All data available through STEWARDS are in the public domain, and are not restricted by copyright.  Users are strongly encouraged to contact the watershed data providers to ensure sound scientific data interpretation in the context of the historical results and their in situ experience with these data.

Publications utilizing data from STEWARDS must include formal acknowledgement of the data provider.  The formal acknowledgement includes:

••         The statement: "Datasets were provided by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service"

••         The ARS location and laboratory name(s) and citation provided in the citation section (#1) of the specific data set metadata.

••         Citation to at least one of the publications below to document the STEWARDS data system:

Steiner, J. L., Sadler. E. J., Chen, J-S., Wilson, G., James, D., Vandenberg, B., Ross, J., and Oster, T. L. Sustaining the Earth's Watersheds-Agricultural Research Watershed Data System: Overview. J. Soil & Water Cons. 63(6):569-576. 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10113/22765

Sadler, E. J., Steiner, J. L., Chen, J-S., Wilson, G., James, D., Vandenberg, B., Ross, J., Oster, T., Cole, K., and Hatfield, J.L. Sustaining the Earth's Watersheds-Agricultural Research Data System: User perspective, operation, and application.  J. Soil & Water Cons. 63(6):577-589. 2008.  http://hdl.handle.net/10113/22766

Steiner, J. L., Sadler. E. J., Hatfield, J. L., Wilson, G., James, D. E.., Vandenberg, B. C., Ross, J. D., Oster, T. L., and Cole, K. J. Data management to enhance long-term watershed research: Context and STEWARDS case study. J. of Ecohydrology. 2:391-398. 2009.  http://hdl.handle.net/10113/38988

Steiner, J.L., Sadler, E.J., Wilson, G., Hatfield, J.L., James, D., Vandenberg, B., Chen, J.-S., Oster, T., Ross, J.D., and Cole, K. STEWARDS watershed data system: system design and implementation. Transactions of the ASABE 52(5):1523-1533. 2009.  http://hdl.handle.net/10113/37984

Users who involve the local watershed researchers sufficiently to justify co-authorship are encouraged to consider including them as co-authors.

Please send an electronic copy of all published reports and manuscripts to:

                STEWARDS-DBA@ars.usda.gov

 Please send a second copy to the ARS location of the data provider identified in the metadata.