W190: Water Conservation, Competition and Quality in Western Irrigated Agriculture

(Multistate Research Project)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

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SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[06/18/2002] [12/18/2002] [12/15/2003]

Date of Annual Report: 06/18/2002

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/03/2001 - 10/06/2001
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2001 - 12/01/2001

Participants

Borda, Charles (cborda@do.usbr.gov) - U.S. Dept. of the Interior;
Buchleiter, Gerald - USDA ARS;
Cardon, Grant - Colorado State University;
Carson, Janet (mikejanet@aol.com);
Caswell, Margriet (mcaswell@ers.usda.gov) - USDA Economic Research Service;
Colby, Bonnie G. (bcolby@ag.arizona.edu) - University of Arizona;
Daugherty, LeRoy A. (ldaugher@nmsu.edu) - New Mexico State University;
Erwin, John (jerwin@tmwa.net) - TMWA;
Frasier, Marshall (mfrasier@lamar.colostate.edu) - Colorado State University;
Goldman, George (goldman@are.berkeley.edu) - "University of California, Berkeley";
Gollehon, Noel (gollehon@ers.usda.gov) - USDA ERS;
Gopalakrishnan, Chennat (chennat@hawaii.edu) - University of Hawaii at Manoa;
Grismer, Mark (megrismer@ucdavis.edu) - University of California-Davis;
Hamilton, Robert B. (rbhamilton@do.usbr.gov) - U.S. Bureau of Reclamation;
Hamilton, Joel (joelh@uidaho.edu) - University of Idaho;
Hansen, Kim (kim_hansen@fws.gov) - U.S. Fish and Wildlife;
Harman, Wyatte (harman@brc.tamus.edu) - Texas A&M Ag Exp. Station;
Howitt, Richard (rehowitt@ucdavis.edu) - University of California-Davis;
Huffaker, Ray (huffaker@wsu.edu) - Washington State University;
Hurd, Brian (bhhurd@nmsu.edu) - New Mexico State University;
Keith, John E. (jkeith@econ.usu.edu) - Utah State University;
King, Bradley (bradk@uidaho.edu) - University of Idaho;
Lacewell, Ron (r-lacewell@lamu.edu) - Texas A&M University;
Loomis, John B. (jloomis@ceres.agsci.colostate.edu) - Colorado State University;
McConnell, Lyman (lymanmcconnell@hotmail.com) - Manager TCID;
Michelsen, Ari M. (a-michelsen@tamu.edu) - The Texas A&M University System;
Miller, Glenn (gcmiller@scs.unr.edu) - Univesity of Nevada Reno;
Moeltner, Klaus (moeltner@cabnr.unr.edu) - University of Nevada Reno;
Myers, Tom (tom@greatbasinminewatch.org) - Great Basin Mine Watch;
Narayanan, Rang (rang@cabnr.unr.edu) - University of Nevada Reno;
ONeill, Michael P. (moneill@intranet.reeusda.gov) - USDA-CSREES;
Osgood, Daniel (deo@minu.arec.arizona.edu) - University of Arizona;
Peterson, Jeffrey (jpeters@ksu.edu) - Kansas State University;
Pettit, Paul (ppet1@nevada.newmont.com) - Newmont Mines;
Plume, Russ (rwplume@usgs.gov) - USGS;
Podmore, Terence (tpodmore@engr.colostate.edu) - Colorado State University;
Schaible, Glenn (schaible@ers.usda.gov) - USDA-ERS;
Schuck, Eric (eschuck@lamar.colostate.edu) - Colorado State University;
Shaw, Douglass (wdshaw@unr.edu) - University of Nevada Reno;
Singletary, Loretta (singletaryl@unce.unr.edu) - University of Nevada Reno;
Strain, Andrew - Heavenly Ski Area;
Supalla, Raymond J. (rsupalla@unl.edu) - University of Nebraska;
Taylor, R.G. (gtaylor@uidaho.edu) - University of Idaho;
Ward, Frank (frward@murphie.nmsu.edu) - New Mexico State University;

Brief Summary of Minutes

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Rang Narayanan at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, October 3, 2001. A gracious welcome was extended by David Thawley, Dean and Director, CABNR, University of Nevada-Reno. Guests were introduced and the minutes for the year 2000 meeting were approved. Chairman Rang explained the meeting agenda.

The first item of new business was agency reports. Mike ONeill, CSREES, reported on research needs in water quality and on CSREES expectations for regional projects. He emphasized the need for watershed scale research in water quality to integrate the extensive work on nutrients into a policy relevant framework. In terms of CSREES expectations, he emphasized the need for more detailed individual project statements and suggested that we emphasize what we have accomplished and what we plan to accomplish, including better reporting of work with public agencies and other clientele groups. Glenn Schaible, ERS, reported on the ERS seminar which was held in Washington, D.C. in June, and showcased W-190 research. Over 50 people from several agencies attended the seminar, and the feedback was very positive. LeRoy Daugherty, Administrative Advisor, discussed the changes in Appendices D and E, project statements and committee reporting. Of particular note is the fact that committee reports will henceforth be available on line.

Chennat Gopalakrishman reported on the forthcoming special issue of the International Journal of Water Resource Development, which will highlight work from W-190 on institutional innovations in water management. Papers for this issue will go to press in June 2002.

The remainder of Wednesday afternoon was spent in research reviews discussing W-190 project progress and future plans. Committee members met in study groups organized by research objective for about 1.5 hours and then reconvened as a full committee for a general discussion. Grant Cardon reported for Objective 1, Farm Level Technology; Ray Supalla reported for Objective 2, Regional Impacts and Policy Analysis; and Chennat Gopalakrishman reported on Objective 3, Institutional Research. The research reviews for each objective focused on knowledge sharing between the institutions involved in the project and on the identification of common needs. Most of the review time was devoted to exchanging ideas and research findings on how to solve water policy problems and meet clientele needs. Several participants emphasized the importance of having close links to decision makers and the need to work more closely with extension in order to enhance the impacts from on-going research. People working on Objectives 1 and 2 identified a common need for better data on agricultural production practices throughout the irrigated west.

The Thursday program consisted of eight presentations on Nevada water issues followed by a late afternoon and evening field trip to the Upper Truckee River Basin. Four persons addressed the hydrologic, environmental and economic aspects of mine dewatering, including: Paul Pettit, Newmont Mines, Elko, Nevada; Russel Plume, USGS, Carson City, Nevada; Tom Myers, Great Basin Mine Watch, Reno, Nevada; and Douglas Shaw, University of Nevada. An overview of the management of the Truckee-Carson River Basin was presented by Janet Carson, Westpac, sub- sidiary of Sierra Pacific Power Co.; John Erwin, Truckee Meadows Water Authority; Chester Buchanan, USFWS; and Chuck Borda, U. S. Bureau of Reclamation.

