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Through Conservation Technical Assistance, NRCS assists landowners and land
users, communities, units of state and local government, Tribes, and other
Federal agencies in planning and implementing conservation systems.
The first step in seeking NRCS assistance is to call your local USDA Service
center and make an appointment with NRCS staff that will help you identify the
natural resource problems and opportunities on your farm, define your
conservation objectives, and inventory your soil, water, air, plant and animal
resources. Much of this information will require a field visit to see your
operation and to evaluate the resource concerns you may have. You can work with
NRCS to develop a conservation plan. Financial assistance from NRCS farm bill
programs or other Federal, State and local conservation programs may be
available to help fund some of the conservation practices outlined in your plan.
See the links below for detailed information on programs Pennsylvania NRCS has
to offer.
AMA provides assistance to agricultural
producers to address issues such as water management, water quality, and erosion
control by incorporating conservation into their farming operations.
The Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) is a voluntary conservation initiative that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to implement agricultural water enhancement activities on agricultural land for the purposes of conserving surface and ground water and improving water quality.
Initiative funding is available to eligible agricultural producers within the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed to assist with voluntary implementation of beneficial
conservation practices to
address soil erosion, sedimentation, and excess nutrients in streams and
waterways; as well as other related natural resource concerns such as air
quality, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and forestry.
CCPI is a voluntary conservation Initiative that enables the use of certain
conservation programs with resources of eligible partners to provide financial
assistance to owners and operators of agricultural and nonindustrial
forestlands.
Conservation Innovation Grants fund new approaches and technologies that can help treat environmental resource concerns on privately owned land.
CRP and CREP provide technical and financial
assistance to eligible farmers and landowners to address soil, water, wildlife,
and related natural resource concerns on their lands in an environmentally
beneficial and cost-effective manner.
Through CSP, NRCS will provide financial and technical assistance to eligible
producers to conserve and enhance soil, water, air, and related natural
resources on their land.
EQIP provides technical and financial help to landowners for conservation
practices that protect soil and water quality.
Grassed waterways, stream fencing, critical area planting, terraces, manure
management systems including storage structures and barnyard runoff protection,
and many other conservation practices are eligible for EQIP.
The
Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) helps keep
productive land in agriculture. The Program provides matching funds to State,
Tribal, non-profit, or local government entities with existing programs that
protect farmland through the purchase of conservation easements or development
rights. Individual landowners participate voluntarily and retain all rights to
use the property for agriculture. Projects are selected through a competitive
application process.
Eligible land includes privately owned working farms with productive soils that
have a pending offer for purchase of development rights from an eligible entity.
Location, size, and existing protections, such as zoning, must support long-term
agricultural use. Easements must be permanent. Local programs are
reimbursed up to 50% of the cost of the easement. Public Access is not required.
Initiative funding is available to agricultural producers and landowners within the Great Lakes Watershed to assist with voluntary implementation of beneficial conservation practices to address soil erosion, sedimentation, and excess nutrients in streams and waterways; as well as other related natural resource concerns such as stream corridor protection/habitat improvement, and farmland protection."
When properly managed, grasslands can result in cleaner,
healthier streams, and reduced sediment loads in water
bodies. These lands are vital for the production of
livestock forage and provide forage and habitat for
maintaining healthy wildlife populations. They also add to
the beauty of the landscape, provide scenic vistas and open
space, provide for recreational activities and protect the
soil from water and wind erosion.
The Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP) is a voluntary program to assist landowners in restoring, enhancing, and protecting forestland resources on private lands through 99-year easements, 30-year easements, and 10-year cost-share agreements. In Pennsylvania, HFRP funding will be utilized to protect and improve critical habitat for the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalist). The HFRP program will be available to landowners in Adams, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Snyder and York Counties, and will
is available for sign-up now.
WHIP can develop or improve wildlife habitat on privately owned land through
installation of in-stream structures,
providing brush management and control of invasive species. Almost any type of
land is eligible, including ag and non-ag lands.
WRP is to restore wetlands previously altered for agricultural use.
Landowners may restore wetlands with permanent or 30-year
easements or 10-year contracts. Permanent easements pay 100% of the agricultural
value of the land and 100% cost-sharing; 30-year easements pay 75% of the
agricultural value and 75% cost-sharing; 10-year contract pays 75% cost-share
only.
Permanent or 30-year easements recorded with property deed. Ten-year contract is
not recorded with deed. Public Access is not required.
The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (PL 83-566), as amended,
authorized NRCS to cooperate with States and local agencies to restore
watersheds from damage caused by soil erosion, floodwater, and sediment, to
conserve and develop water and land resources, and solve natural resource
problems on a watershed basis. The program provides technical and financial
assistance to local people or project sponsors, builds partnerships, and
requires local and state funding contribution.
NRCS implements the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act through three
programs:
- Watershed Surveys and Planning
- Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations
- Watershed Rehabilitation
Click here to learn more about our Watershed
Programs.
The purpose of the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program is to
undertake emergency measures, including
the purchase of flood plain easements, for runoff retardation and soil erosion
prevention to safeguard lives and property from floods, drought, and the
products of erosion on any watershed whenever fire, flood or any other natural
occurrence is causing or has caused a sudden impairment of the watershed.
The
National Cooperative Soil Survey Program
(NCSS) is a partnership led by NRCS of Federal land management agencies, state
agricultural experiment stations and state and local units of government that
provide soil survey information necessary for understanding, managing,
conserving and sustaining the nation's limited soil resources.
Soil surveys provide:
- An orderly, on-the-ground, scientific inventory of soil resources that
includes maps showing the locations and extent of soils, data about the physical
and chemical properties of those soils, and information derived from that data
about potentialities and problems of use on each kind of soil in sufficient
detail to meet all reasonable needs for farmers, agricultural technicians,
community planners, engineers, and scientists in planning and transferring the
findings of research and experience to specific land areas.
- The basic information needed to manage soil sustainably.
- Information needed to protect water quality, wetlands, and wildlife
habitat.
- A basis to help predict the effect of global climate change on worldwide
agricultural production and other land-dependent processes.
- The basis for predicting the behavior of a soil under alternative uses,
its potential erosion hazard, potential for ground water contamination,
suitability and productivity for cultivated crops, trees, and grasses.
Soil surveys are important to planners, engineers, zoning commissions, tax
commissioners, homeowners, developers, as well as agricultural producers. The
NRCS Soil Survey Division through its
World Soil Resources Staff
helps gather and interpret soil information for global use.
NRCS provides the
soil surveys for
the privately owned lands of the nation and, through its National Soil Survey
Center, provides scientific expertise to enable the NCSS to develop and maintain
a uniform system for mapping and assessing soil resources so that soil
information from different locations can be shared, regardless of which agency
collects it. NRCS provides most of the training in soil survey to Federal
agencies and assists other Federal agencies with their soil inventories on a
reimbursable basis. NRCS is also responsible for developing the standards and
mechanisms for providing digital soil information for the national spatial data infrastructure
required by Executive Order 12906.
For any questions regarding soil surveys contact
W. Rob Knight
Acting
State Soil Scientist
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