The merits and costs of managing ag lands and wetland reserves in California's Tulelake Basin is the focus of a new community-based research project. It is "seeking a win-win solution that improves the health of the Tulelake ecosystem while also maintaining viable agriculture that is critical to the region's economy," says Bill Liebhardt, director of the UC Davis-based UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, which recently funded the effort, also supported by federal grants. Headed by Carol Shennan, a UC Davis professor of vegetable crops, the project will develop and assess solutions acceptable to all the major stakeholders, including environmental, agricultural and hunting interests. Other UC Davis investigators involved in the multidisciplinary project include Michael Gjerde and Richard Howitt, both from the agriculture and resource economics department. SAREP will provide funds to interview farmers, farm advisors, hunters, environmentalists, agencies and local businesses, as well as to organize the information gathered into a better decision-making framework. This is one of 40 new and ongoing research and education programs funded this year by the UC unit, which aims to encourage the development and use of sustainable agricultural practices.