Conservation Planning:

What’s New?

Topics for Today’s Webinar

Revised NPPH

Proposed NRCS Land Uses

Resource Concerns

Planning criteria

Conservation Delivery Streamlining Initiative (CDSI)• Simplify conservation delivery: Easier for employees and customers• Increase staff time in the field with clients• Streamline business processes• Ensure science-based conservation assistance• Enhance financial management and accountability More Conservation on the

ground!

NPPH Amendment 5

The conservation planning process has not changed!

CDSI Land Use Changes

Unclear or competing land use designations have been removed.

Introduces Land Use “modifiers” to more accurately define the land’s actual use and management. (adverbs)

CDSI Land Use changes

SLIDE 8

ModifiersModifiers provide a level of specificity and

help describe how the land is actually managed.

Irrigated – applied when an operational system is present and managed to supply water

Wildlife – applied when the client is actively managing for wildlife, and management is reflected in the conservation plan through the application of practices beneficial to wildlife

Grazed – applied when grazing animals impact how land is managed and influence the conservation plan

CDSI Change: Resource

Concerns and Planning Criteria

What are Resource Concerns?

“An expected degradation of the soil, water, air, plant,

or animal resource base to the extent that the

sustainability or intended use the resource is impaired”

Note: human and energy resources are components of the resource base

NRCS’ National Planning Procedures Handbook (NPPH)

Why Revise the NRCS Resource Concerns List?

Enhance the technical credibility of NRCS conservation planning

Support the more integrated delivery of technical and financial assistance

Facilitate a more efficient, streamlined conservation assistance business model.

Each of the resource concerns are described in the NPPH

What are Quality Criteria?

“ a descriptive statement of desired

resource condition and management,

representing a level of use that is

sustainable over the long term”

NRCS’ National Planning Procedures Handbook (NPPH)

Why are we not using QC? • Resource concerns and associated quality

criteria do not meet the needs of NRCS planners in the field, and do not facilitate the desired science-based planning process as intended.

• Planners cannot objectively determine when quality criteria are met.

• The establishment of quality criteria for all resource concerns is an elusive goal

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Planning Criteria

“A quantitative or qualitative statement

of a treatment level required to achieve

a minimum level of treatment for a

given resource concern”

• 2 Levels – Screening & Assessment

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Simple true-false statements of easily observable conditions planners can use to identify sites that have little or no probability of needing additional treatment.

Screening

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• The assessment criteria are used when a site does not pass the screening question(s), or when no screening criteria are defined.

• Where possible, assessment tools are provided

• In some cases Screening/Assessment of designated Resource Concerns will be required.

Assessment

Assessment MethodsProcedural: planners use well-defined procedures to acquire data used to determine the resource condition (Pasture Condition Score)

Predictive: planners use models to predict the probability of an outcome. (RUSLE2 or WEPS)

Observation: planners rely on direct observation or information provided by the client through an interview (Classic gully)

Deduction: planners rely on reason to deduce the status of a resource. The deductive approach is often related to treatment standards. (Dissolved nutrients in ground water: If a client utilizes all reasonable nutrient management techniques and has significantly modified the rate, timing, or both of nutrients applied to a field, the planner may deduce that the field in question is no longer a significant source of nutrients entering the groundwater.)

Resource Concern Checklists

Checklists available for:CroplandPastureRangeFarmstead/OtherForestLandscape

Cropland

Wildlife, Air Quality and Energy: Use Landscape Checklist

Questions?email me!

bonda.habets@wa.usda.gov