2005 Conservation Partnership Initiative Awards

Watershed Conservation Resource Center
Arkansas -- $150,300

"West Fork White River Watershed: Restoration of Priority Reaches"

The West Fork White River (WFWR) is a major tributary of Beaver Lake, the primary drinking water source for over 300,000 people in Northwest Arkansas.  The WFWR is on the Arkansas 303(d) list of impaired waters due to high turbidity levels and excessive sedimentation.  This effort will develop a watershed and community-based plan to address streambank erosion in the WFWR watershed to target a small number of priority reaches.  Agricultural land, which comprises 29% of the WFWR watershed, both impacts and is impacted by accelerated streambank erosion.  Agricultural producers will be engaged to assist with the development of the watershed plan, and eventual implementation of practices to restore priority reaches.

Pit Resource Conservation District
California -- $72,652

"Cooperative Sagebrush Steppe Restoration Initiative"

The past 130 years has seen a ten-fold expansion of the range of the invasive Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) in California.  Thick stands of juniper alter the natural state of sagebrush steppe ecosystems by out-competing native vegetation and altering hydrologic conditions to the point of creating substantial wildfire concerns.  Resource agencies largely agree that invasive juniper has had deleterious impacts on sage grouse, mule deer, elk and sand hill crane habitat.  The ultimate goal of this initiative is the eventual restoration of sagebrush steppe ecosystems through the removal of invasive western juniper and application of adaptive management techniques.  Some producers have attempted juniper removal and restoration techniques without the benefit of valuable natural resource information and treatment alternatives.  The planning phase of this project is designed to engage producers and other partners to share information, acquire data and develop the proper prescriptions for habitat restoration.

  Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission 
 Georgia -- $150,000

"Nutrient Transfer for Water Quality Protection in the

Upper Chattahoochee River Watershed"

The Upper Chattahoochee River (UCR) watershed is a critical resource which provides potable water, waste assimilation, and recreation to North Georgia.  The metropolitan Atlanta region depends on the watershed for 80% of its water supply needs.  Phosphorus is the primary water quality concern in the UCR.  Animal operations are estimated to be an important contributor to phosphorus loadings in the watershed.   A recent analysis indicates a severe imbalance between phosphorus generation and use, and a high risk of water quality impairment in the UCR.  This project will create a nutrient transfer incentive program in the state of Georgia to facilitate the movement of animal waste nutrients out of this watershed to watersheds in Georgia with nutrient-poor soils.  Each ton of litter transferred will remove approximately 50 pounds of phosphorus that would otherwise have been land-applied in the watershed. 

 Unity Barn Raisers
 Maine -- $178,185

"Unity Wetlands Farm Conservation"

The Unity Wetlands is a highly sensitive natural area that is of statewide importance and contains approximately 50,000 largely undeveloped acres and several rare and threatened plants and animals.  The area includes wetlands, woodlands, and working farms.  This area is economically distressed but maintains a critical mass of farm activity.  This effort is designed to engage producers in a locally-led planning process that will result in a comprehensive and innovative conservation plan for the Unity Wetlands area.  The project's goal of protecting and improving the Unity Wetlands natural area will be realized through adoption of farm practices that simultaneously enhance the environment and improve farm viability. 

Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources
Minnesota --  $200,000

"Working Lands for Wildlife and Water Quality: Leveraging Conservation Dollars in the Zumbro River Watershed"

The Zumbro River watershed is a major 8-digit HUC watershed in the Upper Mississippi River basin. Changes in agricultural land uses have led to increasing degradation of major segments of the Zumbro River due to excessive sedimentation and high fecal coliform levels.  Unless strong steps are taken to change prevailing land management practices, many tributaries to the Zumbro are likely to be designated as impaired waters.  The goal of this effort is to reduce sedimentation into the Zumbro River in order to improve water quality and aquatic habitat.  The watershed is home to over 57 miles of productive trout streams.  The initial phase of the project will engage agricultural producers to enhance the opportunity for success through eventual implementation of the project plan.

North Central Mississippi Resource Conservation

and Development Council

 Mississippi -- $27,863

"Tippah Creek Kudzu Control"

The U.S. Congress listed kudzu as a federal noxious weed in 1998.  Kudzu is also listed as noxious weed in the state of Mississippi.  Recent changes in land use, including the conversion of crop and pasturelands to woodland and the planting of conservation buffers to trees, has greatly increased potential spread of kudzu in North Mississippi. Control of kudzu in Northern Mississippi has been considered too complex to address due to expansive coverage, rate of growth and mixed land ownership.  The North Central Mississippi Resource Conservation & Development Council (RC&D) has formed a coalition, which consists of state, local and federal agencies along with conservation groups to address the problem.  The Kudzu Coalition Partners have selected the Upper and Lower Tippah Creek Watersheds in Benton and Tippah Counties to develop a Tippah Creek Kudzu Control Plan.  The project plan will involve input from approximately 630 affected landowners, Soil & Water Conservation Districts, utility companies, state, local and federal agencies, and other conservation groups. 

 Center for Agricultural Partnerships

North Carolina --  $66,000

"Specialty Crop Growers, Integrated Pest Management,

 and Resource Conservation"

The Neuse River Basin is the third largest river basin in North Carolina.  The watersheds within the basin are particularly vulnerable to water quality degradation from nutrients and pesticides used in agricultural production.  Past water quality improvement efforts have addressed field crop production, but there has been no comparable effort for specialty crop (fruits and vegetables) producers in the Neuse Basin.  A comprehensive partnership effort targeting specialty crop producers will lay the foundation for the adoption of innovative practices to reduce nutrient and pesticide loadings to improve resource conservation.  In addition, this partnership may serve as a model for other groups of growers to engage in cooperative integrated pest management and resource conservation efforts through the Southeastern United States.

Pennsylvania State University, College of Agricultural Sciences
Pennsylvania --  $155,000

"Lancaster Farms: Finding Solutions to Nutrient Challenges"

Traditional approaches to agricultural conservation, which tend to rely on existing technologies and approaches and a farm-by-farm approach, have and continue to produce significant benefits around the country, but producers are being asked to address more and more challenging and complex environmental challenges. In watersheds and regions with an excess of agricultural nutrients, such as the Susquehanna River Basin in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, this approach is unlikely to get the job done on its own. In many priority areas, today’s conservation challenges have surpassed the ability of this traditional, farm-by-farm approach to meet environmental goals because individual farms cannot make enough gains on their own with existing tools. The proposed initiative will develop and demonstrate the benefits of leveraging new tools and technologies and more coordinated partnerships and strategies to advance efficient nutrient use both on-farm and countywide.

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