The Watershed Approach: Demonstration of the Effectiveness of a Systemic and Strategic Approach to Nutrient Management in Priority HUC-12 Watersheds

Nutrient exports from agricultural landscapes are contributors to hypoxic zones in the Gulf of Mexico, Western Lake Erie Basin and elsewhere. The goal of this project is demonstrate and document how NRCS and partners can design and implement a systems approach to agricultural conservation that builds upon and connects current efforts to achieve greater water quality improvements. The value of organizing conservation efforts at a watershed scale will be demonstrated, as it bridges the field and farm scale of traditional conservation efforts with the community and/or regional scales at which drinking water impairments and downstream hypoxia must be solved. This is a systemic and strategic approach at a larger scale, which is better suited to addressing larger water quality challenges. In addition, by incorporating downstream practices that can improve the storage and management of water, such an approach creates increased resiliency to drought and flood, helping producers cope with climatic variability.