America's Watersheds: Technical Basis for New Strategies

Effective integration of natural sciences, social sciences, and engineering in watershed management depends on the use of scientific methods and sound engineering practices, but those methods and practices are no more successful than the data, information, simulation models, and knowledge they employ. Currently, more data, information, and simulation models are available than ever before. Although tools, such as relational databases and Geographic Information Systems provide efficient means to interpret and analyze large data sets, improved land management is limited by significant gaps in our scientific understanding of watershed processes and by the limited accessibility of scientifically defensible tools for decision making. There are gaps in basic data related to water quality and land use and management, gaps in the capabilities of simulation modeling and gaps in our knowledge of how to apply models in decision making. Although, significant scientific data, information, and knowledge are available to address watershed management problems, these scientific tools are not useful to the watershed manager unless they are easily accessible, easy to use, effective, and scientifically defensible. Decision makers do not have access to truly integrated contemporary watershed simulation models that satisfy minimum criteria for accessibility, ease of application, effectiveness, and scientific defensibility. This paper presents a synopsis of the technical aspects of a review and assessment of the utility and limitations of the "watershed" approach in research, policy, and management undertaken in 1996–1999 by the National Research Council (NRC). Based on the identified barriers to effective watershed management and the resulting recommendations of the NRC, we propose a framework for developing systematic approaches to watershed management. Adoption of a systematic approach, such as proposed herein, may be a means of overcoming some of the barriers and of moving toward our goal of integrated watershed management.