from across the region together to identify shared priorities and needs. The first step to achieving this goal was to gather teams of technical experts to identify all that is known about the region. The next step is to include as many stakeholder voices as possible by inviting all members of the community to participate in a review process.
To ensure adequate stakeholder review, a jury of 12 stakeholders was selected in July 2024 to review the document at various stages of completion. The Stakeholder Jury is designed to ensure feedback is received from representatives of the various stakeholder groups, though all feedback from those involved in the region is welcome and will be taken into account during the development of this report.
Stakeholder Jury Members
Open Call (Now Closed)
An Open Call for volunteers to participate in the Stakeholder Jury was conducted and Jurors were selected in July 2024 through a live, random drawing to ensure that stakeholder voices have vetted what we’re putting forward and are represented in the final report.
The final selection will be listed upon confirmation from all selected nominees.
For more information regarding the process for the Volunteer Stakeholder Jury, please review our Stakeholder Jury FAQs.
Stakeholder Review Timeline
June and July
Friday, June 28: Report Draft to be Shared with all Stakeholders.
Wednesday, July 3: State of the Devils Symposium Part I (Virtual Webinar – register here!) Technical teams will present the report content to stakeholders. Questions from stakeholders will be collected.
Wednesday, July 24: Random lottery will take place to identify 11 jurors. A randomized drawing will occur until the following criteria are met (unless no volunteers are received in any given category).
Thursday, July 25: State of the Devils Symposium Part II (In-Person, Del Rio – register here!) Stakeholders will have opportunities to ask questions and share in discussions around any issues of interest. Feedback from stakeholders will be collected.
August and September
Thursday, August 15: One-day Jury Meeting for Report Feedback (all stakeholders welcome).
Friday, August 23: Deadline for Stakeholders Feedback on the Report.
Friday, September 20: Tech Teams deadline to update the Report following Stakeholder feedback and submit their Final Drafts back to the Meadows Center.
Monday, September 30: The Meadows Center will share the Revised Draft back to Stakeholders for another month of review.
Tuesday, October 1: Virtual Webinar presentation of Updated Report Draft.
October and November
Week of October 14: The jury convenes to review all stakeholder feedback and incorporates it into a final Stakeholder Chapter that considers whether a consensus around a potential vision statement and priorities for future watershed coordination can be identified. Any resulting areas of consensus would be added to the State of the River Report as an optional Stakeholder Chapter.
November 1: All final content due to the Meadows Center for incorporation into the report.
December
December 1: One week release of final draft for final final final review.
December 8: All final content due to the Meadows Center for incorporation into the report.
December 13: Final Report, including any Stakeholder Chapter, will be delivered to the Devils River Conservancy via email.
Draft #1 Released June 28, 2024
For a printed copy of the report, contact Carrie Thompson via email at carriethompson@txstate.edu, or submit a contact form.
On July 3, 2024, the Devils River Watershed Project held a Virtual Symposium open to the public. During this virtual event, each Technical Team presented an overview of their respective research area within the report. To view all presentations in order, please follow the link to the playlist.
FAQs
We are committed to earning your trust and facilitating a transparent, objective, adaptive, data-driven process that delivers the information needed to navigate the decisions and challenges facing the Devils River and those who care for it.
What is a Stakeholder Jury?
A “stakeholder jury” is a group of people randomly selected by lottery from a pool of willing stakeholders to deliberate on important questions and collaboratively develop recommendations.
Like an advisory board, or a public meeting, a stakeholder jury is used to approximate the representation of diverse voices in a community decision making process and to ensure that the process ….(puts people at the center of governance, is open and fair).
As a tool, the jury views stakeholders as the fixers of problems and puts everyday folks at the center of decision-making.
This stakeholder engagement model, also called “Citizen Assembly”, is being used throughout the world to better engage local voices in key decisions that affect their communities.
Juror selection is randomized to ensure … This Jury DOES NOT replace the need for broader stakeholder feedback, it just ensures that we get some stakeholder feedback.
Why hold a Stakeholder Jury?
The use of a Jury here is a safety net, only. A jury ensures that we have a guaranteed panel of reviewers with diverse perspectives who will commit the time to provide a thoughtful review of the information presented by technical experts.
While our goal would be to have every person in the watershed participate in the review and development of this report, given the time commitment needed to participate and large size of the Devils River watershed, we’ve also had concerns that we might not be able to gather feedback in a manner that is fair and representative of the diversity of the region.
Who can be a Juror?
Anyone! We hope that anyone who resides in or does regular work in the watershed will apply (and still participate even if their name isn’t drawn for the Jury).
What is the role of a Juror?
Jurors must attend the State of the Devils Symposium and provide feedback on the report.
Jurors must also attend a one-day jury meeting to discuss potential themes that could go into a stakeholder chapter.
The overarching goal of the jury is to identify a potential vision statement for the stakeholder chapter about what stakeholders want to do in the future together.
How was the Stakeholder Jury selected?
The Meadows Center conducted an open call for nominations. The final list was selected at random in a live drawing from 17 nominees. The initial criteria are as follows:
- Five seats filled by land managers and to include representation from the Devils River Association, Devils River Conservancy, National Park Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and The Nature Conservancy.
- At least one seat is for the upper watershed (Crockett, Sutton, Schleicher).
- At least one seat is for a local government official.
- At least one seat is for a county government official.
- Three seats are for wild card stakeholders (e.g. recreationist, landowner, agency member, etc., anyone!)
- The “Foreman” role will be served by Romey Swanson of the Devils River Conservancy, Project Sponsor, to ensure continuity with any future efforts that the group may wish to consider.
The several categories were not fulfilled based on the pool of nominees, though the seats were filled to ensure adequate review.
What if I am not on the Jury, does my voice still count?
The jury is not superior to other stakeholders, and stakeholders not participating in the jury process will still be able to express their feedback.
We are committed to gathering all feedback and making sure every stakeholder feels heard. The jury is simply a tool to ensure that stakeholder engagement and participation occurs.
If the drawing for Jurors is random, how will you ensure that the jury isn’t biased toward one interest or another?
For our project, we’ll be using a hybrid approach in which we have goals for a representative jury consisting of the following makeup: 6 seats for land managers which must include representation from the Devils River Association, Devils River Conservancy, National Park Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and The Nature Conservancy; 1 seat for a stakeholder from the upper watershed (Crockett, Sutton, or Schleicher Counties); 1 seat for a local government official; 1 seat for a county government official; and 3 seats for wildcards (e.g., recreationist).
Once we have all the volunteer names in the hat, we’ll draw at random until the 11 seats are filled – redrawing names for each category until there are no more volunteers that fit a specific category. For example, if we wanted 2 astronauts on the jury, but only had one volunteer that was an astronaut, we’d draw names until the first astronaut’s name was assigned to seat 1 and then allow a random name to take seat 2.
Will this “Jury” have a “Foreman”?
Yes! In a sense. We have asked Romey Swanson to serve in the role of “Foreman”.
A Jury Foreman acts as the leader and spokesperson for the Jury. A Jury Foreman is responsible for ensuring the process is fair and everyone voices their opinions.
What is the Stakeholder Chapter?
The Stakeholder Chapter will reflect the interests, goals, needs, and challenges stakeholders are facing in the region.
This may also include identified approaches to tackling specific issues, and key next steps.
There will be no forced consensus among the jury and participating stakeholders.
The jury is randomly selected to represent a diverse range of views and ensures all of us have a place in public decision-making.