More Water as a CropTM Case Studies:
Flint River Basin Irrigation: Wireless Water for Biodiversity
Colorado River Water Bank: Making Water Conservation Profitable
Entiat River Habitat Farming: Trading Fish for Fruit
By Reed Watson and Brandon Scarborough
The management of agricultural lands in the Cheney Lake Watershed is unique in that landowners have incorporated measures to improve water quality into their management practices. What began with informal discussions among area farmers about water quality is now a well-organized watershed-wide program aimed at improving water quality, protecting Wichita’s primary water source, maintaining fish and wildlife habitat, and reducing sediment runoff without sacrificing agricultural production. Among the roughly 1,000 farmers, more than 2,000 conservation practices have been implemented on a voluntary basis. The farmers of Cheney Lake Watershed have illustrated that responsible land management begins with the landowner and that a bottom-up approach to watershed management works.
This case study is the first in a series by PERC done in partnership with the Sand County Foundation with support from the Bradley Fund for the Environment.
Founded 30 years ago in Bozeman, Montana, PERC—the Property and Environment Research Center—is the nation’s oldest and largest institute dedicated to improving environmental quality through property rights and markets.
PERC’s publications, each designed to resonate with specific groups, move ideas generated at PERC to broader audiences.
Research is at the heart of PERC's work, with a focus on the question: What is the link between economic growth and environmental quality?
The goal of PERC’s programs is to fully realize the vision of establishing “PERC University,” where scholars, students, policy makers, and others convene to expand the applications of free market environmentalism.
PERC's fellowships share a common goal of exposing new scholars, students, journalists, and policy makers to free market environmentalism, as well as enable scholars already familiar with FME to explore new applications.
PERC continues to publish and present a broad range of research and discussion through podcasts, videos, and other multimedia channels.