The Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative aims to improve watershed health through agricultural conservation practices. It focuses on reducing sediment and nutrient movement, restoring habitat and wetlands, and maintaining agricultural productivity. Currently there are 73 projects across 13 states implementing practices like nutrient management, cover crops, and erosion controls. Monitoring shows the program is achieving reductions in sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen movement of over 1.6 million pounds, 45,000 pounds, and 1.8 million pounds respectively between 2010-2015 through targeted conservation planning and implementation at the small watershed level.

2. Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds InitiativeMississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative
• Objective
– Improve the health of small watersheds by connecting locally
to agricultural producers and land
• Priorities
– Reduce off-site movement of sediment and nutrients
– Restore and enhance wildlife habitat and wetlands
– Maintain agricultural productivity
• Use a Systems Approach
– Conservation practices are used in combination for greater
effectiveness
• Examples of Conservation Practices
– Nutrient management
– Conservation tillage
– Cover crops
– Erosion control structures
– Management of agricultural drainage water 2

3. • Currently 73 active projects in 13
states
• $100 million dedicated in
Environmental Quality Incentives
Program from 2015–2018
• Additional funding opportunities
through Conservation Stewardship
Program (CSP), Agricultural
Conservation Easements Program
(ACEP), Regional Conservation
Partnership Program (RCPP)
Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI)

4. 4
102
78
77
6663
52
68
65
67
Number of Partners Reported
NRCS MRBI Watershed Projects (2010-2014)

5. Key Findings of the CEAP Cropland
Regional Assessments
(Upper Mississippi, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes,
Ohio/Tennessee)
• The voluntary, incentives-based conservation approach is achieving results
• Opportunities exist to further reduce sediment and nutrient losses from cropland
• Comprehensive conservation planning and implementation are essential
• Targeting enhances effectiveness and efficiency
• Full treatment of the most vulnerable acres will require suites of conservation
practices because no single practice is a universal solution

6. Selection of Focus Areas for MRBI
• In consultation with State Technical Committees
• 8-digit HUCs
• Utilized a consistent watershed evaluation process including:
– Information from CEAP
– SPARROW model
– State-level nutrient
reduction strategies and
priorities
– State-level water quality
data
– Available monitoring and
modeling of nitrogen and
phosphorus management

7. Alignment with State Nutrient Reduction Strategies

8. Alignment with State Nutrient
Reduction Strategies
• NRCS and the state agencies confer on watershed priorities
and geographies.
• Leveraging of state and federal funds
• Many of the agriculture-related actions recommended in the
strategies fit MRBI Core Practices
– Sheet, Rill and Gulley Erosion Control
– Wetlands, Drainage Water Management
– Cover Crops
– 4R Nutrient Management
– Grazing Management
8

9. MRBI: Targeted Approach to ConservationMRBI: Targeted Approach to Conservation
• Concentrate efforts in focus areas
(high priority) at the small watershed
scale (HUC12)
• Identify critical or vulnerable acres
within the watersheds with the
greatest need for practice
implementation
Focus
Area
Focus
Area
12-Digit HUC
Initiative Areas
12-Digit HUC
Initiative Areas

10. Avoiding
 Nutrient management
Rate, Timing, Form, Method
Controlling
 Residue and tillage
management
 Drainage Water Management
Trapping
 Buffers
 Wetlands designed for
nutrient removal
Conservation Systems Targeting: Avoid, Control, Trap (ACT)
Avoiding
TrappingControlling
ACT

11. Goals for Active MRBI Projects

12. Outputs and Outcomes – A Work in Progress
– Tracking Implementation
– Planning and Assessment Tools
– Edge of Field Reductions - modeled (CEAP)
– Edge of Field Reductions – monitoring
– Load Reductions - modeled
– In-Stream monitoring

13. Measuring Progress-
Implementation Tracking
State Contracts Treated Acres Obligation
Arkansas 1,664 389,808 $78,096,762
Illinois 114 15,100 $1,525,242
Indiana 170 56,399 $8,728,601
Iowa 855 145,447 $26,579,189
Kentucky 216 38,276 $4,608,607
Louisiana 86 23,526 $2,359,240
Minnesota 245 71,072 $5,470,356
Mississippi 804 122,974 $45,599,488
Missouri 1,421 145,863 $41,517,397
Ohio 152 14,253 $7,400,028
South Dakota 61 23,249 $1,883,999
Tennessee 305 33,317 $4,772,743
Wisconsin 96 19,963 $1,768,362
2010 - 2015
Practices:
Cover crop
Nutrient management
Irrigation water management
Irrigation system improvements
Tillage and residue management
Terrace
Grade stabilization
Waste storage facilities

