The public cost of reducing erosion in a west Tennessee watershed pilot program was 34 percent lower than the national average. The difference was attributed to the pilot program's emphasis on targeting specific erosion problems and to the establishment of permanent vegetative cover on highly eroding land. Even greater use of permanent vegetative cover, no-till cropping practices, and less reliance on cover improvement and terraces could reducd erosion in the area by an additional 32 percent with the same level of funds. A variable cost-sharing approach to erosion control may yield eyen bigger dividends in a targeting program.