Desktop BMP (Best Management Practices) Analysis with Non-Intrusive Field Verification

🏆2023 Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) Business Achievement Award in Information Management

🏆2024 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence (GAEE)

🏆2025 ACEC/PA Diamond Award for Engineering Excellence

Larson Design Group (LDG) developed a remote sensing-based agricultural Best Management Practices (BMP) methodology to collect and account for Resource Improvement Practices not captured by the Chesapeake Bay (CB) model. This methodology meets County Government officials’ needs for landowner privacy and reduces verification time for Conservation District employees. It can be completed by third-party consultants using publicly accessible data and observations, eliminating the need for access to private property. The GIS platform used allows counties to identify and re-verify BMPs, tracking them digitally for future verification. This has reduced BMP verification time by 75%, improving efficiency, especially for districts with limited staff. The methodology underwent federal approval for use by all CB States, passing through the Program Agricultural Workgroup and third-party review. In August 2023, it was approved as a BMP Verification Method for all CB states. The methodology identified 1,100 Agricultural BMPs not accounted for in the CB model, aiding in nutrient and sediment reduction to the bay and helping Pennsylvania achieve federal goals.