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Rapid Watershed Assessment

Rapid watershed assessments provide initial estimates of where conservation investments would best address the concerns of landowners, conservation districts, and other community organizations and stakeholders. These assessments help land-owners and local leaders set priorities and determine the best actions to achieve their goals.

Rapid watershed assessments provide a foundation for watershed or area planning. They will be valuable for Farm Bill program delivery, and provide useful information for county, watershed and regional planners.

To produce the assessments, quantitative and qualitative data is collected and organized to create a watershed profile using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology.  The data is analyzed to allow resource concerns and conditions to become apparent, and to generate maps and information to help people make better decisions about conservation needs and programs.

Rapid Watershed Assessments Currently Available

The following documents require Adobe Acrobat.

Auglaize Watershed Rapid Watershed Assessment (PDF; 5.58 MB)
Blanchard Watershed Rapid Watershed Assessment (PDF; 8.34 MB)
Huron-Vermilion 8-digit HUC Rapid Watershed Assessment (PDF; 11.52 MB)
Lower Maumee Watershed Rapid Watershed Assessment (PDF; 12.7 MB)
Sandusky 8-digit HUC Rapid Watershed Assessment (PDF; 13.37 MB)
 

Lake Erie Harmful Algal Blooms

The University of Toledo and Ohio Sea Grant recently sponsored two free workshops addressing the issue of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie.  Harmful algal blooms (HABs, excessive growths of toxin-producing algae that form in Lake Erie during the summer, adversely impact aquatic life and human health as well as recreation, tourism, fishing, and property values.  Triggered primarily by excess phosphorus, HABs in Lake Erie have reached crisis proportions in recent years.  Experts from science, government and law addressed best practices and legal tools for reducing phosphorus entering Lake Erie and its tributaries from key sources in Ohio.
 
Presentations given at the workshops are available at:  http://law.utoledo.edu/ligl/HABS/habs_workshops.htm
 

Rapid Watershed Assessment Program Contact:

Barbara Baker
Assistant State Conservationist for Natural Resources
200 N. High St., Room 522
Columbus, OH 43215
Telephone: (614) 255-2502