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Conservation Technical Assistance
Updated
02/10/2011
The Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) Program provides 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. NRCS, through the CTA Program, provides conservation
technical assistance that addresses natural resource conservation issues at the
local level that are of State and national concern.
Objectives of the 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.
- Develop, adapt, and transfer effective science-based technologies and
tools for assessment, management, and conservation of natural resources.
Purpose of the Program is to:
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.
Relation to Other Conservation Provisions and Programs
The CTA Program provides the local delivery system and the foundation
technical expertise for other NRCS programs. The CTA Program is unique because
it provides a substantive level of technical expertise, background and support
for Federal, tribal, State, and local conservation programs. This technical
base enables other NRCS programs by facilitating conservation planning,
interagency coordination, technical consultations, and collaboration with
decision makers. For example, the CTA Program assists in preparing landowners
and decision makers for participation in USDA conservation financial assistance
and easement programs. The CTA Program also provides much of the preliminary
emergency disaster technical assistance for the Agency's Emergency Watershed
Protection Program. The CTA Program also is available to assist clients with
maintenance of conservation plans and practices/systems that resulted through
expired or completed financially-assisted contracts or projects. The CTA Program
also is used to assist decision makers for conservation planning prior to the
commitment or approval of a participant’s funding for financial assistance.
Summary
The working relationships that landowners and communities have with their
local NRCS staff are unique. One-on-one help through flexible, voluntary
programs occurs every day in local NRCS offices across the country. It is the
way NRCS does business, and it works. To obtain conservation technical
assistance, contact your local
USDA-NRCS
office.
Program Contacts
Michael Odegard, NV State
Resource Conservationist, 775-857-8500 ext. 140
We would be pleased to provide information on this Web site in an alternative
format, if needed. Please contact
Jonnie Eyler, Webmaster, or
Liz Warner, Public Affairs Officer, at (775) 857-8500.
If you experience problems with this Web site, we would appreciate hearing
from you.
Last Modified:
02/10/2011
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