On Friday morning the first activity was a panel on Enhancing the Impact of Regional Projects, moderated by LeRoy Daugherty, Administrative Advisor. Panel speakers were: Ron Pardini, Associate Director, Nevada Ag Experiment Station; Janet Usinger, College of Education, University of Nevada; and Chennat Gopalakrishnan, University of Hawaii. Daugherty emphasized the growing importance of addressing the outcomes and impacts of research. Pardini discussed the research planning process and emphasized the importance of preparing plans of work, getting stakeholder input, incorporating multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary and multi-state dimensions and of integrating research and extension in project proposals. Usinger presented ideas on the preparation of impact statements. Gopalakrishnan suggested several ideas for improving regional research, including placing more emphasis on qualitative approaches to regional integration, innovative modeling that goes beyond cost-benefit analysis, greater emphasis on institutional analysis and more engagement with stakeholders.

The second Friday activity was a brief business meeting where the following decisions were made:

Glenn Schaible, ERS, was elected Secretary, with Ray Supalla, University of Nebraska, moving from Secretary to Vice Chairperson and Marshall Frasier, Colorado State University, moving from Vice Chair to Chairperson.

Year 2002 meeting date and place: Week of October 2-6

Coeur dAlene, Idaho

Subsequent meeting places: Hawaii, 2003

Fort Collins, 2004

The remainder of Friday was spent touring the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, hosted by Lyman McConnel, District Manager; and the Stillwater Wildlife Refuge, hosted by Kim Hansen, USFWS. Friday evening was devoted to a dinner cruise on Lake Tahoe and a discussion of Lake Tahoe procedures for managing economic and environmental concerns.

At the close of the meeting a special note of appreciation was extended to Rang Narayanan for an outstanding meeting, great hospitality and a extraordinarily well designed and organized tour.

Meeting adjourned: Friday, October 6, 2001, 11:00 pm.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Develop and assess technologies and management strategies for their potential to conserve water, improve water quality and enhance profitability in irrigated agriculture. Colorado has established a program to monitor and analyze the implications of soil salinization in the lower Arkansas basin, as farm management practices change in response to the Kansas v. Colorado compact dispute. Texas has found that the amount of N in runoff was minimized using a shallow soil, low N treatment and variable rate application. Texas researchers also found that a banding application of atrazine was more effective at reducing atrazine runoff than conservation tillage. Data collection and analysis will be continued in 2002 for each of these sub-projects. Objective 2: Develop and evaluate means for meeting state, regional and national policy goals for water supply, allocation and quality under available and emerging technologies and management strategies. State level work under this objective has focused on the economic implications of water reallocation, endangered species protection and water quality. Arizona researchers have estimated the economic benefits of more reliable instream flows to improve water quality, wildlife habitat and recreation. Research in Hawaii has addressed the state level economic impacts from using different institutional mechanisms for reallocating water supplies. Researchers in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona have estimated the foregone benefits of supplying water for endangered species. Research in Colorado and Wyoming and Nebraska continues to examine the effects of meeting endangered species requirements in alternative ways. Research in Nebraska and ERS on the dynamics of nitrate pollution and on the feasibility of manure disposal alternatives has produced several ideas for improving environmental policy. Especially pertinent was the ERS finding that 20 percent of manure nitrogen in the U. S. is produced in counties that do not have sufficient cropland for appropriate disposal, suggesting that policy options such as energy utilization may need to be developed. These sub-projects are generally in the publication phase with several recently completed publications and others in press. Objective 3. Evaluate alternative laws, institutions and mechanisms developed to promote and implement state, regional and national policies for water quality and supply allocation. Many W-190 research products ultimately impact society by catalyzing institutional change. Researchers in Washington State, Texas and Idaho have analyzed the links between water conservation, pricing policies and water laws. Arizona researchers have evaluated the net benefits of alternative institutions for promoting and implementing state, regional and national water policies. Institutional arrangements for resolving interstate water conflicts have been addressed by researchers in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico and Washington State. Nebraska has evaluated the use of auction markets and bargaining models as institutional mechanisms for resolving water allocation conflicts. California scientists have been using experimental economics and other innovative techniques to address ways of improving the design of water markets. During 2002 the results from much of this work, as well as part of Objective 2, will be summarized and published in a special issue of the International Journal of Water Resource Development. However, work is continuing in most states on specific institutional problems in water resource management.

Publications

Aillery, M., R. Shoemaker and M. Caswell. Agriculture and Ecosystem Restoration in South Florida: Assessing Tradeoffs from Water-Retention Development in the Everglades Agricultural Area, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 83, No. 1 (February 2001): 183-195. Caswell, M., K. Fuglie, C. Ingram, S. Jans and C. Kascak. Adoption of Agricultural Production Practices: Lessons Learned from the USDA Area Studies Project. Agricultural Economic Report No. 792, Economic Research Service, USDA, pp. 110. Colby, B. G. Resolving Interjurisdictional Disputes over Water and Environmental Quality, Water Resources Update 36, (2000). Colby, B. G. and T. P. dEstree. Economic Evaluation of Mechanisms to Resolve Water Conflicts, International Journal of Water Resource Development 16(2):239-251, 2000. Colby, B. G. and T. P. dEstree. Evaluating Market Transactions, Litigation and Regulation as Tools for Implementing Environmental Restoration, Arizona Law Review 42:381-394, 2000. Frisvold, G. and M. Caswell, Transboundary Water Management: Game-Theoretic Lessons for Projects on the U.S. Mexico Border, Agricultural Economics 24(2000):101-111. Gollehon, N. and M. Caswell. Confined Animal Production Poses Manure Management Problems. Agricultural Outlook, AGO-274, USDA/ERS, (September 2000): 12-18. Gollehon, N., M. Caswell, M. Ribaudo, R. Kellogg, C. Lander and D. Letson. Confined Animal Production and Manure Nutrients. Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 771, Economic Research Service, USDA. Hamilton, J. R., D. Huppert, K. Boire, K. Casavant, L. Peters, J. Richards, A. Scott and P. Sorensen, Economics of Water Acquisition Projects. Report of the Independent Economic Analysis Board to the NW Power Planning Council, December 2000. Note that the report includes an appendix Pacific Northwest Water Markets, Promise and Problems, by J. R. Hamilton. Howitt, R. E. Is Californias Future Hydraulically Sustainable? California Agriculture, (March-April) 2000, Vol. 54, 3:10-15. Huffaker, R. G. and N. K. Whittlesey. The Allocative Efficiency and Conservation Potential of Water Laws Encouraging Investments in On-Farm Irrigation Technology, Agricultural Economics 24(2000):47-60. Huffaker, R. G., A. Michelsen, J. Hamilton and M. Frasier. The Uneasy Hierarchy of Federal and State Water Laws and Policies, Water Resources Update (January 2001): 3-10. Huffaker, R. G., M. Frasier and J. Hamilton. The Intrastate-Trade-Restriction Defense in Commerce-Clause Challenges of State-Imposed Restrictions on Water Exports to Neighboring States, International Journal of Water Resources Development (June 2000):275-279. Huffaker, R. G., N.K. Whittlesey and J. Hamilton. The Role of Prior Appropriation in Allocating Water Resources into the 21st Century, International Journal of Water Resources Development (June 2000):265-275. Huffaker, R., A. M. Michelsen, J. Hamilton and M. Frasier. Western Water Allocation Issues Arising from the Hierarchy of International, Federal, State and Local Laws Regulating Water Transfer, Complexities With Transboundary Water Resource Management, Water Resources Update, 118:3-10, 2001. Kellogg, R. L., C. H. Lander, D. C. Moffitt and N. Gollehon. Manure Nutrients Relative to the Capacity of Cropland and Pastureland to Assimilate Nutrients: Spatial and Temporal Trends for the United States. Pub. No. nps00-0579, Natural Resource Conservation Service, USDA. Kim, C. S. and G. D. Schaible. Economic Benefits Resulting from Irrigation Water Use: Theory and an Application to Groundwater Use, Environmental and Resource Economics, Vol. 17, No. 1 (September 2000): pp. 73-87. Michelsen, A. M. Key Economic Issues in Water Planning. In Economic Considerations in State Water Planning, Texas Water Resources Institute, Special Report 1-2000, College Station, TX, December 7, 2000. Murphy, J. J., A. Dinar, R. E. Howitt, S. J. Rassenti and V. L. Smith. The Design of Smart Water Market Institutions Using Laboratory Experiments, Environmental and Resource Economics, 17: (2000) 375-394. Ribaudo, M., R. Heimlich, R. Claassen and M. Peters. Least-Cost Management of Nonpoint Source Pollution: Source Reduction vs. Interception Strategies for Controlling Nitrogen Loss in the Mississippi Basin, Ecological Economics, Vol. 37, 2001, pp. 183-197. Supalla, R. J., R. Klaus, J. Allen and O. Yeboah. Game Theory as a Watershed Management Tool: A Case Study of the Middle Platte Ecosystem. A report on work supported by USEPA National Center for Environmental Assessment, Cincinnati, OH, Assistance Agreement R8268701, June 15, 2001. Taylor, R. G., A. M. Michelsen and R. G. Huffaker. Why the Price Chain for Federally-Developed Irrigation Water Doesnt Promote Conservation, Choices, Third Quarter, 2000.

