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Science and Technology FAQ'sWhat are the electronic Field Office Technical Guide and the Field Office Technical Guide? How do Practice Standards get into the Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG)? What is the NRCS Science and Technology Consortium? What is the Partnership Management Team? Q. What are the electronic Field Office Technical Guide and the Field Office Technical Guide? A. The technical guide is now available online! Go to: eFOTG (electronic Field Office Technical Guide). The NRCS Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG) is a compilation of resource information about soil, water, air, plant, animal, and socio-economic resources within each NRCS field office area. It also contains other conservation planning aides, including standards for conservation practices that are applicable for the area served by the field office. The FOTG is divided into 5 sections. Section 1: General Resource References Books, booklets, maps, price bases, crop budgets, and other reference documents that contain information about natural resources and conditions within that FOTG service area. Section 2: Resource Data All data sets that are needed for field office activities, including soils data and interpretations, water quality information, and climatic data. Section 3: Conservation Management Systems Criteria for development of systems, including resource management systems, are included in this section. Section 4: Practice Standards, Specifications, and Supplements Conservation practice standards used with resources in the field office area are included here. Practice standards contain minimum quality criteria for each practice as well as a description of requirements necessary to install the practice. NRCS's state-level specialists add new information as it becomes available. Section 5: Conservation Effects This section focuses on anticipated effects of practices contained in Section 4 on resources that occur in the field office area. Effects observed in field follow-through are also recorded here. FOTG is a continually evolving reference. Because technologies change, and our knowledge of resources grows, the FOTG will never be completed. Our forthcoming SmarTech project will expedite access to new technologies through Web interactive capability. The FOTG is a key conservation element. NRCS's National Planning Procedures Handbook, its technical handbooks and manuals, and the FOTG provide the basic framework for high quality conservation. Q. How do Practice Standards get into the Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG)? A. National level conservation practice standards are published in the National Handbook of Conservation Practices under the auspices of The National Conservation Practice Standards Subcommittee (NCPSS). The Subcommittee is a function of the National Technical Guide Committee. Conservation practice standards undergo rigorous research and public review before they are adopted as national standards. All national standards are reviewed and updated on a 5-year cycle. State Conservationists, through their State technical guide committee, direct which national practice standards are selected for inclusion into the FOTGs for their respective State. Those State-level selections are made considering the conservation and resource needs of the State. Selection of national practices for inclusion does not end the process. Generally, national practice standards are modified by each State to that State's unique resource concerns, State laws, and local ordinances. In addition, State technical specialists or teams develop site-specific practice specifications. In instances where there are resource concerns within a State for which there are no national conservation practice standard, the State Conservationist can authorize the use of a State interim standard. Interim standards serve as a mechanism for field testing new technology. Successful interim standards will be developed into new or incorporated into existing national standards. After all these activities, the practice standards (and its specification) are ready for inclusion in the field office FOTG. It is a process that ensures that the technical guidance within each standard provided is pertinent to field office conditions. Q. What is the NRCS Science and Technology Consortium? A. The NRCS Science and Technology Consortium is supervised by the Deputy Chiefs for Science and Technology and for Soil Survey and Resource Assessment. It is comprised of these Deputy Area National Headquarters Divisions/Teams (nine in total), twelve National Centers, and three Remote Sensing Laboratories. The Consortium is NRCS’ mechanism to acquire, develop, and transfer technology. With the goal of ensuring NRCS’ technical excellence, the Consortium provides up-to-date technology, tools, and resource information to meet the conservation needs of NRCS customers, partners, and employees. These technologies, tools, and resource information support the understanding of local, State-level, regional, national, and global resource challenges, and provide a means to address them. The Consortium is comprised of scientists and technical specialists from a wide range of disciplines related to the conservation of our natural resources, including agronomists, biologists, cultural resources specialists, economists, engineers, foresters, natural resources specialists, sociologists, soil conservationists, soil scientists, and many others. The Science and Technology Deputy Area is responsible for animal husbandry
and clean water, ecological sciences, engineering, resource economics, and social sciences
and manages NRCS’ technical service provider activities. It has technical leadership for the
plant materials program and
water supply forecasting and snow survey program. Science and
Technology also leads the establishment and support for Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units
and Centers of Excellence for research, technical assistance and education. Science and Technology Deputy Area
Animal Husbandry and Clean Water Division Ecological Sciences Division National Technical Service Provider Team National Technology Support Team National Technology Support Centers
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