Conservation Planning and Technical Assistance

NRCS provides conservation planning and technical assistance to clients (individuals, groups, and units of government). These clients develop and implement plans to protect, conserve, and enhance natural resources (soil, water, air, plants, and animals) within their social and economic interests.  All of our programs (EQIP, CSP, WHIP, WRP, etc) have been developed with one purpose in mind:  to help landowners implement the practices that are a part of the conservation plan on their farms.

In 1947, Hugh Hammond Bennett identified the principles of conservation planning in his text, Elements of Soil Conservation:

·   Consider the needs and capabilities of each acre within the plan

·   Consider the farmer’s facilities, machinery, and economic situation

·   Incorporate the farmer’s willingness to try new practices

·   Consider the land’s relationship to the entire farm, ranch, or watershed

·   Ensure the conservationist’s presence out on the land

Planning involves more than considering individual resources. It focuses on the natural systems and ecological processes that sustain the resources. The planner strives to balance natural resource issues with economic and social needs through the development of resource management systems (RMS).  A certified conservation planner is a person who possesses the necessary skills, training, and experience to implement the NRCS nine-step planning process to identify resource problems, to express the client's objectives, to propose feasible solutions to resource problems, and leads the client to choose and implement an effective alternative that treats resource concerns and meets client's objectives.

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