Impact Statements

ERS research on using fertilization standards as an alternative to wetland development to reduce nutrient loading in the Gulf of Mexico has led to amended policy proposals.
Results of research on the economics of salmon recovery conducted by scientists in Idaho and Washington State were used in formulating water allocation policy in the Pacific Northwest.
Survey results concerning public preferences for endangered species protection have impacted the policy positions of Nebraska participants in the Platte River water management dispute.
Project results have been used in deciding economic damages in interstate water litigation.

Date of Annual Report: 12/18/2002

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/01/2002 - 10/05/2002
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2002 - 12/01/2002

Participants

Schaible, Glenn (schaible@ers.usda.gov) Economic research Service, USDA; Taylor, R. (gtaylor@uidaho.edu) University of Idaho; Daugherty, LeRoy (ldaugher@nmsu.edu) New Mexico State University; Gopalakrishnan, Chennat (chennat@hawaii.edu) University of Hawaii at Manoa;
Huffaker, Ray (huffaker@wsu.edu) Washington State Univesity; Supalla, Raymond (rsupalla@unl.edu) University of Nebraska; Ward, Frank (frward@murphie.nmsu.edu) New Mexico State University; Gollehon, Noel (gollehon@ers.usda.gov); ONeill, Michael (moneill@reeusda.gov) USDA-CSREES; Hunt, Fen (fhunt@reeusda.gov) USDA-CSREES; Cardon, Grant (grant.cardon@colostate.edu) Colorado State University; Frasier, Marshall (mfrasier@lamar.colostate.edu) Colorado State University; Peterson, Jeffrey (jpeters@ksu.edu) Kansas State University; Hurd, Brian (bhhurd@nmsu.edu) New Mexico State University; Schuck, Eric (eschuck@lamar.colostate.edu) Colorado State University; Adams, Rich (Richard.adams@orst.edu) Oregon State University; Gilley, James (gilley@tamu.edu) Texas A&M University; Jakus, Paul (pjakus@econ.usu.edu) Utah State University; Klein, Kurt (klein@uleth.ca) University of Lethbridge Canada

Brief Summary of Minutes

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Marshall Frasier (CSU) at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, October 2, 2002 with a gracious welcome extended to all attending. Guests were introduced and the minutes for the year 2001 meeting were approved. Chairman Frasier explained the meeting agenda.

The first item of business was agency reports. Mike ONeill and Fen Hunt, CSREES, reported on the CSREES water quality and natural resource programs and CSREES expectations for regional research programs. Emphasis was given to a discussion of the CSREES National Integrated Water Quality Program (Section 406), its joint effort with EPA, its four national program areas, eight program themes, and its multi-regional coordination through the Committee for Shared Leadership in Water Quality. Mike and Fen both discussed the need for multi-state research projects to focus annual reports more on accomplishments and impacts. LeRoy Daugherty, Administrative Advisor, discussed the new reporting requirements for multi-state regional projects, emphasizing the new electronic format for annual reports. Glenn Schaible, ERS, presented an overview of ERS research and data development activities in the areas of irrigation/water management and water quality, small-farm research for irrigated agriculture, animal waste-management, integration of NASS/ERS data collection for FRIS and ARMS, and RMA-funded research addressing the economic impacts of Federal decisions that limit water supplies for irrigated agriculture.

Chennat Gopalakrishnan, University of Hawaii at Manoa, reported on the status of the second Special Issue of The International Journal of Water Resources Development, which will feature research accomplishments from the W-190 addressing institutional perspectives and innovations in western water management. Papers for the Special Issue have been professionally reviewed and publication is expected in March 2003. Noel Gollehon, ERS, discussed a broader overview of the ERS/RMA research project addressing economic impacts of Federal decisions that limit or curtail the availability of federally-supplied irrigation water. Emphasis was given to highlighting the research efforts for nine Cooperative Agreements between ERS and University research teams (many involving W-190 participants). Extended discussion provided helpful insights into developing a common understanding across W-190 Cooperators on research project objectives.

