HR: 1340h
AN: H13E-1375    [Abstracts]
TI: Choosing a Watershed Size to Meet Program Goals: The Wisconsin Buffer Initiative Example
AU: * Maxted, J T
EM: jtmaxted@wisc.edu
AF: University of Wisconsin - Madison, Center for Limnology, 680 N. Park Street, Madison, WI 53706 United States
AU: Diebel, M W
EM: mwdiebel@wisc.edu
AF: University of Wisconsin - Madison, Center for Limnology, 680 N. Park Street, Madison, WI 53706 United States
AU: Vander Zanden, M J
EM: mjvanderzand@wisc.edu
AF: University of Wisconsin - Madison, Center for Limnology, 680 N. Park Street, Madison, WI 53706 United States
AB: The use of land management practices such as buffers to intercept agricultural runoff is a common approach to restoring stream water quality. The benefits realized through these practices can be compounded by implementing a program in the entire contributing area of the target stream. Choosing appropriately-sized watersheds for evaluation is important because there are tradeoffs in costs and benefits across a range of watershed sizes. The hydrologic continuity and accuracy of watershed delineation also influences the effectiveness of watershed-based conservation efforts. We evaluated program goals and watershed layers associated with previous conservation efforts by other governmental agencies. Then, as part of the Wisconsin Buffer Initiative, we delineated a new set of watersheds. We present a set of 1600 watersheds with an average size of 52 sq. km and a description of the methods used to delineate them. These watersheds will be used in a geographic targeting scheme aimed at identifying places most likely to respond to non-point source pollution reduction efforts.
DE: 1819 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
DE: 1879 Watershed
DE: 1880 Water management (6334)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005