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Over the last decade, new governance-style, collaborative approaches to environmental management have increased exponentially. What is not well known is how the structure of these partnerships, particularly the policies that foster their development, may contribute to theʼ ability to achieve either procedural or substantive policy goals. Our study investigated efforts in the States of Washington and Oregon to encourage the development of collaborative watershed management institutions. Thirtyfive watershed partnerships were examined to understand how the planning groups implement policy objectives and how partnerships are creating or modifying institutions for planning and implementation. Our findings suggest that both States face similar challenges in important respects. Challenges include obtaining adequate participation, developing and sustaining organizational capacity, and planning implementation. Together, these findings demonstrate that new governance strategies are not a panacea for water management.