Natural Resources Conservation Service

United States Department of Agriculture

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Watershed Studies

About the Studies

Small watershed case studies are being conducted to complement the national assessment. These studies will provide in-depth assessments of water quality and other benefits at a finer scale than is possible for the National Assessment. Presently there are three CEAP watershed categories:

ARS Benchmark Watersheds. These Agricultural Research Service watershed studies will provide information needed to verify the accuracy of models used in the National Assessment. Fourteen watersheds were selected with a focus on water and soil quality and water conservation as primary resource concerns on rain-fed agricultural land.
Special Emphasis Watersheds established by the Natural Resources Conservation Service address specific resource concerns, such as manure management from animal feeding operation and water use and conservation on irrigated cropland. Ten special emphasis watersheds were established in 2004, with work designated for completion in 2006 and 2007.
Competitive Grants Watersheds, established by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, will focus on understanding on how best to locate and sequence conservation efforts within a watershed in order to achieve locally defined water quality goals. Projects also addressed the human dimensions of conservation adoption, implementation and maintenance of practices as well as effective outreach techniques. Thirteen grants addressing croplands and pasture lands were awarded in 2004; in 2005; and in 2006. Two grants to synthesize the findings of the first 13 projects were awarded in 2007. Three project grants to study rangeland watersheds were awarded in 2008 followed by one project grant in 2009 for a total of four NIFA-CEAP rangeland watershed assessments.

Publications

The National Agricultural Library maintains a dynamic bibliography from 2003 to the present. These bibliographies produce automatically updating search results for articles and publications produced on findings from Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) supported studies. They include journal articles, reports and studies by CEAP scientists and researchers, fact sheets and the CEAP bibliographies.

Soil and Water Conservation Society — NIFA-CEAP Watershed Synthesis Study

As part of the CEAP Watershed Assessments, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and NRCS jointly funded 13 projects to evaluate the effects of cropland and pastureland conservation practices on spatial and temporal trends in water quality at the watershed scale. The new book, fact sheets, and webcast are available, August 2012

CEAP Special Issue of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation — Special Issue on CEAP Competitive Grant Watershed Projects

The November/December 2010 issue (Volume 65, Number 6) of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, published by the Soil and Water Conservation Society, is a special issue dedicated to CEAP competitive grant watershed projects. Features include an overview of the original 13 National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)-sponsored watershed assessment studies by Dr. Deanna Osmond of North Carolina State University, principal investigator for one of the two synthesis studies on the NIFA watershed studies. The issue also includes 12 research papers detailing findings from individual NIFA watershed assessment studies.

CEAP Special Issue of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation — Special Issue on ARS Competitive Grant Watershed Projects

The November/December 2008 issue (Volume 63, Number 6) of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, published by the Soil and Water Conservation Society, is a special issue dedicated to CEAP. Features include a special status report on the first five years of CEAP and an article by NRCS, ARS, and NIFA leadership outlining a new direction for CEAP. The 316-page issue includes 22 research papers detailing ARS watershed assessment studies and model development, plus a summary of the ARS scientific results to date. Two NRCS CEAP Special Emphasis Watersheds and one NIFA CEAP Watershed are also highlighted. The front section of the journal includes 12 articles on conservation policy, practice, and technology transfer related to CEAP.

These documents require Adobe Acrobat:

The first five years of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 63:6, pp. 185A-197A. November-December 2008 (PDF; 1.9 MB)
Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) Watershed Assessment Studies, December 2004 (PDF; 400 KB)

Locate the Watersheds

By map, click on the map for larger, clickable image:

Download this map: (PNG format; 3.5 MB) (PDF format; 2.3 MB)

By name of watershed:

By state:

Arizona
- San Pedro - Willcox
- Santa Cruz
Arkansas
- Lincoln Lake
California
- Stemple Creek
Georgia
- Little River - ARS | NIFA
Idaho
- Paradise Creek
- Upper Snake Rock
Indiana
- Eagle Creek
- St. Joseph River
Iowa
- North Walnut Creek
- Sny Magill Creek
- South Fork of the Iowa River
- Walnut Creek
Kansas
- Cheney Lake - NIFA | NRCS
Maryland
- Choptank River - ARS | NRCS
Michigan
- Upper Tiffin
Mississippi
- Beasley Lake
- Goodwin Creek
- Yalobusha River
Missouri
- Goodwater Creek
- Salt River/Mark Twain
Nebraska
- High Plains Aquifer
New York
- Cannonsville Reservoir
- Town Brook
Ohio
- Rock Creek
- Upper Auglaize River
- Upper Big Walnut Creek
Oklahoma
- Upper Washita River
Oregon
- Lower Calapooia River
- Sprague River
- Wood River
Pennsylvania
- Spring Creek
Puerto Rico
- Jobos Bay
South Dakota
- Lower Bad River
Texas
- Cowhouse Creek
- Leon River
- North Bosque River
Utah
- Little Bear River
Washington
- Asotin Creek

Contact

Lisa Duriancik, NRCS