Breaking ground.

The project team was successful in gaining voluntary stakeholder participation in the effort to evaluate the effectiveness of best management practices at reducing sediment and nutrient runoff and the factors that influence the adoption of best management practices by farmers. The Lincoln Lake watershed, a primarily agricultural subbasin of the politically embattled Illinois River watershed, lies within a designated nutrient surplus area of the state of Arkansas. The team initially faced a watershed population whose trust needed to be gained before any progress could be made. Successful stakeholder participation was fostered through the use of techniques taught to and used by extension agents of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. The results of this stakeholder-guided collaborative approach allowed the collection of high-quality farm data, perceptions of stakeholders regarding water quality, and reasons why farmers adopt or refuse to adopt best management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]