Developing "Comparable" Small Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Protocols Sponsored by the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee

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Through the 2008 USDA Farm Bill, approximately $188M of new federal funds were committed to significantly increase conservation practice implementation across the Chesapeake through the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI). Unlike previous Congressional appropriations, the CBWI encouraged the identification and prioritization of select tributaries within the basin to target the application of increased financial and technical assistance. In response to the Congressional request, USDA’s NRCS as administrator of the CBWI has further refined the original prioritization through a concerted collaboration between individuals from USGS, EPA, the UMD-MAWP, PSU, and CRC. NRCS has decided to prioritize its implementation to small watersheds in the basin (up to 10 per state), thereby permitting intense, spatially finite conservation practice implementation at scales where water quality improvements might be detected through a focused small watershed monitoring program. Due to the unique nature of the Congressional appropriation, NRCS has been provided the ability to ‘target’ its financial and technical assistance for base programs to enhance implementation levels within identified small watersheds. With this current shift in program application, the community now has an excellent opportunity to quantify small watershed responses to the geo-focused land management. In the spring of 2009, STAC sponsored two workshops to derive a short list of comparable field monitoring and assessment approaches to assure quantifiable, comparable responses in these managed basins. The workshops addressed: Developing criteria to select small watersheds for enhanced monitoring and assessment of the relation between implementation of management actions and water-quality response. Recommend optimal approaches for several types of monitoring needed in small watersheds: land-use activities, implementation of practices, and water-quality monitoring. Present ideas for enhanced assessment of the monitoring information in the small watersheds and how to transfer the results. The following information summarizes the presentations, discussions, and results of those workshops.

WORKSHOP 1: Prioritizing Monitoring Designs, Parameters, Analysis and Data Sets April 23-24, 2009 at USGS in Baltimore

Attendees:

Ken Carter, Virginia Tech-STAC David Dirscott, stroud Center Mark Dubin, MAWP-CBPO Mark Dubin, University of Maryland - CBPO Tom Fisher, UMCES-HPL Katie Foreman, UMCES-CBPO Lamonte Garber, MSRA Jake Goodwin, Chesapeake Research Consortium - CBPO Tom Grizzard, Delaware DNREC Cully Hession, Virginia Tech John Jackson, stroud Center Tom Jordan, SERC Jeni Keisman, UMCES-CBPO Megan Lang, USDA-ARS John McCoy, MD DNR Kevin McGonigal, SRBC Bruce Michael, MD DNR Richard Mitchell, USEPA-OWOW Glenn Moglen, Virginia Tech Scott Phillips, USGS Kristin Politano, UMCES-CBL Kristen Saache Blunk, Penn State Kevin Sellner, Chesapeake Research Consortium Aisha M. Sexton, USDA-ARS Scott Stranko, MD DNR Ken Staver, UMD Wye Center Peter Tango, UGSG-CBPO Liz Van Dolah, Chesapeake Research Consortium Michael Williams, UMCES Don Weller, SERC-STAC Gene Yagow, Virginia Tech

Presentations:

AGENDA Using Paired Watersheds to Measure the Effect of Agricultural Practices on Nutrient Discharges John McCoy, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Using Landscape Modeling to Infer Effects of Riparian Buffers on Nutrate Discharges from Hundreds of Watersheds in Different Physiographic Provinces Don Weller and Tom Jordan, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Choptank/Tuckahoe CEAP Design Tom Fisher, Horn Point Biological Laboratory - UMCES, and Greg McCarty USDA Beltsville Nested Watershed Monitoring Designs Tom Grizzard, Virginia Tech/STAC Small Watershed Monitoring Design Cully Hession, Virginia Tech Chesapeake Bay Farm Bill Project Monitoring Strategy Peter Tango, Chesapeake Bay Program Office - USGS, and Katie Foreman, Chesapeake Bay Program Office - UMCES **Additional material forthcoming

WORKSHOP 2: Selecting Small Watersheds for Assessing WQ Response of Accerlated Ag Conservation Implementation May 28-29, 2009 at USGS in Baltimore

Attendees:

Amanda Bassow, NRWF Matt Baker, UMBC Mark Bennett, Virginia Tech Wade Biddix, NRCS-VA Joel Blomquist, USGS Claire Buchanan, ICPRB Ann Carkhuff, EPA-RS John Clune, USGS Jana Davis, Chesapeake Bay Trust Craig Derickson, USDA Mark Dubin, MAWP-CBPO Katie Foreman, UMCES-CBPO Barry Frantz, Assistant State Conservationist Jake Goodwin, CRC-CBPO Rick Hoffman, VA DEQ Susan Holdsworth, EPA-DC Kristen Hughes, CBF Ken Hyer, USGS-VA Fred Irani, USGS Tom JOrdan, SERC Mike Langland, USGS-PA Mary Ellen Ley, USGS-CBPO Rob McAfee, USDA Greg McCarty, USDA-ARS Laura McConnell, USDA-ARS John McCoy, MD DNR Beth McGee, CBF Kevin McGonigal, SRBC Eileen McLellan, Environmental Defense Fund Jack Meisinger, USDA Bruce Michael, MD DNR Hassan Mirsajardi, DE DNREC Richard Mitchell, USEPA-OWOW Matt Monroe, WVDA Bill O'Donnell, Assistan State Conservationist Scott Phillips, USGS Kristen Saache Blunk, Penn State Russ Perkinson, VA DCR Paul Petrickjenko, Assistant State Conservationist Royden Powell, MDA Bill Richardson, EPA Region 3 Mark Rose, Assistant State Conservationist Scott Stranko, MD DNR Kelly Shenk, EPA-CBPO Rick Shertzer, PA DEP Pat Stuntz, Keith Campbell Foundation Fred Suffian, EPA Region 3 Peter Tango, UGSG-CBPO Liz Van Dolah, Chesapeake Research Consortium Liana Vitali, CRC-CBPO Don Weller, SERC-STAC John Wirts, WV DEP Gene Yagow, Virginia Tech

Presentations and Materials:

AGENDA Overview of monitoring Designs for Estimating Water Quality Change in Small Agricultural Watersheds Tom Jordan, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Proposed Criteria for Selecting Small Watersheds to Monitor Scott Phillips, USGS - Baltimore Overview of Chesapeake Bay Watershed Monitoring Networkd and Monitoring Prjects in Small Agricultural Watersheds Katie Foreman, UMCES-Chesapeake Bay Program Office Overview of Agricultural Conservation Implementation Efforts in Small Agricultural Watersheds Kelly Shenk, EPA - Chesapeake Bay Program Office PA DEP and USGS Monitoring in NRSC Priority Watersheds Selecting Promising Small Watersheds for Assessing Water Quality Response of Accelerated Agricultural Conservation Implementation Cantidate Small Agricultural Watersheds in Virginia for Accelerated Implementation Efforts Workshop Polling Results for Selecting Promising Small Watersheds **Additional material forthcoming

Workshop Steering Committee

Mark Dubin, Mid Atlantic Water Program - CBPO: mdubin@chesapeakebay.net Katie Foreman, UMCES - CBPO: kforeman@chesapeakebay.net Tom Jordan, Smithsonian Evironmental Research Center: jordanth@si.edu Scott Phillips, USGS Baltimore: swphillips@usgs.gov Kevin Sellner, Chesapeake Research Consortium/STAC:sellnerk@si.edu Kelly Shenk, US EPA-Chesapeake Bay Program office: kelly.shenk@epa.gov Don Weller, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center/STAC: wellerd@si.edu

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