Duration: 10/01/2026 to 09/30/2031

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

'This project unites turfgrass researchers and Extension specialists across the Great Plains and western U.S. to help communities better manage lawns, sports fields, and urban landscapes amid growing water shortages. By improving multi-state collaboration, sharing research on drought-resistant grasses, and creating practical educational resources, the group will help professionals and homeowners use water more efficiently while maintaining healthy green spaces. The renewed WERA11 effort will strengthen communication, coordinate research, and provide accessible guidance for sustainable landscape management.'

Statement of Issues and Justification

Turfgrass areas are a central part of urban and suburban landscapes throughout the USA (Lindsey et al., 2025; Braun et al., 2024). Due to biology, ecology, intensive management and disturbances, turfgrass and landscape systems have specific and unique management challenges compared to other agricultural systems. Water scarcity continues to be a growing challenge in both agricultural and urban sectors across the Western and Great Plains regions (National Drought Mitigation Center, 2026). Extended droughts, erratic rainfall patterns, and increased population growth are placing heavy demands on limited water supplies. This is especially the case for the Desert SW with much attention on the Colorado River Basin and the Great Salt Lake. Turfgrass and urban landscapes, integral to recreation, aesthetics, and urban environmental quality, are often viewed as less essential water users. However, well-managed turf and landscapes provide substantial ecological and social benefits, including erosion control, urban cooling, stormwater infiltration, carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, improved mental and physical health, safe recreation surfaces, and positive economic impacts (Beard and Green, 1994; Braun et al., 2024).

The WERA11 group has successfully connected university and private industry turfgrass scientists and Extension specialists across the western U.S. and associated territories to improve communication, cooperation, and promote sustainable management information. The group has coordinated water conservation education programs, facilitated sharing and interpretation of regional turfgrass cultivar evaluation data, and developed regionally adapted Extension resources used by professionals and municipalities across multiple states. As water scarcity intensifies, the need for continued coordination among research and Extension professionals remains critical to create and provide the data and knowledge to sustainably manage turfgrasses and maintain the quality of life in urban areas.

This increased cooperation is of special need in the western region where turfgrass research and Extension capacity is often limited within individual states which increases reliance on regional collaboration. Recent assessments of professional development needs among Extension personnel further highlight the demand for coordinated training, shared resources, and improved access to science-based turfgrass and landscape management information (Lindsey and Benge, 2024). Cooperation among states is essential to address the critical issues we all face.

The goal of the renewal proposal aims to maintain and expand WERA11’s collaborative efforts by strengthening multi-state communication, integrating recent advances in drought-resistant and sustainable turf systems, and enhancing Extension programming. All respondents from a recent survey of WERA11 identified key regional research and Extension emphasis areas, including “water-use efficiency and deficit irrigation”, “drought stress, heat stress, and climate resilience”, and “salinity and alternate water sources”, illustrating the relative importance of water use in the region. As such, WERA11 emphasizes research and Extension programming on urban water conservation, and associated issues including turfgrass pest management, breeding and evaluation of regionally adapted turfgrasses, soil and nutrient management, and the success of turfgrass systems in water-limiting environments. Essentially, all parts of creating sustainable management of turf in the West.

The WERA11 group includes turfgrass researchers and Extension specialists from land-grant universities, USDA-ARS, and collaborating institutions from AZ, CA, CO, HI, IA, NE, NM, OR, TX, UT, and WA. Group members have expertise in irrigation and water management, plant physiology and stress tolerance, soil and salinity management, turfgrass breeding and genetics, pest management, and Extension program delivery. Participants contribute complementary expertise across climatic gradients ranging from arid desert systems to temperate and coastal regions, enabling coordinated evaluation of turfgrass and landscape management strategies under regionally relevant conditions. The group invites scientists from private industry to participate in the yearly meetings. This is essential to direct the group’s work in the most impactful areas and to educate members to prioritize research to where it is most impactful.

Key stakeholders include Extension educators, municipal water managers, landscape contractors and maintenance, golf and sports turf managers, sod producers, seed companies and producers, and homeowners who benefit from science-based guidance for sustainable turf and landscape management.

Without continued coordination through WERA11, research and Extension efforts addressing turfgrass water use and sustainability in the western U.S. will be fragmented across states, limiting the ability to develop consistent, regionally relevant recommendations. This will lead to inefficient water use, reduced effectiveness of Extension programming, and decreased adoption of science-based practices by stakeholders facing increasing environmental and regulatory pressures.

