# Presentation: 199052

## nepis.epa.gov/pubtitleORD.htm 

**nepis.epa.gov/pubtitleORD.htm**** **

## Example Case Studies

- Monroe County, PA, Poconos
- Camp Pendleton area, CA
- Muddy Creek, Benton County, OR
- Willamette basin, OR
- Iowa agricultural watersheds
- Mojave desert CA
- Blackberry Creek, Kane County, IL,
- Chico Creek, Kitsap County, WA

## Small watersheds in intensive agricultural areas in Iowa
Leveraged data from earlier studies
Project activities at universities in Oregon, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota

- Leveraged data from earlier studies
- Project activities at universities in Oregon, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota

**Case Study:  ****Iowa Agricultural Watersheds**

## Study Region

- U.S. Cornbelt, nearly all land in private ownership, agricultural land use
- Serious concerns over degradation in water quality, soil erosion, native biodiversity, human quality of life
- Precedent and potential for influence  of agricultural policy on land use

## Alternative agricultural practices
Expand use of best management practices
Conservation Reserve Program

- Expand use of best management practices
- Conservation Reserve Program

**Land Use Changes to Reduce Soil Erosion**

## Land Use Changes to Reduce Stream Pollution

- Riparian buffers
- Upland filter strips
- Alternative agricultural practices
- Alternative crops or commodities
- Nutrient detention wetlands,  engineered features

## Land Use Changes to Maintain Biodiversity

- Set-aside reserves
- Use of native species in plantings (roadsides, farmsteads, etc.)
- Restoration of wetlands
- Habitat connections

## Land Use Changes to Keep Families on Land

- Extensive livestock farming (instead of confined feeding operations)
- Diversification of operations
- Non-farm homes, biodiversity farmsteads

## Evaluating Land Use Alternatives

- Biodiversity
- Statistics of change in habitat for all non-fish vertebrate species, plus butterflies
- Spatially explicit population models for all mammals, plus 4 amphibian species
- Plant community model for plant biodiversity

## Evaluating Land Use Alternatives

- Water quality
- Spatially-distributed water quality model for nutrients and sediment
- Human dimensions
- Spatially explicit model of economic impacts (EPIC)
- Farmer interviews and farm planning

## Futures for Buck Creek

- Production

- Water Quality

- Biodiversity

- Pre-settlement

**Futures for Buck Creek**

## Futures for Walnut Creek

- Production

- Water Quality

- Biodiversity

- Pre-settlement

**Futures for Walnut Creek**

## Changes in Habitat

**Changes in Habitat**

- Buck Creek

- Walnut Creek

## Changes in All Endpoints

**Changes in All Endpoints**

- Buck Creek

- Walnut Creek

## Bibliography:  web sites

- Monroe County, Pennsylvania: http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/depts/larchdep/research/monroe/
- Camp Pendleton, Southern California: http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/studios/brc/brc.html
- Muddy Creek, Oregon: http://ise.uoregon.edu/Muddy/Muddy_abstract.html
- Willamette Basin, Oregon:                http://oregonstate.edu/dept/pnw-erc/
- Agricultural Watersheds, Iowa:      http://bufo.geo.orst.edu/tc/firma/ip/
- Kane County, Illinois: http://www.co.kane.il.us/kcstorm/blackberry/

## Bibliography: selected articles

- Baker JP, Hulse DW, Gregory SV, White D, Van Sickle J, Berger PA, Dole D, Schumaker NH.  2004.  Alternative futures for the Willamette River Basin, Oregon.  *Ecological Applications* 14(2):313-324.
- Hulse D, Eilers D, Freemark K, Hummon C, White D.  2000.  Planning alternative future landscapes in Oregon: evaluating effects on water quality and biodiversity.  *Landscape Journal* 19(2):1-19.
- Santelmann MV, White D, Freemark K, Nassauer JI, Eilers JM, Vache KB, Danielson BJ, Corry RC, Clark ME, Polasky S, Cruse RM, Sifneos J, Rustigian H, Coiner C, Wu J, Debinski D.  2004.  Assessing alternative futures for agriculture in Iowa, USA.  *Landscape Ecology* 19(4):357-374.
- Steinitz C, McDowell S.  2001.  Alternative futures for Monroe County, Pennsylvania:  a case study in applying ecological principles.  *Applying ecological principles to land management.*  Dale VH, Haeuber RA, editors.  Springer, New York. pp. 165-193.
- White D, Preston EM, Freemark KE, Kiester AR. 1999. A hierarchical framework for conserving biodiversity.  *Landscape Ecological Analysis: Issues and Applications.  *Klopatek JM, Gardner RH, editors. Springer, New York. pp. 127-153.