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Conservation Technical Assistance
Program Description

Updated 02/28/2005

Overview

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.

NRCS’ conservation planning process, locally adapted Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG) of proven conservation practices/systems, and technical knowledge is at the core of the effective CTA Program delivery system.  NRCS receives worldwide recognition as a preeminent Agency for providing private lands natural resources conservation assistance largely because of the technical assistance provided through the CTA Program.

Authority

The primary authority for CTA is authorized in the Soil Conservation Domestic Act of 1935 (P.L. 74-46) (16 U.S.C. 590a-g and 590q).

Scope

The CTA Program is the foundation of the Nation’s Federal conservation efforts on private lands, which is implemented in cooperation with the Agency’s partners.  The 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.

Purpose

The purpose of the CTA Program is to provide technical assistance supported by science-based technology and tools to help people conserve, maintain, and improve their natural resources. The CTA Program provides the technical capability, including direct conservation planning, design, and implementation assistance, that helps people plan and apply conservation on the land.  This assistance is provided to individuals, groups, and communities who make natural resource management decisions on private, tribal, and other non-federal lands.

The CTA Program provides the proven and consistent conservation technology and delivery infrastructure needed to achieve the benefits of a healthy and productive landscape, and has the following purposes:

  • Reduce soil loss from erosion.
  • Solve soil, water quality, water conservation, air quality, and agricultural waste      management problems.
  • Reduce potential damage caused by excess water and sedimentation or drought.
  • Enhance the quality of fish and wildlife habitat.
  • Improve the long term sustainability of all lands, including cropland, forestland, grazing lands, coastal lands, and developed and/or developing lands.
  • Assist others in facilitating changes in land use as needed for natural resource protection and sustainability.

Technical Assistance

Technical assistance is the help provided by NRCS, and employees of other entities or agencies under the technical supervision of NRCS, to clients to address opportunities, concerns, and problems related to the use of natural resources.

The objectives of the CTA Program are to:

  • Provide conservation technical assistance to individuals or groups of decision makers, communities, conservation districts, units of State and local government, tribes, and others to voluntarily conserve, maintain, and improve natural resources.
  • Provide community, watershed, and area-wide technical assistance in collaboration with units of government, to develop and implement resource management plans that conserve, maintain and improve natural resources.
  • Provide conservation technical assistance to agricultural producers to comply with the Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland (Swampbuster) Conservation Compliance Provisions of the l985 Food Security Act, as amended.
  • Provide conservation technical assistance to decision makers to assist them to comply with Federal, State, tribal, and local environmental regulations and related requirements, and to prepare them to become eligible to participate in other Federal, State, and local conservation programs.
  • Provide soils information and interpretation to individuals or groups of decision makers, communities, States, and others to aid sound decision making in the wise use and management of soil resources.
  • Collect, analyze, interpret, display, and disseminate information about the status, condition, and trend of soil, water, and related natural resources so that people can make informed decisions for natural resource use and management.
  • Assess the effects of conservation practices and systems on the condition of natural resources.

Technical assistance shall be provided to help land users 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.

NRCS shall work with the local conservation district to prioritize requests to ensure that technical assistance is provided in a fair and equitable manner.

Program Participation

All owners and managers of private land are eligible to receive technical assistance from NRCS.  To receive technical assistance, a landowner or manager may contact NRCS or the local conservation district.  Participation in this program is voluntary. 

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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