ILS is a coalition of leading producers of corn, soybean, rice, cotton, dairy, cattle, pork, and poultry whose purpose is to take a proactive approach to ensure effective, scientifically sound water quality policies that meet the unique needs of agriculture and maintain the economic viability of the industry. In short, ILS assists producers in addressing Clean Water Act issues.

The objective of ILS is through collaboration and cooperation to develop, lead, and carry out a voluntary local basin wide strategy of nonpoint source nutrient management in each state's critical watersheds, ultimately reducing the delivery of excess nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico. For more information go to the ILS Web site.

The Integrated Drainage-Wetland Systems for Reducing Nitrate Loads from the Des Moines Lobe Watersheds project is a cooperative proposal by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Iowa State University and will partner with three drainage districts in Palo Alto and Pocahontas counties in Iowa. The project focus is to reduce the nitrate load to the Gulf of Mexico by structural modifications to subsurface drainage systems. Soil, topography, and weather data will be used with improved crop growth, hydrologic, and wetland models to design integrated wetlands and controlled/shallow drainage systems. Integrating these systems will optimize the reduction of NO3 loads at the watershed scale to achieve a systems approach as compared to a conventional approach.

Modeling results predicting performance and determining the preferred design will be used with landowner cooperation to develop the optimum drainage-wetland system design for specific study areas. A voluntary, cost-share program will be used for construction of this design to further reduce landowner costs. Performance of the designs will be monitored through water quality sampling to show NO3 and hydrologic reductions and measurement of production impacts to demonstrate any enhanced economic returns. The designs and cost estimates will also be used to assess the extension of this technology and practice across the Des Moines Lobe.

The Upper Sangamon River watershed is located in Central Illinois and exhibits water quality problems typical of agricultural watersheds in the upper Midwest. In 1922, Lake Decatur, a prominent feature of the watershed, was formed to provide water for domestic use and processing of agricultural products. The Upper Sangamon River Watershed Committee, co-chaired by a farmer and a Decatur City Council member, will devote Targeted Watershed funds to three interrelated projects to improve water quality locally, regionally, and in the Gulf of Mexico by reducing unnecessary nutrient discharges from agricultural areas.

One project will use GIS-based software and precision agriculture technology in on-farm trials to optimize nitrogen management. A second study will demonstrate drainage water management and subsurface bioreactors to reduce movement of nitrates through drainage tiles to surface waters. The third study will address economic and environmental benefits from soil testing and variable rate technology to improve phosphorus management.

Located in central Arkansas, the 170 square mile (440 sq. km) Fourche Watershed drains and filters over 99% of the Little Rock metropolitan area. In 2003, Fourche Creek was identified by EPA as federal priority with its Brownsfield Designation. The proposal, developed by Audubon Arkansas, is aimed at decreasing hypoxia contaminants, improving wetlands and water quality, and increasing public awareness and involvement in this urban watershed.

Targeted Watershed funds will be used to revitalize wetland function through reforestation and stream bank and wetland restoration. The expected environmental outcomes of the project are a 5% reduction in sediment and nutrients, the establishment of more sustainable methods for municipal operations and maintenance, a 20% reduction of floatable trash, and an outreach campaign to reach at least 500,000 people in the watershed.

USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service is partnering with Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Farm Service Agency (FSA) and other agencies to conduct a national assessment of environmental benefits and effects of 2002 Farm Bill programs. The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) will study the benefits of most conservation practices implemented through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, Conservation Reserve Program and NRCS Conservation Technical Assistance.

This project will evaluate conservation practices and management systems related to nutrient, manure, and pest management, buffer systems, tillage, irrigation, and drainage practices, as well as wildlife habitat establishment, and wetland protection and restoration. CEAP will provide the farming community, general public, legislators and others with a scientific accounting of environmental benefits achieved through conservation programs. For more information go to the project Web site.

The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) has been proactive in executing a strategy to improve nitrogen (N) fertilizer efficiency and quantify management performance. Over 150 growers using global positioning system (GPS) and yield monitors have been involved over the last 4 years to execute over 400 replicated field trials focused on improving their management.

The net result was the majority of the growers improved their management beyond current best management practices (BMPs)/University recommendations and became more profitable by improving their fertilizer efficiency. In one example, a grower raises 1,000 acres of corn annually and is increasing his profits an estimated $8,000 by decreasing N rate by 46 lbs/acre. For more information go to their Web site.

ISA watershed planning provides leadership and applied environmental research supporting organized watersheds. ISA coordinates its programming as part of a comprehensive watershed management effort. Area wide and individual technical and program planning assistance is supported, in addition to management evaluation, applied research, and communication efforts.

Evaluating Management Practices and Environmental Outcomes at the Watershed Level - ISA watershed programming applies a multi-phased management practice and environmental outcome evaluation. Each phase is iterative and features combinations and use of information technology tools, methods, and evaluation design. Production data is collected and analysis is performed to evaluate response to management and correlation with variables such as soil types, tillage and fertilizer application rates, timing, and sources. The effort becomes a participatory learning experience for growers bolstered by science and data.

Certified Environmental Management Systems for Agriculture (CEMSA) is a three-year project to implement an environmental management system or EMS, which is practical and feasible for use in a farming operation. The agricultural system is based on the ISO 14001 EMS that is well known in industrial settings.

An EMS helps define a farm's environmental policy. This policy guides a farmer through planning, implementing, evaluating and reviewing business decisions that affect the environment. EMS provides a way to evaluate existing environmental risks on a farm. Once risks are identified, they are prioritized and an action plan is developed to address the risks. A custom-made EMS plan seeks to lessen possible detrimental environmental impacts related to a farm's inputs, production processes and outputs. For more information go to the CEMSA Web site.

Coastal Restoration Strategies. A joint effort by the New Orleans District of the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources to address Louisiana's massive coastal land loss problem.

The Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Comprehensive Coastwide Ecosystem Restoration Study was initiated to present to Congress a Comprehensive Plan that includes goals, feasibility reports, plan frameworks, resource and cost strategies, and a schedule of projects over a 10 year period.

The Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force A report developed by the state of Louisiana and Federal partners. The underlying principles of the new plan, "Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana," known as the Coast 2050 Plan, are to restore and/or mimic the natural processes that built and maintained coastal Louisiana. This necessitates basin-scale action to restore more natural hydrology and sediment introduction processes. The plan sub-divides Louisiana's coastal zone into four regions with a total of nine hydrologic basins. The plan proposes ecosystem restoration strategies that would result in efforts larger in scale than any that have been implemented in the past. (a downloadable PDF file)