Protecting Our Watersheds Through Research and Management: Challenges and Opportunities

Over 80 percent of our fresh water comes from precipitation that falls on watersheds and seeps into groundwater or flows into streams and reservoirs. Land use in the Nation’s watersheds is complex and varied ranging from crop production areas, rangelands, and pastures to forests and alpine meadows to urban areas. How we manage the activities that take place on watersheds influences the quantity and quality of water available for domestic, industrial, agricultural, and ecological uses. There’s
an urgency, therefore, in developing sound management principles for agricultural watersheds if we are to guarantee a safe and dependable water supply.