The Thursday program consisted of three invited presentations, brief comments from Kurt Klein, University of Lethbridge Canada, on the water research program of the Water Institute for Semi-Arid Eco-Systems (WISE), W-190 State Reports, and a business meeting. Invited presentations were given by Glenn Schaible, ERS, Structural Characteristics of Western Irrigated Agriculture: Implications for Agricultural Water Conservation and Future Research; Raymond J. Supalla, University of Nebraska, Endangered Species Policy: Has the Time Come for Change; and Norm Whittlesey, retired Washington State University, Improving Irrigation Efficiency through Technology Adoption: When will it Conserve Water? Glenn Schaible, ERS, also hosted a review/discussion of the draft 2003 Farm & Ranch Irrigation Survey (FRIS), emphasizing revisions from the 1998 FRIS and NASS/ERS integration of FRIS and the 2003 ARMS Phase III surveys. W-190 review comments, forwarded to the NASS 2003 FRIS Coordinators, contributed to both improved and more concise questions, as well as reduced respondent burden. (NASS acknowledged the W-190 review as a critical component of its 2003 FRIS review process.)

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Evaluate the farm-level economic and environmental implications of employing alternative resource-conserving irrigation technology and water management systems. Colorado completed a system-wide irrigation efficiency evaluation for the Dolores Irrigation Project in southwestern Colorado. The project estimated the potential for water savings by comparing grower-managed irrigation with best-management practices. Kansas examined the income-risk exposure of groundwater irrigators in the High Plains using field experiments designed to study the feasibility of sub-surface drip irrigation relative to other irrigation technologies. Nebraska examined groundwater quality issues in the Platte River Valley, finding that it is economically-feasible to reduce nitrate pollution of groundwater (within a 50-year time frame) by decreasing nitrogen and water applied, shifting from gravity to sprinkler systems, and shifting to more alfalfa and less corn production. ERS analyzed production and location changes in the livestock industry, evaluating potential environmental spillovers from implementing nutrient management plans as described in the US-EPA/USDA Unified Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations. Objective 2: Apply alternative methodologies to evaluate economic, environmental and social impacts of potential technology, policy, and institutional changes affecting water resources for irrigated agriculture. Oregon and UC-Berkeley examined the resource, economic, institutional, and endangered species issues associated with the Klamath Basin water conflict. Identifying the water resource problems, researchers worked with stakeholders to develop acceptable solutions to address water and habitat problems in the Upper Klamath Basin. Oregon also examined the cost-effectiveness of alternative mechanisms to obtain water for instream flows on the John Day River and on tributaries to the Grand Ronde River (both in eastern Oregon). Kansas organized the Consortium for International Research on Groundwater Based Economics (RoGBE), an inter-disciplinary research team with a mission to help citizens, planning agencies, and policy makers understand the technical aspects of water management and its economic, social, and natural system impacts. New Mexico identified and documented adaptation response of water resource users to climate change, in addition to examining both reactive and anticipatory adaptation responses. Nebraska estimated the annualized cost of improving groundwater quality (when groundwater contains 30 mg/l of nitrate nitrogen), ranging from $3.50 per acre per mg change in concentration to over $100 per mg as the nitrate concentration of the groundwater approached the public health standard of 10 mg/l. ERS, based on USDA/RMA-funded research, developed nine Cooperative Agreements with University research teams designed to address the economic impact of Federal decisions that limit the use of Federally supplied irrigation water. W-190 participants include California-Davis, Univ. of Nebraska, Oregon State Univ., New Mexico State Univ., Washington State Univ., and Colorado State University. ERS research also examined irrigation technology transitions in the Mid-plains states region, finding that crop-price effects on technology transitions are relatively inelastic (slow). This research also concluded that the conventional interpretation for water conservation was probably too narrowly focused, and that a more broadly defined social/institutional definition was required, that is, a conservation definition encompassing requirements for water quality, ecosystem, and environmental policy goals. This broader concept anticipates the necessity to integrate water conservation-incentive policy with regionally unique institutional innovations to allow onfarm water conservation to serve a broader social agenda. In addition, ERS research, using 1998 FRIS data, also evaluated the farm-size structural characteristics of western irrigated agriculture. Research findings demonstrate the need for water conservation policy to account for the fact that most irrigated farms are smaller-sized farms (< $250,000 in farm sales), while most agricultural water use is by larger-sized irrigated farms (>= $250,000 in farm sales). Objective 3: Evaluate alternative institutions and policies for resolving competing agricultural and environmental water demands. Washington and Idaho examined the nature of the conflict between irrigated agriculture and endangered species policy, potential conflict resolution alternatives, and the role of water conservation policy. Washington, working with a panel of national experts, also developed a Masters degree program in water resources management for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Arizona examined the effectiveness of market transactions versus administrative or judicial water reallocations to address changing water demands in the West. Arizona has also examined the economic costs of inter-jurisdictional water disputes, and the role of economic incentives in conflict resolution. Nebraska, using bargaining models to examine potential solutions to Platte Basin water allocations between Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, found that equity in policy implementation, that is, who pays, to be the primary institutional policy concern, rather than the resource reallocation policy itself. ERS research, in addressing transboundary water issues between the U.S. and Mexico, examined impediments to border infrastructure development. Study results demonstrate how institutional rules and power relationships are critical considerations in evaluating border water negotiations. Finally, a major W-190 accomplishment (lead by Chennat Gopalakrishnan, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa) was the completion of the Special Issue (March 2003) of the International Journal of Water Resources Development. This second Special Issue will showcase W-190 research contributions addressing institutional innovations in western water management.