14. Measuring Progress-
Planning Evaluation Tools
• Complete analysis of benchmark condition and planned
system
• Metrics associated with planning/evaluation tools to provide
anticipated impacts on specific resource concerns –
– RUSLE2
– WQIag
– Phosphorus/Nitrogen Index
– Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP)
– Geospatial analysis

15. Measuring Progress-
CEAP Framework
• NRCS used the Conservation Effects Assessment Program
(CEAP) statistical framework and calibrated modeling system
to estimate the amount of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus
reduced in MRBI small watersheds at the edge of field
• Framework currently applies to cropland only and does not
include some edge-of-field and instream practices that have a
high conservation benefit

16. Measuring Progress-
CEAP Framework - MRBI
0
200000
400000
600000
800000
1000000
1200000
1400000
1600000
1800000
2000000
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
350000
400000
450000
500000
Nitrogen (lbs)
Sediment (tns)/Phosphorus (lbs)
Total Pollutant Reductions 2010‐2015
Sediment Reduction Phosphorus Reduction Nitrogen Reduction

17. Tools used in Collaboration with Partners
• Step-L/Region 5 spreadsheet
• Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF)
(USDA-ARS)
• annAGNPS (USDA-ARS)
• LOADEST (Purdue) – estimates from monitoring data
• Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) surveys

18. EOF monitoring in the MRBI
• It provides direct feedback on what is
happening on the farm
• It provides validation for tools and
assumptions
• It is confidential
• It engages the farmer at a very real level
of “what can I do to improve water
quality?”

19. EOF Monitoring to Date
• NRCS has existing AS 201/202
projects in AR, IN, MS, MO, NY,
OH, VT, WA, and WI.
• AL, IA and MI will be offering
EOF monitoring this FY.
• Since 2013, NRCS has funded
27 projects for approximately
$4.2M.

20. In-Stream Monitoring (Partners)
• NRCS will support edge-of-field monitoring and will
rely on other partners for in-stream monitoring and
monitoring at the outlet of the HUC12 (or other water
body)
• Where possible, EOF sites are located upstream of
existing in-stream monitoring sites with available
historical flow and water quality record to provide
additional insight into water quality improvement
USGS photo

21. MRBI Project – Upper Birds Point, MO
Targeting within HUC12 • Cropland that received damage during the 2011 flood
• Cropland that exceeds 3% slope with soil map units classified
as Hydrologic Group B, C, D
• Cropland with soil map units exceeding erosion K factor of 0.3
• Cropland with rice in rotation
Project Goals/Metrics • Reduce nutrient off-site movement
• Increase use of cover crops to 20% of watershed area
• Implement IWM and improve system efficiencies to reduce
runoff/leaching
• Implement grade stabilization on areas with concentrated flow
Tools • Nutrient Tracking Tool (NTT) – Calibrated specifically for use in
Missouri
• Drop Pipe program

22. MRBI Project – Upper Birds Point, MO
• Targeting strategies are
watershed specific to
reflect local conditions
• Identify inherent
vulnerabilities of the
physical landscape
• Determine existing
treatment levels
Project information courtesy of
Steve Hefner, Missouri NRCS

23. MRBI Project – Middle Eel, IN
Targeting within HUC12 • Conventionally tilled cropland
• Eroding row crop fields
• Livestock access to streams
• Inadequate waste storage
• Cropland without nutrient management plans
Project Goals/Metrics • Reduce nutrient off-site movement
• Improve stream ecological integrity
• Implement soil health practices
• Provide outreach and learning opportunities
• Link to other projects in the basin
Tools • Region 5 spreadsheet
• Biotic integrity (with partner)
• Water quality monitoring (with partner)

24. MRBI Project – Middle Eel, IN
Project information courtesy of Jill Reinhart, Indiana NRCS

25. Making Progress – Indian Creek Watershed, IL
• MRBI project through the CCPI
• Many partners involved bringing
expertise and funding (CTIC, IL EPA,
SWCDs)
• Concentration of practice
implementation-- large producer
participation, implemented practices on
57% of the watershed area
• Analyses of water samples collected
between 2010 and 2015 are showing a
positive impact on nutrient losses within
the region

26. Making Progress– St. Francis River, AR
• MRBI project through the CCPI - 2010
• Cross County and Poinsett County Conservation
Districts, ANRC, UA, AGFC, TNC, ADEQ
• Targeted approach -partners identified areas of high
conservation need and tailored practices, such as
nutrient management, residue and tillage
management, water control structures, and irrigation
pipelines
• In 2014, following years of focused conservation
work, two segments of the St. Francis River were
removed from the impaired waterway list because
water quality had improved

27. Questions?
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