Objectives

Procedures and Activities

• Annual Meetings: Conduct in-person and virtual meetings to review progress, plan collaborative projects, and align outreach goals. Intentional effort is made to periodically align meetings with seed producer or turf research field days, national research meetings, or with other multistate research coordinating committees (SERA48 or NCERA221) to enhance participation, identify shared priorities, strengthen cross-group collaboration, and facilitate dissemination of coordinated research and Extension outcomes. Meetings include structured state reports, identification of collaborative priorities, and development of multi-state collaborative projects.
• Collaborative Research Integration: Facilitate research collaboration and information exchange among participants working in key areas including irrigation and water-use efficiency, drought and heat stress physiology, salinity and soil constraints, turfgrass breeding and evaluation, and integrated pest management. Participants will share methodologies, use common reporting frameworks, and coordinate interpretation of regional datasets (cultivar evaluations, management trials, pest management). Where appropriate, participants will align experimental approaches across locations (shared irrigation thresholds, common cultivar evaluation entries, or standardized data collection protocols) to enable cross-site comparisons. In other cases, state-level studies will be synthesized through coordinated analysis and interpretation to identify consistent trends across environments. These efforts will result in co-authored publications, Extension resources, and multi-state grant proposals tailored to address the unique challenges of turfgrass management throughout the region.

• Regional Workshops and Field Demonstrations: Support hands-on education through field events and Extension programming conducted across participating states, including research station field days and industry These activities target stakeholders with a range of turfgrass management expertise from homeowners to turfgrass industry professionals and communicate optimal turfgrass management and efficient use of resources. These activities highlight multi-state turfgrass evaluation efforts, including National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) trials and regionally coordinated evaluation of breeding lines from turfgrass breeders throughout the region to identify cultivars best suited to the region. Information is shared on water-use efficiency, drought and heat stress, salinity, and pest management providing stakeholders with regionally relevant, science-based recommendations.
• Participant Roles: Participants contribute through coordinated roles that reflect regional expertise throughout the region. Members in AZ, NM, TX, and UT lead efforts in irrigation management and water-use efficiency, including deficit irrigation, irrigation auditing, and municipal water conservation programs. Participants in AZ, CA, CO, NE, NM, TX, and UT contribute to research on drought and heat stress physiology and management, including evaluation of turfgrass performance under prolonged water limiting and high-temperature conditions. Turfgrass breeding and genetic improvement efforts are led by participants in CA, IA, NE, and WA, with multi-state evaluation of experimental and commercial turfgrass cultivars across all participating locations. Integrated pest management research and Extension activities are led by HI, NM, OR, UT, with collaboration across states on insect, disease, and weed management. These coordinated roles support synthesis of findings across the diverse environments throughout the region, and development of consistent, science-based recommendations for optimized regional turfgrass management.

• Milestones:

  • 2026–2027: review regional water conservation and other turfgrass research/extension priorities; align existing data and outreach tools and identify gaps.
  • 2028–2029: Deliver coordinated Extension programs and co-authored publications; host a national symposium on turf and landscape management.
  • 2030–2031: Summarize multi-state outcomes, evaluate impact, and plan transition to the next project cycle.

Expected Outcomes and Impacts

Projected Participation

View Participation Form/Appendix E: Participation

Educational Plan

This activity will ensure inclusive outreach by partnering with Extension offices serving diverse audiences in both urban and rural settings, including underrepresented and resource-limited communities. WERA11 members will develop publicly accessible materials in multiple formats and languages. The group will continue to collaborate with professional associations (e.g., GCSAA, USGA, SFMA, PGMS, GCSAA local chapters, state turfgrass foundations, etc.) to extend educational reach and maintain open access through university and association websites. Educational materials will include Extension publications, decision-support tools, field demonstration outputs, webinars, and in-person training events coordinated across participating states.

Organization/Governance

Governance will follow standard WERA procedures. Members will elect a Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary to serve staggered two-year terms. The Chair coordinates meetings and reports; the Vice Chair assists with planning and communication; the Secretary maintains minutes and manages digital archives. An Administrative Advisor will provide oversight and ensure alignment with regional priorities.

Literature Cited

Beard, J. B., & Green, R. L. (1994). The role of turfgrasses in environmental protection and their benefits to humans. Journal of Environmental Quality, 23, 452–460. http://doi.org/10.2134/jeq1994.00472425002300030007x

Braun, R. C., Mandal, P., Nwachukwu, E., & Stanton, A. (2024). The role of turfgrasses in environmental protection and their benefits to humans: 30 years later. Crop Science, 64(6), 2909-2944. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21383

 

Lindsey, A. J., & Benge, M. (2024). Turfgrass management professional development needs assessment of Extension agents. HortTechnology, 34(4), 499-504. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH05458-24

Lindsey, A. J., Schiavon, M., Unruh, J. B., & Kenworthy, K. (2025). Urban Landscapes: Turfgrass Benefits. Grasses, 4(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/grasses4010003

National Drought Mitigation Center; U.S. Department of Agriculture; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2026). United States Drought Monitor. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions