The “ABC’s” of Conservation

students listen to their instructor during the NRCS Basics of Conservation Planning course

The Beef Cattle Research Station in Butner, North Carolina, was the setting for an NRCS two-week Basics of Conservation Planning course that leads students through the nine steps of conservation planning. Students progress from conducting a resource inventory on the land through developing alternatives and documenting the planned practices and culminating in the development and presentation of a conservation plan by the students. During the course, students are exposed to a number of technical topics including environmental assessments, soils and soil quality, grazing land planning, forest measurements, cropland erosion, wildlife habitat, engineering design, climate and water conservation, soil testing, social and economic issues associated with planning, and buffer practices.

This course and its predecessor, Conservation for New Employees, have been taught in North Carolina for over 30 years. According to Lane Price, NRCS Assistant State Conservationist, “we always tweak each course a little to meet the emerging needs at the time. This year we focused on making sure new employees have a good grasp of the resource inventory process, realizing that the increasing time for administering cost-share programs often competes with our ability to develop a technically sound conservation plan. We stress the importance of balancing those demands and help students realize that the partnership exists because of our technical expertise.”
Your contact is Lane Price at 919-873-2105.