Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version.

If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options.

The Oklahoma Conservation Commission provides cost-share with landowners who implement soil and water conservation measures. Due to limited funding, only a small fraction of a basin can be included in such programs. The goal of this project was to define priority areas in which landowners would be given first access to available funds, or to target specific fields for recruitment into the program. Two Oklahoma basins were considered, Stillwater Creek and Cobb Creek. Land cover data for both basins were derived from 2001 LandSat TM+ imagery. Both basins were modeled using SWAT 2000. Model results for sediment were extrapolated to a 30 meter grid for each basin using the original soils, land cover, and Digital Elevation Model themes. This grid was used to target the 5% of the of the basin with the greatest sediment yield, which accounted for 31% and 75% of the total sediment load for the Fort Cobb and Stillwater Creek Basins, respectively. Visits to fields marked as priority areas visually corroborated that the model is targeting highly erodible fields. Responses from the local conservation districts and landowners to the targeting maps have been very positive. The Oklahoma Conservation Commission plans to perform this targeting analysis on several additional basins in the near future.