Publications

Journal Articles Hansen, LeRoy, V. E. Breneman, C. W. Davison, and C. W. Dicken. 2002 The Cost of Soil Erosion to Downstream Navigation, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Vol. 57, No. 4, pp. 205-212. Johansson, R.C., Y. Tsur, T. Roe, R. Doukkali, and A. Dinar. 2002. Pricing Irrigation Water: A Review of Theory and Practice, Water Policy, 4 (2002): pp. 173-199. Kaplan, Jonathan D., and Richard E. Howitt. Estimating Nonpoint Source Pollution: An Application of a Sequential Entropy Filter, Water Resources Research Vol. 38 No. 3, 2002. Supalla, R., B. Klaus, O. Yeboah and R. Bruins. A Game Theory Approach to Deciding Who Will Supply Instream Flow Water, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 30, No. 4, 2002. Weinberg, Marca , "Assessing a Policy Grab Bag: Federal Water Policy Reform," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 84, No. 3, (August 2002): pp. 541-556. Weinberg, Marca, Cathy A. Lawrence, Jamie D. Anderson, Jonathan R. Randall, Louis W. Botsford, Curtis J. Loeb, Cedric S. Tadokoro, Gerald T. Orlob, and Paul Sabatier. "Biological and Economic Implications of Sacramento Watershed Management Options," Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 38, No. 2, (April 2002): pp.367-384. Book Chapters Booker, J. and F. A. Ward. "Instream Flows and Endangered Species in an International River Basin," in Both Sides of the Border: Transboundary Environmental Management Issues Facing Mexico and the United States, R. Carson and L. Fernandez (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, June 2002. Frisvold, George, and Margriet Caswell. Financing Bilateral Water Projects on the U.S.-Mexico Border: Past, Present and Future, in Both Sides of the Border: Transboundary Environmental Management Issues Facing Mexico and the United States, R. Carson and L. Fernandez (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, (June 2002): pp. 131-159. Monographs and Technical Reports Aillery, M. and N. Gollehon. Irrigation Water Management, Economic Research Service, USDA [At ERS website: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Emphases/Harmony/issues/arei2000/], 2002. Colby, B. G. and Steven Wishart. Property Value Impacts of Urban Riparian Areas. Technical Report, Dept. of Agricultural and Resource Economics, The University of Arizona, 2002. Gollehon, N., W. Quinby, and M. Aillery. Water Use and Pricing. Economic Research Service, USDA [At ERS website: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Emphases/Harmony/issues/arei2000/], 2002. Kaplan, Jonathan D., Robert Johansson and Mark Peters. Manure Nutrient Management Plans: Potential Agricultural Sector Impacts, Agricultural Outlook, USDA (April 2002): pp. 21-25. Lewis, W., R. M. Adams et al. Scientific Evaluation of Biological Opinions on Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath River Basin. National Research Council. National Academy Press. 2002. McCarl, B. A., R. M. Adams, and B. H. Hurd. Global Climate Change and Its Impact on Agriculture, in the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems, Institute of Economics Academia Sinica, and UNESCO, www.eolss.net, 2002. Orr, Patricia and B. G. Colby. Expenditures By Nature-Oriented Visitors and Their Economic Implications in the Upper San Pedro River Valley, Technical Report, Dept. of Agricultural and Resource Economics, The University of Arizona, 2002. Peck D. and R. M. Adams. Droughts and Drought ForecastsEconomic Implications. Report to NOAA, Office of Strategic Planning, August, 2002. Peterson, J. M. and D. J. Bernardo. A Review of Economic Analyses of Water Policies and Irrigation Issues in the High Plains: 1980-2000. Research Report #36, Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, 2002. Ribaudo, Marc, N. Gollehon, M. Aillery, J. Kaplan, R. Johansson, M. Peters, L. Christensen, J. Agapoff, and V. Breneman. Manure Management for Water Quality: Cost of Land Applying Nutrients from Animal Feeding Operations, Agricultural Economic Report, Economic Research Service, USDA, December, 2002. Supalla, R. J. and S. Ahmad. 2002. The Dynamics of Water Quality, Focus, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Spring/Summer Issue, 2002: pp. 12-19. Supalla, R. J., B. Klaus, O. Yeboah and J. Allen. Game Theory as a Watershed Management Tool: A Case Study of the Middle Platte Ecosystem. Project Completion Report for Assistance Agreement R82698701, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2002. Ward, F. A. and A. Michelsen. Economic Feasibility and Value of Water Saved With Alternative Irrigation Technologies on the Lower Rio Grande. Report to New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute and Texas A&M (El Paso) Research and Extension Center, June 2002. Ward. F. A. and L. Demouche. Economic Impacts of New Mexico State Parks. Report to New Mexico Department of Energy, Minerals, and Development, March 2002. Wu, J., R. Adams and K. Tanaka. The Effects of Green Payments on Nutrient Runoff in the Midwest. Report to the Center for Agricultural Resources and Development (CARD), Iowa State University, February, 2002. Dissertations/Theses Aldrich, G. The Economics of Western Juniper Management on Ranches Located in the John Day Ecological Province of Oregon, Masters Thesis, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Oregon State University, 2002. Saenz, Luis. Crop Yield Under Drip Irrigation Systems Compared to Furrow Irrigation Systems, Masters Thesis, New Mexico State University, August 2002. Conference Proceedings Gopalakrishnan, C. Water Allocation Among Multiple Stakeholders: The Case of Waiahole Water Project, Hawaii. In Proceedings of UNESCO Conference on Conflict to Cooperation: Challenges and Opportunities in Water Resources Management, Delft, Netherlands, 2002. Hurd, B. H., Frank A. Ward, and Leeann DeMouche. Some Perspectives on the Economics of Surface- and Ground-Water Adjudication, in Ground Water/Surface Water Interactions, Proceedings for the AWRA 2002 Summer Specialty Conference, K. Jerry F. (Ed.), American Water Resources Association, Middleburg, VA, TPS-02-2, 2002: pp. 91-96. Skonard, C. J. and D. L. Martin. A Physically-Based Two-Dimensional Infiltration Model for Furrow Irrigation. ASAE-CIGR Meeting Paper No. 022063, St. Joseph, MI. 2002.

Impact Statements

Using field days and workshops, including the Four Corners Irrigation Workshop, Colorado successfully brought together local, state, and federal agency personnel, Native American representatives, water district managers, academicians, and irrigators from across the four States, broadening awareness and understanding of system-wide irrigation efficiency issues associated with the Dolores Irrigation Project.
In Kansas, results from irrigation technology/income-risk research were used to show producers how irrigation investments can be used to limit production risk.
In Nebraska, Natural Resource Districts are using research results identifying the annualized costs of groundwater quality improvements as they revise groundwater management plans.
Oregon (Rich Adams), represented on the National Research Council committee on the Status of Endangered Fishes of the Klamath Basin, helped to frame the resource questions in the Basin and in developing long-term water-management options. The NRC interim report (Natl. Academy Press, 2000) is cited by agencies as the basis for current operating plans.
ERS research integrating results on irrigation technology transitions across the Pacific Northwest and the Mid-plains States, demonstrates the importance of recognizing a broad, social/institutional perspective when evaluating onfarm water conservation policy options.
Research results recognizing the cumulative effects of alternative mechanisms to obtain water for instream flows helped to create the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) in Oregon, which has been instrumental in formulating a national program by the USDA.
Washington water-management expertise helped to develop a Masters degree program in water resources management for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.
Nebraskas analysis of institutional reallocation of Platte Basin water resources, using bargaining models, has helped state, federal, and private stakeholders recognize the role of technical beliefs versus values in explaining differences in policy preferences and ultimately in contributing to conflict resolution options.
The Special Issue of the IJWRD, featuring W-190 refereed papers addressing institutional innovations in western water management, contributes enormously to the policy-relevant professional credibility of W-190 research accomplishments.

