Technical Abstract: The NRCS uses science-based technology to provide conservation planning and assistance to land owners and land operators to maintain productive lands and healthy ecosystems. Evaluating science-based literature on effectiveness of rangeland conservation practices is an important first step as it provides a valuable source of information and the synthesis will serve as a “living document” that can be updated as new scientific information is available. The comprehensive literature synthesis of peer-reviewed scientific research “broadly supports” many of the conservation practice standard purposes. The synthesis identifies a lack of research that specifically applies to conservation practices as a common occurring theme. The research community has not often conducted long-term studies (>10 years) to document ecosystem outcomes, including both ecosystem goods and services derived from implementing conservation practices. Similarly, the USDA has not emphasized or funded either short- or long-term monitoring investigations following the implementation of conservation practices because the benefits were assumed to be self-evident or that they were too costly or difficult to obtain. In general, natural resource research is focused on short-term challenges, with less attention and fewer resources devoted to long-term and fundamental research. Also, very few rangeland research efforts seek to incorporate the “human factor” that is key to making long-term changes in management or practice application successful. A new mechanism of funding research and changes in agencies polices and program that focus on long term (i.e., >10 years) monitoring of impacts of conservation is required to document cost-effectiveness of conservation. This research should focus on what new technologies and monitoring systems are needed to observe and measure the important abiotic and biotic variables in a cost-effective and timely manner to meet the needs of adaptive management required of producers and federal and state agencies at local, regional, and national scales.