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Overview of Session/Background Information:

• Conservation practices are being scrutinized by multiple agencies, especially OMB, as to their effectiveness.  USDA funded the Conservation Effects Assessment Program (CEAP) to provide scientifically credible information on conservation practice effectiveness. This section will focus on policy issues that surround this effort.
• This session includes three presentations of synthesized findings from NIFA CEAP Watershed studies, a panel discussion among conservation and environmental leaders to address insights from the CEAP assessments relative to the reevaluation of agricultural policy and approaches for improved performance and outcomes of conservation practices, and posters on tools to aid in conservation practice implementation.
• Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP)
• NIFA Competitive Grant Watershed Studies
  

Deanna L. Osmond, North Carolina State University
Targeting Vulnerable Landscapes: Land Treatment and Modeling
Brief Bio: Deanna received her BS from Kansas State in agronomy and anthropology, her MS in soils from NC State University and her PhD from Cornell.  For the past 20 years she has worked at the interface of nutrient management and water quality at NC State University.

• Moderator: Jim Gulliford, Executive Director, Soil and Water Conservation Society
• Larry Elworth, USEPA
• Jerry Miller, representing Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU)
• Patty Lawrence, USDA-NRCS
• Craig Cox, Environmental Working Group
• Rich Duesterhaus, National Association of Conservation Districts

Poster #1: CEAP Synthesis: Analysis and Toolls for Selection of the Optimal Suite of Conservation Practices

Presenters: Jan Boll*, Erin Brooks, Zach Easton, Tammo Steenhuis, George Vellidis, Lyuba Kurkalova, JF Wulfhorst, Taeil Yang, University of Idaho

* Brief bio: Professor of Biological & Agricultural Engineering, Director of Waters of the West Program, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-2605. PhD 1995 Cornell University; MS 1988 Agricultural University of Wageningen, the Netherlands; MS 1988 University of Idaho; BS Agricultural University of Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Poster #2: eRAMS: a Web Technology for End-to-End Conservation Planning

Presenter: Mazdak Arabi, Colorado State University

Brief Bio: Mazdak Arabi an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CSU focusing on watershed planning and management. In 2005, he obtained a PhD degree from Purdue University, where he developed a multi criteria decision tool for cost-effective implementation of conservation practices for sediment, nutrient, and pesticide control at the watershed scale. Mazdak is interested in the strong interplay between social, economic and environmental criteria in the decision making process. A manifestation of such interactions presents itself in the design and implementation of conservation practices (i.e., BMPs) for nonpoint source pollution control. His research, teaching, and extension activities hinge on development of easy-to-use decision support systems that will assist policy makers and conservationists in selecting strategies that are economically feasible, environmentally friendly, and will also sustain their benefits under the changing climatic and land use conditions.

Poster #3: CEAP Watershed Assessment Studies: Advancing the Science for Conservation Assessment at the Watershed-Scale

Presenter: Lisa Duriancik, USDA-NRCS

Brief Bio: Lisa Duriancik, with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Resource Assessment Division, has been the the Coordinator for the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) for 3.5 years. Prior to joining NRCS, Lisa worked for USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) (now NIFA) for 5 years, where she managed competitive grant programs and provided national leadership for water resource, conservation, and air quality issues. Lisa has nearly 20 years of experience working to address the soil and water quality impacts of agricultural ecosystems. She earned a Master of Science in Environmental Science with a focus on soil ecology in 2001 from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies (1993) from Allegheny College, Meadville, PA.