Location: Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research
Project Number: 8070-13000-015-038-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2025
End Date: Aug 31, 2026
Objective:
The Conewago Creek watershed, which is part of the Upper Chesapeake Bay (UCB) node of USDA’s Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network, represents an ongoing successful partnership between the Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit (University Park, PA) and the Cooperator. The partnership engages scientists, practitioners, and farmers in participatory research that is designed to enhance the prosperity, productivity, and quality of small, rural farms in the Conewago Creek watershed. To that end, this agreement establishes five objectives that PSWMRU and the Cooperator will pursue in collaboration:
1. Develop and maintain a current directory of agricultural stakeholders in the watershed.
2. Hold annual watershed stakeholder meetings to discuss agricultural issues and research needs.
3. Support interagency efforts to maintain continuous monitoring on Little Conewago Creek.
4. Conduct watershed monitoring monthly at five locations and seasonally at thirty locations.
5. Use windshield surveys and farmer interviews to maintain a catalogue of conservation practices.
Approach:
The Cooperator will work closely with USDA-ARS’s Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit (PSWMRU) to address stakeholder engagement, watershed monitoring, and research partnership objectives that are specified in this agreement.