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In the Pacific Northwest (PNW) there is a group of land grant university,
EPA, and NRCS specialists that took advantage of an opportunity
to increase producer adoption of nutrient and pest management practices
that protect water quality. The result is the Integrated Soil Nutrient
and Pest (iSNAP) Water Quality Education Project funded by the USDA
national Integrated Water Quality Program. The goal of this collaborative
effort is to deliver innovative education to agricultural professionals.
The target audience for this project includes Certified Crop Advisors,
Technical Service Providers, and licensed pest management professionals
that want practical educational programming that is locally adapted.
Some examples of iSNAP workshop topics are drift management and
buffers to reduce pesticide movement, strategies to protect surface
water and groundwater, and crop management practices to increase
nitrogen utilization efficiency. A regional NRCS advisory group
provides feedback to increase the alignment of iSNAP programs with
NRCS practices.
The PNW project offers a hands-on learning environment to evaluate
the linkage between nutrient management, pest management, and water
resources.
The objective of the iSNAP workshops is to have participants gain
experience collaboratively developing site-specific solutions to
meet both producer needs and resource protection goals.
Skills that agricultural professionals will gain as a result of
participateing in the iSNAP Project include:
- Assessing and communicating potential water resource benefits to producers
- Determining viable management alternatives that meet producer needs
- Improving management practices through monitoring
iSNAP
Project Outcomes
Integrated Pest and Nutrient Management Options: Practices and
Tools to Protect Water Quality Workshops. This new two-day program
was held in Corvallis, OR, Boise, ID and Pasco, WA this winter and
attracted over 125 participants.
Understanding Phosphorus Effects on Water Quality and Phosphorus
Management Alternatives Workshop. Held in March 2004 this two-day
program was conducted in Puyallup, WA with live video broadcast
sites in Twin Falls, ID and Corvallis, OR with a total of 75 agricultural
professionals.
Nutrient Management Trainings. Conducted during winter of
2003-04 in Coeur d'Alene, ID and Corvallis, OR these one-day events
had a total participation of 64 agricultural professionals.
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Paul Jepson, Director of the OSU Integrated
Plant Protection Center, explains the factors that influence
pesticide drift, February 2005, Pasco, WA. |
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Pacific Northwest Regional Water
Quality Coordination Project
Partners
Land Grant Universities
Alaska
Cooperative Extension Service
Contact Fred Sorensen:
907-786-6311
http://www.uaf.edu/ces/water/index.html
University Publications:
http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces/publications/
Idaho
University of Idaho
Cooperative Extension System
Contact Bob Mahler: 208-885-7025
http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqhome.html
University Publications:
http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Catalog/catalog.html
Oregon
Oregon State University
Extension Service
Contact Mike Gamroth: 541-737-3316
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/
University Publications:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/
Washington
Washington State University
WSU Extension
Contact Bob Simmons:
360-427-9670 ext.
690
http://wawater.wsu.edu/
University Publications:
http://pubs.wsu.edu/
Northwest Indian College
Contact Michael Cochrane: 360-392-4299
mcochrane@nwic.edu or
http://www.nwic.edu/
Water Resource Research Institutes
Water and Environmental Research
Center (Alaska)
http://www.uaf.edu/water/
Idaho Water Resources
Research Institute
http://www.boise.uidaho.edu/
Institute for Water and Watersheds
(Oregon)
http://water.oregonstate.edu/
State of Washington
Water Research Center
http://www.swwrc.wsu.edu/
Environmental Protection Agency
EPA, Region 10
The Pacific Northwest
http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/
Office of Research and Development,
Corvallis Laboratory
http://www.epa.gov/wed/
For more information contact
Jan Seago at 206-553-0038 or
seago.jan@epa.gov |
The
Project
Land Grant Universities, Water Research Institutes and EPA Region 10 have formed a partnership to provide research and education to communities about protecting or restoring the quality of water resources. This partnership is being supported in part by the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension System (CSREES).
Our Goal and Approach
The goal of this Project is to provide leadership for water resources research, education and outreach to help people, industry and governments to prevent and solve current and emerging water quality and quantity problems. The approach to achieving this goal is for the Partners to develop a coordinated regional water quality effort based on, and strengthening, individual state programs.
Our Strengths
The Project promotes regional collaboration by acknowledging existing
programs and successful efforts; assessing program gaps; identifying
potential issues for cross-agency and private sector collaboration;
and developing a clearinghouse of expertise and programs. In addition,
the Project establishes or enhances partnerships with federal, state
and local environmental and water resource management agencies,
such as by placing a University Liaison within the offices of EPA
Region 10.
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Our iSNAP Project web site increases access to online resources
and event information: http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/.
Planned activities for 2005 include: educational programs
on buffers and drift management, educational programs for producers,
a new publication on irrigation water quality, and online education
modules.
Program
Partners
- Oregon State University
- Washington State University
- University of Idaho
- US Environmental Protection Agency
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Western Region IPM Center Pacific Northwest Working Group
- Washington State Pesticide Safety Education Program
- Idaho State Pesticide Safety Education Program
- Idaho State IPM Program
- Oregon State IPM Program
On the web at: http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/
For more information contact:
Mary Staben, iSNAP Project Coordinator
Oregon State University
3017 ALS
Corvallis, OR 97331
541-737-2683, mary.staben@oregonstate.edu
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National Water Quality Program Areas
The four land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest have
aligned our water resource extension and research efforts with eight
themes of the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension
System.
- Animal Waste Management
- Drinking Water and Human Health
- Environmental Restoration
- Nutrient and Pesticide Management
- Pollution Assessment and Prevention
- Watershed Management
- Water Conservation and Agricultural Water Management
- Water Policy and Economics
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CSREES is the Cooperative States Research, Education and Extension Service, a sub-agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, and is the federal partner in this water quality program. |
Download the informational PDF flyer
here
| A
cooperative program consisting of the USDA Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service
and
the Land Grant Colleges and Universities.
- a Regionally-Based National Network -
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