Rapid Watershed Assessments

Rapid Watershed Assessments (RWAs) are a recent initiative of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) aimed at generating information for local land managers, planners, and others having an interest in conservation and resource protection measures for a particular watershed. Each RWA document is a two-part assessment:

The Watershed Profile uses GIS technology to provide an overview of geographic and social attributes in the watershed. It summarizes current natural resource conditions that are particularly relevant to agricultural land uses, and it presents a synopsis of recent NRCS-backed activities as an indication of resource protection progress as well as prospects for future partnerships in various land-use categories.

The Assessment of Conservation Opportunities provides estimates of installation quantities and associated costs for specific measures having strong potential to be implemented during the following five-year time frame. The assessment focuses on measures commonly applied by agricultural producers at the management unit level, for which NRCS may be able to provide technical or financial assistance.

The following map and list identifies watersheds in the Pacific Islands Area for which RWAs are completed or currently under development.