Working watersheds and coastal systems: research and management for a changing future-proceedings of the sixth interagency conference on research in the watersheds.

Abstract

These proceedings contain the full-length papers, extended abstracts, and research abstracts of oral presentations and posters given at the Sixth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds (ICRW)-Working Watersheds and Coastal Systems: Research and Management for a Changing Future, held at the National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV, July 23-26, 2018. The Sixth ICRW focused on "working watersheds." These so-called watersheds and coastal systems provide a wide array of useful economic goods and services (e.g., agricultural products, urban development, recreation, etc.). However, maintaining aquatic condition and functional integrity while balancing issues arising in working watersheds such as nutrient loading, landscape disturbance, and invasive species requires creative scientific approaches and adaptive management. The conference was structured to present and address key research and management issues faced by watershed managers and scientists throughout the United States. Research was presented by Federal, State, and local scientists, academics, and non-governmental organizations focusing on managing the complex watershed systems and watershed components (e.g., streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries, etc.). Thematic areas included watershed monitoring and management, hydrologic modeling, restoration, remote sensing research, climate change, extreme climatic events, and focal research areas (e.g., Appalachian watersheds, trans-boundary systems, evapotranspiration), as well as ecosystem-specific themes such as wetlands. The conference was hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, with material and in-kind support from the following organizations: Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Sixth ICRW was built on the foundation laid by the previous lead and hosting organizations: USDA Agricultural Research Service (2003), USDA Forest Service (2006 and 2015), U.S. Geological Survey and CUAHSI (2009), and the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service (2011). The Seventh ICRW will be hosted by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Tifton, GA, March 2020.

Key words

• watersheds
• watershed management
• land use
• agricultural products
• climate
• climate change
• ecosystems
• environmental protection
• estuaries
• evapotranspiration
• forests
• hydrology
• invasive species
• lakes
• land management
• models
• monitoring
• National Parks
• non-governmental organizations
• organizations
• recreation
• remote sensing
• rivers
• streams
• training
• urban areas
• urban development
• wetlands
• wild animals
• wildlife