The USLE: Some reflections

Excerpt

Perhaps no other development in soil and water conservation's first 50 years has had as much impact on conservation efforts as development of the universal soil loss equation. Today, a quarter of a century after its publication, the USLE remains the primary tool of conservationists for planning purposes. The USLE was developed by a team of scientists working under the leadership of Walter H. Wischmeier, a statistician. Mr. Wischmeier began his career in conservation with the Research Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service in 1940. He retired in 1976 as research leader in soil erosion with USDA's Agricultural Research Service in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he was also a professor at Purdue University. Recently, Mr. Wischmeier talked about the USLE's development.

▪ JSWC: How did a school teacher and statistician get interested in soil erosion?

▪ WISCHMEIER: Actually, my farm background and subsequent employment by the SCS Research Division influenced my decision to become a statistician.

▪ JSWC: How or where did the concept of the USLE develop?

▪ WISCHMEIER: The concepts of empirical soil loss equations and specified soil loss limits began about 1940 with D …