The New England Regional Water Program

1. New England is one of 10 regions making up the 406 National Water Program, “A partnership of USDA CSREES and the Land Grant System”

2. The New England Regional Water Program Long-Term Goal: To strengthen the Land Grant Universities’ capacity to deliver an integrated water quality program that educates, empowers, and engages agricultural producers, residents and communities throughout New England to become effective stewards of their local water resources.

3. INTEGRATED Land Grant Capacity Education Research Extension

4. national regional county community Land Grant Capacity Needs identified Research conducted and disseminated Education delivered and evaluated Additional needs identified…

5. The New England Regional Water Program • Creates locally relevant, research-based education and extension programs focused on individual and community environmental management. • Identifies needs and builds upon successful local programs leveraging multiple sources of support and partnerships. • Works at both local and regional scales to develop, test and refine programs. • Creates and disseminates new materials, tools and curricula for use throughout New England.

6. New England Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) New England Private Well Initiative Nutrient and Pest Management on Organic Farms Reducing Phosphorus Impacts With Manure Management River and Stream Restoration Sustainable Landscaping Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Focus Areas The CSREES New England Regional Water Program focuses research, education, and Extension efforts in the following areas:

7. Programs that combine geo-spatial technologies, community education, demonstrations, and hands-on training to assist local decision makers and citizens in watershed management Focus Area: New England NEMO Audience: Planning boards, conservation commissions, councils, citizens and a variety of land stewards • Goals: • To use geo-spatial technologies to demonstrate land use effects on water quality • To work with communities to protect local water resources through better planning • To develop and maintain partnerships among state NEMO programs, the National NEMO network, Land Grant Universities, environmental organizations and local officials.

8. Focus Area: New England NEMO Partner Organizations Include: EPA NOAA Nat. Estuarine Research Reserve Sea Grant U.S. Geological Survey USDA NRCS State environmental agencies and planning offices Lake and watershed associations Regional planning commissions Example Program: Linking Land Use to Water Quality (Connecticut NEMO) Outreach Method: Workshops Audience: Local land use officials • Topics: • Relationship of land use to natural resource protection • Use of geospatial technologies for watershed assessment Impact:Influenced towns to change land use plans, regulations and policies to protect water quality

9. A multi-state, inter-agency initiative to protect quality and quantity of groundwater for private well users. Focus Area: New England Private Well Initiative Audience: Includes private well owners, community leaders, and public health officials • Goals: • To educate private well owners to test their wells regularly and respond • To identify critical research and educational needs • To develop and share expertise and resources throughout the region • To strengthen connections between research, Extension and regulatory and technical assistance groups

10. Focus Area: New England Private Well Initiative Partner Organizations Include: EPA Water Systems Council American Groundwater Trust USDA NRCS RCAP Solutions Extension programs State health departments and environmental agencies Home*A*Syst Farm*A*Syst Example Program: Home*A*Syst Private Well Protection Education (Rhode Island Department of Health and the University of Rhode Island) Outreach Methods: Educational materials and workshops Audience: Private well owners • Topics: • Well water testing and treatment • Reducing water quality contamination around the home

11. Programs that draw upon educational and research successes to address water quality issues related to organic farming systems. Focus Area: Nutrient and Pest Management on Organic Farms Audience: Agricultural service providers, farmers, Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG), and food system organizations such as Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) Goals: To help farmers address issues related to organic farming, such as minimizing weed pressure through cropping system ecology and the application of organic nutrient sources to minimize nutrient loss

12. Focus Area: Nutrient and Pest Management on Organic Farms Partner Organizations Include: EPA USDA NRCS Farm Services Agency American Agronomy Society U.S. Geological Survey State environmental and agricultural agencies Example Program: 2004 University of Maine Sustainable Agriculture Field Day Outreach Methods: Demonstrations and research-based presentations Audience: Farmers, researchers, agency representatives and educators • Topics: • Non-chemical weed management • Soil quality in vegetable production • Insect predation on weed seed

13. Programs that use research-based information to assist farmers in making the transition to new nutrient management plans Focus Area: Reducing Phosphorus Impacts With Manure Management Audience: Agricultural service providers, farmers, New England Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG), and food system organizations such as Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) • Goals: • To refine the Phosphorus Index for New England • To develop improved nutrient management planning tools • To educate agricultural consultants on the newest research-based information

14. Focus Area: Reducing Phosphorus Impacts With Manure Management Partner Organizations Include: EPA USDA NRCS Farm Services Agency American Agronomy Society U.S. Geological Survey State environmental and agricultural agencies Example Program: In-Service Training for Agricultural Service Providers Outreach Method: Regional collaborative workshop Audience: Agricultural service providers • Topics: • Certified Crop Advisor recertification • Reducing phosphorus impacts on dairy and livestock farms

15. An integrated program with a strong commitment to research and development, sustained outreach, training and technical assistance, and expanded graduate and undergraduate education Focus Area: River and Stream Restoration Audience: State and federal resource agencies, the general public, and researchers of watershed-related issues • Goals: • Conduct practical, “on demand” case studies in river and stream restoration • To provide training for river management professionals and future scientists in habitat modeling • To provide research-based technical services to resource managers and conservationists to allow for more sustainable use of water resources

16. Focus Area: River and Stream Restoration Partner Organizations Include: EPA U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Example Program: Northeast Instream Habitat Program (University of Massachusetts) Outreach Method: Educational workshops Audience: Resource managers and conservationists • Topics: • Flow monitoring • River and stream restoration • Using the MesoHabSim habitat modeling system for river restoration modeling and evaluation

17. Programs that promote "smart" landscaping techniques to enhance and protect water quality by reducing surface runoff, minimize leaching of agrichemicals, and reducing nutrient contamination to water resources Focus Area: Sustainable Landscaping Audience: Homeowners, town officials, landscape management service providers, wastewater professionals, and environmental organizations • Goals: • Educate and encourage landowners to implement best management practices (BMPs) that: • Minimize inputs to the residential ecosystem, and • Maximize the retention and transformation of pollutants within the ecosystem

18. Focus Area: Sustainable Landscaping Partner Organizations Include: EPA National Integrated Water Quality Program (NIWQP) Foundations and NGOs Municipal, regional, state and federal governments Example Program: Watershed Stewards Program (UMaine Cooperative Extension) Outreach Method: Water quality educational training sessions Audience: Maine residents • Topics: • Water quality monitoring • Safe Home gardening • Habitat and environmental restoration • Public water supplies

19. Well-established volunteer monitoring programs that address a variety of local water quality concerns Focus Area: Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Audience: Active and potential volunteers, members of the shellfishing industry, local officials, local watershed organizations, and local chapters of national organizations such as Trout Unlimited • Goals: • To improve the quality and reliability of volunteer monitoring data • To develop and refine volunteer monitoring training guides and workshops • To improve the accessibility of data for public and decision maker use

20. Focus Area: Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Partner Organizations Include: EPA USGS Local communities Nonprofits Public and private schools Native American communities State agencies University Sea Grant programs Example Program: New Hampshire Lakes Lay Monitoring Program (University of New Hampshire) Outreach Methods: Training workshops, hands-on learning through volunteer monitoring Audience: citizens, stakeholders in lake management • Topics: • Monitoring water quality parameters such as chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen and total phosphorus • Statistical analysis of long-term trends in water quality