Duration: 10/01/2008 to 09/30/2013

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

Healthy watersheds drive the environmental sustainability, quality of life, and economic viability of the West. The role of a watershed is to capture, store and safely release the water that falls sporadically in rangeland ecosystems. Appropriate ecologically based management on these lands is critical to watershed function, health and productivity. We propose to coordinate programming of extension rangeland watershed management education.

Most of the watersheds in the world, the US, and especially the West are rangeland watersheds. While the concentration of the human population remains sparse on most of these lands, our urban and rural populations depend on these lands for a variety of goods, services and values including clean water, sequestered carbon, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, open space, minerals, and beautiful landscapes. Consequently, urban and rural communities depend on the long-term sustainability of these lands. Properly managed, rangelands can provide these goods, services and values.

For the past decade Cooperative Extension education programs in the western states have been helping rangeland owners and managers learn about new practices and approaches to rangeland management that protect watersheds, water quality, habitat and biodiversity while supporting economic enterprises. Science-based extension education programs for owners and managers of public and private rangelands are the basis for reducing conflicts between land managers, environmental groups and regulatory agencies. This project proposes to apply traditional and new educational delivery methods to help rangeland owners and managers to voluntarily change practices. It provides a science-based curriculum that will be delivered in both the traditional workshop/classroom setting and also electronically through eXtension, forestandrange.org and/or RangelandsWest.org. Completion of these education programs will result in landowners and managers who monitor their effectiveness through sequential observations of short-term progress and long-term accomplishments. It will also result in certification of landowners or managers who are better prepared to participate in USDA programs such as EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentive Program) and CSP (Conservation Security Program). While educating rangeland owners and managers, this project will also result in public education that creates awareness of rangelands using media coverage to highlight good stewardship, educational tours and events, self-guided tours and roadside stops. A monitoring component will document the effectiveness of new practices and identify research needs.

To implement this program west-wide, Extension educators from the western states will develop a unified but flexible curriculum that emphasizes watershed management and water quality protection while also addressing the needs of rural and urban communities, fish and wildlife habitat, biodiversity and other conservation issues in the west. This project provides the opportunity to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of rangeland and watershed education by incorporating the important components of existing successful educational programs into one project that can be expanded throughout the western states and beyond.

Objectives

Procedures and Activities

A. Meet annually and collaborate electronically to share and evaluate current watershed educational programs in order to develop a synthesized west wide watershed education program that meets Committee objectives.

B. Seek extramural funding to support accomplishment of WDC 9 (WERA Temp 2241) objectives.

C. Produce program materials that can be delivered using traditional and web based media. For example the committee may develop a community of practice in eXtension, develop a webpage for rangelandswest.org or a training module for forestandrange.org.

D. Conduct train the trainers workshops in conjunction with the Society for Range Management or other venues.

E. Accumulate impact data from short and long-term program effectiveness and rangeland watershed monitoring.

F. Describe successful watershed extension programs in a publication such as Rangelands or Journal of the American Water Resources Association.

Expected Outcomes and Impacts

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Educational Plan

All of the western states have curricula that have been used with ranchers and agency managers for more than a decade. WDC 9 will review and adapt these existing rangeland watershed extension education materials for use throughout the west. Publish the resulting revised curricula so that it is widely accessible.

Committee, in collaboration with AES faculty, will develop an approach to monitoring watershed health that includes short-term indicators of improved management (practices implemented, monitoring records, funds invested and practice effectiveness), progress toward watershed resource objectives (bare ground, ground cover, changes in plant species composition, depth to ground water, spring flow, etc.), as well a longer term indicators of successful change in watershed structure and function (runoff, water quality, riparian condition, etc.). Publish the approach and procedures so that they are widely accessible.

Conduct specialist training so that they can adapt the curricula to their state. Specialists conduct training of county agents in home state. County agents conduct education program and document current management as a baseline for assessing management changes and changes in watershed structure and function.

Conduct watershed assessment and monitoring training for specialists on how to monitor short and long-term indicators of watershed structure and function and indicators of improved management. Specialists conduct training of county agents.

Publish a survey that documents program, management, and watershed indicators of impact.

Organization/Governance

Annually elect a committee chairman who will be responsible for coordinating meetings, writing reports and communicating with administrative advisors. The chair for 2008-2009 Dr. Sherman Swanson, University of Nevada-Reno. A Google Group will be set up to facilitate communication and collaboration.

Literature Cited

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

AZ, CA, CO, MS, MT, NE, NM, NV, OR, WA, WY

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions