National Resource Inventory

The 1997 National Resources Inventory (NRI) is the latest in a series of inventories conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly the Soil Conservation Service. It provides updated information on the status, condition, and trends of land, soil, water, and related resources on the nation's non-Federal land. The 1997 NRI, or "foundation NRI, is used as the basis on which to determine land use trends.  Subsequent NRI studies compare land use to 1997 and to each other to establish land use change.

Data for the 1997 NRI were collected for more than 2,000 locations in New Jersey by NRCS field personnel, resources inventory specialists, and remote sensing data collectors. The NRI was scientifically designed and conducted and is based on recognized statistical sampling methods. NRI data are statistically reliable for national and regional analyses.

As the key to interpreting the state of America's land, NRI information will be used to formulate effective public policies, to fashion agricultural and natural resources legislation, to develop state and national conservation programs, and to allocate USDA financial and technical assistance in addressing natural resource concerns.

The 1992 NRI was instrumental in providing data on natural resources for the USDA publication, A Geography of Hope.

NRI New Jersey Summary Results

• Table 1 - Surface Area of nonfederal and federal land and water areas by year

Links

• National NRI Web Page
• 1997 National Summary Page

This report is also available in Adobe Acrobat format.

1997 National Resources Inventory Summary Report (1.4 MB)

Some national and regional NRI data is available upon request. E-mail ShayMaria Silvestri or phone 732-537-6065 for specific information.

Last Modified: May 27, 2008