Date of Annual Report: 12/15/2003

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/02/2003 - 10/04/2003
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2003 - 12/01/2003

Participants

Cardon, Grant (grant.cardon@colostate.edu) - Colorado State University; Chouinard, Hayley (chouinard@wsu.edu) - Washington State University; Criddle, Keith (kcriddle@econ.usu.edu) - Utah State University; Daugherty, LeRoy (ldaugher@nmsu.edu) - New Mexico State University; Frasier, Marshall (mfrasier@lamar.colostate.edu) - Colorado State University; Gilley, James (gilley@tamu.edu) - Texas A&M University; Gollehon, Noel (gollehon@ers.usda.gov) - Economic Research Service, USDA; Gopalakrishnan, Chennat (chennat@hawaii.edu), University of Hawaii at Manoa; Hamilton, Bob (rbhamilton@do.usbr.gov) - U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Harman, Wyatte (harman@brc.tamus.edu) - Texas Agricultural Experiment Station; Hearne, Bob (rhearne@ndsuext.nodak.edu) - North Dakota State University; Hurd, Brian (bhhurd@nmsu.edu) - New Mexico State University; Michelsen, Ari (a-michelsen@tamu.edu) - Texas A&M University; ONeill, Michael (moneill@reeusda.gov) - USDA CSREES; Peterson, Jeff (jpeters@ksu.edu) - Kansas State University; Schaible, Glenn (schaible@ers.usda.gov) - Economic Research Service, USDA; Schuck, Eric (eric.schuck@colostate.edu) - Colorado State University; Supalla, Raymond (rsupalla@unl.edu) - University of Nebraska; Yoder, Jonathan (yoder@wsu.edu) - Washington State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Chairman Ray Supalla called the meeting to order at 8:30am on Thursday, October 2 and welcomed all in attendance. Following introductions of all participants, the meeting agenda was reviewed and approved by the group.

The first agenda item was for LeRoy Daugherty to explain the procedures for renewing the project, which expires on September 30, 2004. After initial drafts of the new projects objectives and outputs are written, they will be posted on the web so that interested scientists across the nation can participate if they desire. It is suggested that the final proposal be submitted by January 15, 2004, so that the Western Experiment Station directors can act on it at their March 2004 meeting. We can suggest external peer reviewers to evaluate the proposal.

Bob Hamilton of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation then gave a presentation on the Bureaus research agenda. In-house research at the Bureau is conducted by a division called the Technical Services Center (TSC), and Hamilton is the Manager of the Economics Group within the TSC. The Bureau has identified four key research areas in their agenda: decision support, infrastructure, water delivery reliability, and water supply technologies. There are opportunities for outside scientists to participate in the Bureaus research agenda, both through competitive grants and collaboration with TSC projects. Looking toward the future, the Interior Department is leading development of the Water 2025 initiative, a precursor of which has been included in the FY2004 budget. This initiative would heighten and concentrate federal efforts on key watersheds in the West, with an emphasis on critical research needs.

Next, three W-190 members presented overviews of emerging research needs related to water issues. The three presentations, which correspond to the objectives in the current W-190 project proposal, had been presented at the Western Agricultural Economics Association annual meeting in July. The titles and presenters were: Technological Developments Affecting Irrigation Water Management: Recent Progress and Future Prospects, Grant Cardon; Recent Developments in Water Policy Evaluations: What Have We Learned and What Do Decision Makers Need to Know? Jeff Peterson; and Economics, Law, and the Evolution of Water Management Institutions: What Have We Contributed and What Remains to Be Done? Chennat Gopalakrishnan. Each presentation was followed by a brief discussion. The purpose of this part of the meeting was to set the stage for a discussion of future research objectives in a new proposal.

The remainder of Thursday and the morning of Friday, October 4 were spent on state and agency reports. Representatives from each state or agency reviewed their W-190 related activities for the past year and briefly discussed their future interests and priorities.

Following state reports, the focus of the meeting turned toward developing a new project proposal. W-190 members had been invited in advance to prepare short presentations on research ideas which could become research objectives in the new project. Three such presentations were given: Analyzing the Effects of Water Policy on Agricultural Production Risk, by Noel Gollehon; Analyzing the Impact of Farm Size on Water Conservation, by Glenn Schaible; and Institutional Requirements in Response to Climate Change, by Robert Hearne. Marshall Frasier also put forth the idea of producing an interpretive review of the various laws and institutions that govern water use in the western states.

Considerable discussion ensued on the objectives for a new proposal. Consensus was reached on a general theme of Institutional, Economic, and Technological Principles for Mobilizing Water across Competing Uses. Agreement was also reached on four goals supporting this theme: (1) quantifying the overall value of water in particular uses, (2) analyzing the relationship between water allocation and production risk, (3) developing technologies to manage salinization, and (4) and comparing water laws and institutions across states. A writing sub-committee was appointed to develop more precise objectives, outputs and a project title which are consistent with these ideas and to coordinate assembly of the proposal over the coming months. The members of the committee were Glenn Schaible, Chennat Gopalakrishnan, Grant Cardon, and Jeff Peterson.

A business meeting was also held on Friday afternoon. Assuming a new project is approved, it was decided that the 2004 meeting will be October 12-13 in Salt Lake City, immediately preceding the conference, Water Rights and Related Supply Issues sponsored by the U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage. Palm Springs was selected as a candidate meeting location for 2005. Eric Schuck was elected secretary for the coming year, with Jeff Peterson moving to Vice-Chair and Glenn Schaible moving to Chair. It was announced that Chennat Gopalakrishnan has been named a Fellow of the American Water Resources Association; the group expressed their congratulations for this achievement. Glenn Schaible announced an upcoming workshop on the topic of agricultural risk and water scarcity, which is to be held at the Economic Research Service in Washington D.C. on March 15-16, 2004. Thanks were expressed to Chennat Gopalakrishnan for hosting this years meeting in Hawaii, and to Ray Supalla for his leadership over the past year.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:30pm. The writing sub-committee was to meet the following morning to begin developing the proposal objectives.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Evaluate the farm-level economic and environmental implications of alternative resource-conserving irrigation technology and water management systems. Several technologies and practices were evaluated at various locations over the past year. Researchers in Texas conducted experiments to evaluate the effect of row spacing and conservation tillage on soil moisture and net returns. A Windows version of the crop/environmental simulator EPIC called CroPMan is also being developed in Texas; it is a tool that would allow producers and extension agents to compare probability distributions of profits across alternative cropping systems. Colorado continued its work on developing and assessing field methods to rapidly monitor soil salinity in the Arkansas River Basin. Objective 2: Apply alternative methodologies to evaluate economic, environmental and social impacts of potential technology, policy, and institutional changes affecting water resources for irrigated agriculture. W-190 scientists made progress on a number of studies evaluating policy alternatives. ERS completed and disseminated the results from its studies of animal manure nutrient policies and the differential effects of farm size on water conservation policies. Researchers in New Mexico and Texas continued their collaboration to evaluate the effects of water supply changes in the Rio Grande Basin. Kansas and Texas researchers began an analysis of groundwater management alternatives for the Ogallala aquifer. New Mexico estimated models to characterize the economic values of water in alternative uses and locations. Other recent activities in several states were motivated by the recent drought. For instance, researchers in Colorado, one of most severely impacted states, quantified the economic and resource impacts of the drought on irrigators and cattle producers. Objective 3: Evaluate alternative institutions and policies for resolving competing agricultural and environmental water demands. Work continued on the analysis of different water institutions. Arizona compared the effectiveness of market transactions versus administrative or judicial water reallocations to address changing water demands in different cases. Nebraska completed its analysis of game-theoretic approaches for resolving disputes over the allocation of water in the Middle Platte region (spanning portions of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska). Hawaii studied the different aspects of the evolution, structure, and performance of water institutions in Hawaii and compared and contrasted them to experiences in other states in the western U.S.

