The USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) was established in 2003 to quantify the environmental effects of conservation practices and programs across different scales. CEAP involves research at watershed networks, national assessments, literature reviews, and watershed case studies. The goals are to develop the science behind managing agricultural landscapes for environmental quality and provide data demonstrating the outcomes of conservation programs. Fifteen years of research in CEAP watershed networks are helping to validate models, demonstrate improvements in water and soil quality from conservation practices, and enable targeting practices to sensitive areas.

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USDA Conservation Effects
Assessment Project
Fifteen years of research and assessment in
an ARS watershed network
Martin A. Locke
Director, USDA-ARS,
National Sedimentation Laboratory
Oxford, Mississippi USA

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Acknowledgments
•Lisa Durianicik, USDA-NRCS
•John Sadler, USDA-ARS
•Teferi Tsegaye, USDA-ARS
•Dale Bucks
•Steven Shafer
•Clarence Richardson
•Legions of scientists

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Background
•OMB requested reports of meaningful
outcomes of conservation programs
•Substantial increase in conservation programs
in the 2002 Farm Bill
•There was a call for more accountability of these programs
•Benefit to society
•NRCS needed help from the scientific community to provide data
to demonstrate outcomes of the programs
•2003 NRCS reached out to ARS first, then to others
•Developed a framework for assessment to guide design and
implementation of programs

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Goals and Purpose of CEAP
•Quantify environmental effects of conservation
practices and programs at regional and national
scales
•Develop science base for managing agricultural
landscapes for environmental quality
Source: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/nra/ceap/

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Scope of CEAP
•Assessments at national, regional,
and watershed scales
•42 CEAP watershed studies
•USDA partners include NRCS, ARS, NIFA,
FSA, ERS, USFS
•Others: USEPA, USGS, universities
•Principle components include:
•National assessments
•Bibliographies and literature reviews
•Watershed assessment studies (WAS)
Source: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/nra/ceap/

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National Assessment
•Goals:
• Provide quantitative estimates of effects of conservation
practices for national and regional reporting
• Assess potential for conservation programs to better
address Nation's environmental and conservation goals
•Assessments are done for four components:
Cropland, Wildlife, Wetland, Grazingland
•Cropland, example
• National Resources Inventory (NRI) to select
representative fields and farmer survey data
• Use APEX to estimate field scale benefits and SWAT and HUMUS to integrate
from field to national scales
• Obtain estimates of reduction of in-stream concentrations of pollutants due to
conservation practices
Source: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/nra/ceap/na/

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Bibliographies and Literature Reviews
•Dynamic bibliographies – Key word search through National
Agricultural Library
•Published bibliographies – Downloadable on various topics, including
croplands, wetlands, and grazinglands
•Literature reviews and syntheses – Downloadable or links for purchase
Source: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/technical/nra/ceap/blr/?cid=nrcs143_014146

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Watershed Assessment Studies
•ARS Benchmark Watersheds: Focus on water
and soil quality and water conservation as
primary resource concerns
•Special Emphasis Watersheds: Address specific
resource concerns
•Competitive Grants (NIFA) Watersheds: Focus
on understanding how best to locate and
sequence conservation efforts within
watersheds

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ARS Benchmark Watersheds
•13 ARS watersheds in cropland areas
•Selected for existing infrastructure and historical
databases
•Watershed research and data collection began
in 2003
•Goals:
•Develop watershed databases for conducting
assessments
•Assess water quality and other environmental
effects / benefits
•Assess practice costs and cost efficiencies
•Develop regionalized watershed models for
assessments

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ARS Benchmark Watersheds: Research Syntheses
•15 years: In progress for submission in 2018 as a special section for
publication in the J. Soil Water Cons. (Symposium this meeting)
• Model validations continue to inform CEAP Cropland National Assessment
• Demonstrated improvements in nutrient and sediment loss with BMP systems
•Tools to enable targeting conservation practices to sensitive areas

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Who uses the information from CEAP?
•Guide USDA conservation policy and program development
•Help conservationists, farmers and ranchers make more informed
conservation decisions
Source: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/nra/ceap/

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Questions?