Conservation Effects Assessment Project—Watershed Assessment Studies
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Version 12/10/2004
Watershed Assessment Studies
Introduction
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act, also known as the 2002 Farm Bill, increased funding
substantially for existing conservation programs and created funding for a new one—the Conservation
Security Program. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Agricultural Research
Service (ARS) have joined with other USDA and Federal agencies to initiate studies that will quantify the
environmental benefits of conservation practices implemented through these programs on retired and
working cropland, grazing land, agro-forest land and wetlands. A national assessment and watershed
studies comprise CEAP. The national assessment will track environmental benefits over time on a
national scale. In selected regions of the country, watershed studies will provide more detailed
assessments of environmental effects and benefits, a framework for evaluating and improving the
performance of the national assessment models, and additional research on conservation practices and
their expected effects at the watershed scale. Estimating environmental benefits of 2002 Farm Bill
programs will allow policymakers and program managers to improve implementation of existing
programs and design new programs to meet the goals of Congress more effectively.
CEAP involves many federal agencies besides NRCS and ARS. They include Farm Service Agency
(FSA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Cooperative State Research Education and
Extension Service (CSREES), Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Office of Risk Assessment and Cost Benefit Analysis
(ORACBA).
Vision and Overall Approach
The vision for the watershed studies is a core body of scientific assessments at a scale that will help Farm Bill
policy-makers and program managers optimize the conservation investments ne