2010 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) Principal focus of the CEAP effort is to produce a national assessment of environmental benefits of conservation programs to support policy decision and program implementation. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) Utilize ARS historical watershed databases to validate the SWAT model and then utilize this model to determine the impact of conservation practices on water quality, soil quality, air quality, and wildlife habitat. Documents Reimbursable with NRCS-CEAP. Log 33720. 6/09: formerly 5325-22000-020-22R (6/09). 3.Progress Report The USDA team working on CEAP has developed a new process based model for assessing soil erosion rates on rangeland hillslopes. The Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) was developed exclusively from data collected from rangeland erosion experiments. The model is designed to use data that is routinely collected by rangeland managers. RHEM will be used to calculate runoff and erosion at the hillslope scale and will replace the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation on grazing lands. The team has completed analysis of data from over 10,000 field sites collected by NRCS in support of the National Resources Inventory. The team is currently developing 2 publications that summarize water induced soil erosion on rangelands for the Nation in support of the USDA Resource Conservation Assessment report that will be submitted to Congress in January of 2011. This model is scheduled for release by NRCS as part of its streamlining conservation initiative. The ARS PI has monthly teleconference with his ARS and NRCS partner’s to discuss the status of the project. The ARS and NRCS partners meet four times in FY 2010 to review progress on the project and make adjustments as required to achieve milestones and obtain project goals. Problem Statement A: Need for economically viable rangeland management practices, germplasm, technologies and strategies to conserve and enhance rangelands ecosystems. National Program: Pasture, Forage and Range Land Systems (NP #215) Component 1: Rangeland Management Systems to Enhance the Environment and Economic Viability.