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FINDINGS RESULTING FROM THE PLANNING WORKSHOP Over the course of the w('(Ok-long plmming worb/lOp. dozens of comments, suggestions. and wislu?s were voiced by the ciliulIS of tilt' Vermillion Rasin, its eJected and appoi",ed officials. alld tfle professional and technical personnel who participated. Most of these observations had to do with wlr;olls tlSpects of flooding and with the overall quality o[life ill the basin. By the end of the week, it was possible to figure out which auiWdt'S, desires, ami ideas were t1greed to by all the planning teams. I1w fi\/(' jindingslisted below arc IhOSt' thar CIlme up agai" and again in discussions during the workshop. 1 The Vermillion Basin's flood problems are very complex. Because there is no single cause for the flooding. the residents of the Basin do not believe that a single measure can stop it, or solve the many djfferent kinds of problems it causes. It therefore makes sense to use a comprehensive (multi-objective) approach-attacking the flooding and other problems from many angles. 2 The residents of the Vermillion Basin are deeply concerned about the quality of the Basin's surface water and groundwater. They want to protect their remaining wet- lands, restore degraded ones, and create new wetlands and riparian habitat. 3 There appears to be a lack of awareness in the Basin about the relationship between flooding and other Basin problems and the fact that solutions to one problem can also solve another. Most people in the Basin are unaware ~ of the wide array of technical assistance and funding available through both government agencies and private organizations. 4 The residents of the Ver~i1Iion Basi.n want to encourage economIc opportum- ties compatible with the regional economy and the rural atmosphere. They do not want economic development to take place at the expense of the Basin's natural, historic, or cul- tural resources. . 5 Coordination among the governmental bodies that deal with various aspects of flooding in the Vermillion Basin could be improved. Flooding and other water resources is.'iues should be managed holistically, recog- nizing the Basin as a single hydrologic unit, including tributaries and upper basin lakes. An independent authority that represents all citizens of the Basin equally is needed to man. age water issues. None of these five concerns can be resolved with a single, simple re5ponse. They underlie too many different issues simultane. ously for that to be possible. But partial solu- tions and varied ways to address these needs are touched upon at many points in the Multi- objective Flood Mitigation Plan. This interrela- tionship and complementarity is a prime rea- son for using multi--objective planning. Without that technique, too often these broad. less- easily-defined concerns get ignored or avoided.