Publications

Aillery, M, N. Gollehon, and M. Ribaudo. A Regional Modeling Structure for Assessing Costs of Manure Nutrient Standards: Application to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Paper presented at the American Agricultural Economics Association annual meetings, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 27-30 July, 2003. Aillery, M. and N. Gollehon. Manure Management: A Growing Challenge in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Amber Waves 1(2003): 8. Aillery, M., N. Gollehon, M. Ribaudo, V. Breneman, and J. Agapoff. Modeling Multi-Farm Spatial Interdependence using National Data Coverages: A Regional Application to Manure Management. Paper presented at the at Western Agricultural Economics Association annual meetings, Denver, Colorado, 13-16 July, 2003. Cardon, G.E. How Can I Optimize Irrigation Water Use Efficiency? Paper presented at American Society of Agronomy annual meeting, Denver, CO., 2-6 November 2003. Colby, B.G, The Role of Markets in Reallocating Irrigation Water. Encyclopedia of Water Science, New York: Marcel Dekker, 2003. Colby, B.G. Economic Characteristics of Successful Dispute Resolution Outcomes. Evaluating Environmental and Public Policy Dispute Resolution Programs and Policies. R. OLeary and L. Bingham, eds., Resources for the Future Press, 2003. Cowley, D., F.A. Ward, R. Deitner, and M. Hatch. "Optimizing the Allocation of Hatchery-Produced Rainbow Trout." North American Journal of Fisheries Management 23(2003): 216-229. Demouche, L. Interpreting the Elephant Butte Irrigation District for Water Users. Extension Report, New Mexico State University, 2003. Frasier, W.M., E.C. Schuck, and W.J. Umberger. The Impact of the 2002 Drought on Colorados Beef Industry. Paper presented at Western Agricultural Economics Association annual meeting, Denver, CO., 11-16 July, 2003. Gerik, T., W.L. Harman, J.Williams, L. Francis, J. Greiner, E. Steglich, M. Magre, and A. Meinardus. CroPMan (Crop Production and Management Model) Users Guide: Version 3.2. Blackland Research and Extension Center, BREC Report 2003-03, Temple, Texas, 2003. Gollehon, N. Irrigation Economics, United States Encyclopedia of Water Science. B.A. Stewart and Terry Howell, eds., pp. 463-466, New York: Marcel Dekker, 2003. Gollehon, N., M. Aillery, and J. Agapoff. An Examination of Manure Transport Patterns in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to Meet Nutrient Standards for Land Application. Paper presented at the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association annual meetings, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 8-10 June, 2003. Gopalakrishnan, C. and L.G. Cox. Water Consumption by the Visitor Industry: The Case of Hawaii. International Journal of Water Resources Development. 19(2003): 29-35. Greene, B.W.H. Colorado Irrigation Technology Adoption. MS Thesis, Colorado State University, 2003. Harman, W.L., M. Magre, E. Wang, and J.R. Williams. Reducing Nutrient Losses from CAFOs: A Simulated Analysis of Feedlot Management Options and Filter Strip Characteristics. Poster presented Int. Conf. on Agricultural Science and Technology, Houston, Texas, 2003. Houk, E. 2003. Water Management in Irrigated Agriculture: Managing Salinity and Waterlogging in the Arkansas River Basin and Environmental Water Shortages in the Platte River Basin. PhD Dissertation, Colorado State University. Houk, E., M. Frasier, and E. Schuck . Linking Hydrologic and Economic Modeling to Evaluate Salinity Mitigation in the Arkansas River Basin. Paper presented at Western Agricultural Economics Association annual meeting, Denver, CO, 11-16 July, 2003. Hurd, B.H., J.A. Diemer, and R.C. Alvarez. Enhancing the Nations Response to Public Water Supply Catastrophes, Proceedings of the conference Water Security in the 21st Century. Washington, D.C.: Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR), National Institute of Water Resources (NIWR), and Environmental and Water Resource Institute (EWRI), 30 July 1 August, 2003. J. Pritchett, M. Frasier and E. Schuck. Third Party Compensation for Out-of-Basin Water Transfers: Comments on HB 03-1113. Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Agricultural and Resource Policy Report APR 03-08, 2003 Johansson, R.C. and J. Randall. Watershed Abatement Costs for Agricultural Phosphorus. Water Resources Research 39(2003): 1088-1102. Keith, J.E., and S. Quattar. "Strategic Planning, Impact Assessment, and Technical Aid: The Souss-Massa Integrated Water Management Project. Utah State University, Economic Research Institute, ERI2003-10, 2003. Kim, C. S., S.G. Daberkow, G.D. Schaible, and W.A. Quinby. Economic and Environmental Effects of Adopting Conservation Tillage Practices. Paper presented at the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association workshop entitled Linkages Between Agricultural & Conservation Policies in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 10-11 June, 2003. Loomis, J.B., J. Koteen, and B.H. Hurd. Water Resource Effects of Climate Change, Water and Climate: Climate Variability and Water Resources in the Interior West. W. Lewis Jr., ed., pp. 235-249, Boulder, CO: University of Colorado Press, 2003. Michelsen, A.M. and K. Wood. Water Demand in the Paso del Norte Region. Weather and Water on the Border: A Forum on Drought. El Paso, TX: Paso del Norte Water Task Force, 20 March, 2003. Michelsen, A.M., Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Water Resources, Institutions and Management Issues. Palestinian Water Authority - Israeli Transboundary Water Citizens Exchange. El Paso, TX, US State Department, 20-22 August, 2003. Michelsen, A.M., F.A. Ward, and L. DeMouche. Identification of Institutional Incentives and Barriers to Agricultural Water Efficiency in the Rio Grande Project. Proceedings on Water Security in the 21st Century, Washington, DC: UCOWR, NIWR, ASCE-EWRI Conference, 30 July 1 August, 2003. Michelsen, A.M., F.A. Ward, L. Demouche, R.D. Lacewell, and Z. Sheng. Institutional Incentives for Efficient Water Use on the Rio Grande. Rio Grande Basin Irrigation Efficiency Initiative Outcomes. Weslaco, TX, 28-30 May, 2003. Ojima, D.S., W.E. Easterling, W.J. Parton, R. Kelly, B. McCarl, L. Bohren, K. Galvin, and B. Hurd. Integration of Ecosystem and Economic Factors Determining Land Use in the Central Great Plains. A Lasting Impression: Interpreting the Human Dimension of Global Environmental Issues. P. Puntenney, ed., Boulder,CO: Lynne Reinner Press, 2003 Osgood, D.E. Potential for climate education and forecasts in extension programs. Arizona State Report, Paper presented at Western Extension annual meetings, Las Vegas, NV, January 2003. Osgood, D.E. "Upcoming Products: Climate and Ranch Financial Management" Drought Recovery Workshop. Arizona: Camp Verde. March 2003. Peterson, J.M. and D.J. Bernardo. High Plains Aquifer Study Revisited: A 20-Year Retrospective for Western Kansas. Great Plains Research 13(2003): 179-97. Peterson, J.M. and D.R. Steward. Modeling Coupled Hydrologic and Economic Processes in the Kansas High Plains. Water and the Future of Kansas Conference, Manhattan, KS, March 2003. Peterson, J.M., R.N. Boisvert, and H. de Gorter. Multifunctionality and Optimal Environmental Policies for Agriculture in an Open Economy. Agriculture, Trade, and the WTO: Creating a Trading Environment for Development. M.D. Ingco, ed., Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 2003. Peterson, J.M., T.L. Marsh, and J.R. Williams. Conserving the Ogallala Aquifer: Efficiency, Equity, and Moral Motives. Choices First Quarter (2003): 15-18. Ribaudo, M., J. Agapoff, and N. Gollehon. Land Application of Manure by Animal Feeding Operations: Is More Land Needed? Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 58(2003):30-38. Ribaudo, M., N. Gollehon, M. Aillery, J. Kaplan, R. Johansson, J. Agapoff, L. Christensen, V. Breneman, and M. Peters. Manure Management for Water Quality: Cost to Animal Feeding Operations of Applying Manure Nutrients to Land. AER-824, Washington DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2003. Schaible, G.D. Farm-Size Characteristics of Western Irrigated Agriculture: Contributing to Water Conservation and Small Farm Policy Goals. Paper presented at Irrigation Association Technical Conference, San Diego, CA, 18-20 November, 2003. Schaible, G.D. and C.L Sandretto. Structural Characteristics of Western Irrigated Agriculture: Implications for USDA Water Conservation and Small Farm Policy Goals. Paper presented at Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association annual meetings, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 8-10 June, 2003. Schaible, G.D. and M.P. Aillery. Irrigation Technology Transitions in the Mid-Plains States: Implications for Water Conservation/Water Quality Goals and Institutional Changes. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 19(2003). Schaible, G.D., C. S. Kim, and S.G. Daberkow. Cost-Sharing of Improved Irrigation Technologies to Reduce Nonpoint-Source Pollution. Electronic Note, World Bank Website, WRM Group on Economic Incentives, www.worldbank.org/rural, 2003. Schaible, G.D., C.S. Kim, and C.L. Sandretto. Western Irrigated Agriculture: Characteristics by Farm-Size Class. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, ERS website Data Product, 2003. Schuck, E. and M. Frasier. Management Responses by Agricultural Producers During the 2002 Drought. Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Agricultural and Resource Policy Report APR 03-10, 2003 Schuck, E., M. Frasier, G. Green, and Blake Green. The Role of Water Quality and Institutional Structure in Irrigation Technology Choice. Paper presented at Western Agricultural Economics Association annual meeting, Denver, CO, 11-16 July, 2003. Schuck, E., W.M. Frasier, and R. Webb. Preliminary Summary of the 2002 Colorado Drought Survey. Colorado Water 20(2003): 8-11. Schuck, E.C. and G.P. Green. Conserving One Water Source at the Expense of Another: The Role of Surface Water Price in Adoption of Wells in a Conjunctive Use System. International Journal of Water Resource Development, 19(2003): 55-66. Sheng, Z., A.M. Michelsen, M.P. Fahy and J. Ashworth. Conflicts and Cooperation: Water Resources Planning in Far West Texas. Paper presented at World Environmental and Water Resources Conference, Philadelphia, PA, Environmental and Water Resources Institute, 23-26 June, 2003. Smith, J.B., J. Lazo, and B.H. Hurd. The Difficulties of Estimating Global Non-Market Damages From Climate Change, Global Climate Change: The Science, Economics, and Politics, James Griffin, ed., pp. 114-139. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2003. Stubbs, M.J., M.E. Rister, R.D. Lacewell, J.R. Ellis, A.W. Sturdivant, J.R.C. Robinson, and L. Fernandez. Evolution of Irrigation Districts and Operating Institutions: Texas, Lower Rio Grande Valley. Texas A&M University, Texas Water Resources Institute, TR-228, 2003. Supalla, R.J. Institutional Arrangements to Improve Water Quality in Irrigated Agriculture. International Journal of Water Resources Development 19(2003). Supalla, R.J. Irrigation Management Research Needs in an Era of Changing Water Use Priorities. Current Agriculture, Food and Resource Issues, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society, electronic publication, http://www.cafri.org., 2003. Supalla, R.J., O. Yeboah, B. Klaus, J. Allen, V. Serveiss, and R.J.F. Bruins. Seeking Solutions for an Interstate Conflict over Water and Endangered Species: Platte River Watershed, Economics and Ecological Risk Assessment: Applications to Watershed Management. Bruins and Heberling, eds., Mike Newman Series on Environmental and Ecological Risk Assessment. CRC Press, 2003. U.S. Department of Economic Research Service. Effects of Federal Decisions that Limit Irrigation Water Supplies. Washington, DC, Department of Agriculture, Risk Management Agency, April, 2003. Ward, F.A. and J. Booker. Economic Costs and Benefits of Instream Flow Protection for Endangered Species in an International Basin. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 39(2003): 427-440. Wiebe, K. and N. Gollehon. Irrigation Economics, Global Encyclopedia of Water Science. B. A. Stewart and Terry Howell, eds., pp. 459-462, New York: Marcel Dekker, 2003. Wittler, J.C. Cooper and G.E. Cardon. Calibration of Electromagnetic Salinity Probes in an Irrigated, Gypsum-Dominated System. Poster presented at American Society of Agronomy annual meeting, Denver, CO., 2-6 November, 2003.

Impact Statements

Producers were given improved information on the efficacy of adopting new tillage systems and irrigation technologies.
Water managers and stakeholders were educated on the economic consequences of various policy alternatives.
In the 2002 Farm Act, Congress directed the Secretary of Agriculture to study the feasibility of expanded federal assistance to irrigators in areas where federal decisions reduced irrigation water supplies. W-190 members contributed to the report which was submitted as an interim response to the Congressional request.
A data product, Western Irrigated Agriculture: Characteristics by Farm-Size Class, was released by the Economic Research Service to aid policy decision makers in assessing the differential impacts of policies across farm sizes.
Specific laws and institutions were identified for resolving particular types of conflicts.
Policy makers and agency staff have access to comprehensive datasets and analyses of producers responses to drought conditions.