Conservation Technical Assistance
Fact Sheet

Updated 02/28/2005

Overview

The Conservation Technical Assistance Program (CTA) is a voluntary program that provides technical assistance supported by science-based technology and tools to help people conserve, maintain, and improve their natural resources.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is the Department of Agriculture's principal agency for providing conservation technical assistance to private landowners, conservation districts, tribes, and other organizations through a national network of locally respected, technically skilled, professional conservationists. These conservationists deliver consistent, science-based, site-specific solutions to help private landowners voluntarily conserve, maintain, and improve the Nation's natural resource base.

The Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) Program is the foundation of this conservation technical assistance and serves to focus on natural resource issues at the local level that are of local, State, multi-state, and national concern. The CTA Program works in partnership with locally led decision-making processes and other conservation programs to augment the Federal investment in order to address national priorities in concert with local and State needs most effectively. The CTA Program is the foundation for much of the Nation's private lands and Indian lands conservation assistance infrastructure and brings to bear the technical expertise to get sound conservation solutions applied on the ground.

The voluntary program is delivered to private individuals, groups of decision makers, tribes, units of governments, and non-governmental organizations in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Marshall Islands.

Benefits

Healthy private land is America's strength. Seven out of every ten acres of our nations' land is privately owned. Healthy working land is the foundation of a prosperous U.S. agricultural industry and the corner stone of environmental quality and the core of healthy communities.

The CTA Program helps clients to address opportunities, concerns, and problems related to the use of natural resources that help keeps land healthy. The Nation benefits from the strong commitment to private land conservation. Benefits of these activities are multi-faceted, including sustained and improved agricultural productivity; cleaner, safer, and more dependable water supplies; clean air, abundant wildlife, enhanced recreational opportunities, tranquil and scenic landscapes, reduced damages caused by flood, fires, and other natural disasters; and an enhanced natural resource base to support continued economic development and strengthen the quality of life.

The CTA Program continuously fosters new technologies and conservation practices to address emerging challenges from an expanding conservation agenda as a result of greater scientific understanding as well as an increasing number of Federal, State, and local laws and policies on environmental quality, that place new requirements on landowners and land-users. Our country's economic and environmental well-being depends on maintaining the health of privately owned land, "America's working land". Well-managed agricultural land produces healthy soil, clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and pleasing landscapes, all of which are increasingly valued by rural and urban citizens alike.

How The CTA Program Works

The CTA Program works through a voluntary conservation network built through NRCS and its partnership with conservation districts, state conservation agencies, and millions of private landowners. NRCS' most important accomplishment has been maintaining the trust and respect of America's farmers and ranchers. That trust has been built through the CTA Program.

Through the CTA Program, NRCS provides conservation technical assistance to individuals and groups of decision makers, communities, conservation districts and other units of State and local government, tribes, and other Federal agencies, to help them voluntarily conserve, maintain, and improve natural resources. NRCS staff and its partners help clients by providing technical assistance supported by science-based technology and the tools available to manage their land. This assistance is based on voluntary cooperation and recognizes the clients needs and assists each in achieving a sustainable natural resource system that contributes to healthy land.

Most technical assistance provided by NRCS is based on the voluntary development of a conservation plan - a resource assessment of the land that allows the client to determine the opportunities for using the resources under their care and how they may achieve their goals. A successful plan helps client achieve their objectives while, at the same time, meet his or her responsibility to care for the land. NRCS works to assist each client to achieve a sustainable system that contributes to healthy bottomlines as well as healthy ecosystems, landscapes, and watersheds.

NRCS helps decision makers with the conservation planning process ranging from site-specific for individuals to community, watershed, or area-wide plans for groups of land managers. Conservation technical assistance furnished by NRCS includes conservation planning and practice/system application, technical consultations, and assistance in the technical phases of USDA and State cost-share programs. Individuals, groups, Tribes, and units of government requesting CTA Program assistance include, but are not limited to:

• Farmers, ranchers, and other decision makers concerned with the conservation of the land and natural resources.
• County and other local government units such as park authorities; departments of public works; planning, zoning, school and institution boards; universities; highway departments; and tax assessors.
• Citizen groups, youth groups, recreation groups, and garden clubs.
• State and local units of government (highway, health, recreation, water resources, and regional planning), and tribal governments involved in establishing public policy regarding the use of natural resources.
• Federal departments and agencies such as Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Health and Human Services, and Interior.
• Professional consultants who provide engineering, planning, environmental assessment, tax assessment, and natural resource management services.

Technical assistance shall be provided to help clients apply and maintain planned conservation practices. NRCS assistance for applying the conservation practices and systems may include:

• Design, layout, and evaluation of conservation practices;
• Development of management alternatives and cultural practices needed to establish and maintain vegetation; and
• Planning, construction, and maintenance of other conservation practices needed to protect and enhance natural resources.

Requests for technical assistance through CTA will be prioritized by NRCS and the local conservation district to ensure that assistance is provided in a fair and equitable manner.

This program does not include financial assistance. However, through the CTA Program, clients may develop conservation plans, which may serve as a basis for them to enter into financial assistance and easement conservation programs provided by other Federal, State, and local programs.

Eligibility

All owners, managers, and others that have a stake and interest in natural resource management are eligible to receive technical assistance from NRCS.

For More Information

If you need more information about CTA, please contact your local USDA Service Center, listed in the telephone book under U.S. Department of Agriculture, or your local conservation district. Information also is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs.

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