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NRCS Leadership
Bruce I. Knight, Chief
The Chief provides overall leadership for the activities of the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to help people conserve, maintain, and
improve our natural resources and environment. The Chief directly oversees the
offices of legislative affairs, communications, and civil rights and provides
general oversight of all other functional and geographic units in the agency.
The Chief fosters partnerships that enhance the value of the agency to the
public.
Activities include providing technical assistance for conservation of natural
resources on the Nation's 1.6 billion acres of non-Federal land; developing and
delivering technical assistance and information on conservation practices to
individuals, communities, Tribal governments, and governmental agencies and
private-sector organizations at all levels; helping protect life and property
after fires, floods, and other natural disasters; conducting natural resources
surveys and analyses; and helping land users develop conservation plans for
their land.
Dana D. York, Associate Chief
The Associate Chief works with the Chief in planning, coordinating, and
directing the activities of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
and in providing leadership to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our
natural resources and environment. The Associate Chief directly oversees
management, programs, science and technology, soil survey and resource
assessment, and strategic planning and accountability functions of the agency,
plus operations in the 50 states, Pacific Basin, and Caribbean Area. The
Associate Chief also assists the Chief in coordinating the work of the divisions
and staffs within the Office of the Chief (legislative affairs, communications,
and civil rights).
Activities include providing technical assistance for conservation of natural
resources on the Nation's 1.6 billion acres of non-Federal land; developing and
delivering technical assistance and information on conservation practices to
individuals, communities, Tribal governments, and governmental agencies and
private-sector organizations at all levels; helping protect life and property
after fires, floods, and other natural disasters; conducting natural resources
surveys and analyses; and helping land users develop conservation plans for
their land.
Regional Assistant Chiefs
The NRCS organization in each of the regions is headed by a Regional
Assistant Chief. Regional Assistant Chiefs are management representatives
of the Chief and are responsible for, providing overall direction of NRCS
programs and activities consistent with the Chief’s guidance; acting as
representatives of the Chief at meetings; and supervising the State
Conservationists and the Directors of the Pacific Basin and Caribbean Areas.
Richard I. Coombe- East
Alabama, Caribbean Area,
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont,
Virginia, and West Virginia.
Merlin E. Bartz- Central
Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South
Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Sara Braasch- West
Alaska, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pacific Basin,
Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Dwight Holman, Deputy Chief for Management
The Deputy Chief for Management is responsible for the development of
national policies, establishment and promulgation of procedures, guidelines and
standards, and provides agency and operational leadership for management
services, human resources management, financial management, information
technology, outreach activities, alternative dispute resolution and ethics
programs, correspondence management, and headquarters administrative support.
The Deputy Chief also assesses emerging, legislation, policy, and operations
issues and conditions, and develops management options and plans for managing
NRCS.
Jose Acevedo, Deputy Chief for Programs
The Programs Deputy Area mission in NRCS is to manage natural resource
conservation programs that provide environmental, societal, financial, and
technical benefits that not only include on-site benefits such as sustaining and
improving agricultural productivity, but also other benefits such as cleaner,
safer, and more dependable water supplies, reduced damages caused by floods and
other natural disasters, and enhancing the natural resource base to support
continuing economic development, recreation, and other purposes.
Lawrence Clark, Deputy Chief of Science and Technology
The Deputy Chief for Science and Technology is responsible for Divisions and
Teams responsible for animal husbandry and clean
water, ecological sciences, engineering, resource economics and social sciences,
technical service provider activities, and technology support for NRCS science
and technology activities and for the National Centers and the National
Technology Support Centers. Oversight is specific to the
Animal Husbandry and Clean Water Division,
Conservation Engineering Division,
Ecological Sciences Division, Resource
Economics and Social Sciences Division, Technical Service Provider (TSP)
Team and Technology Support Team in National Headquarters. Oversight
is also provided to the National Design, Construction and Soils Mechanics
Center, National Plant Data Center, National Water and Climate Center, and
National Water Management Center, as well as collaborative oversight with the
USDA Forest Service for the National Agroforestry Center.
Maurice Mausbach, Deputy Chief of Soil Survey & Resource Assessment
The Deputy Chief for Soil Survey and Resource Assessment (SSRA) is responsible for
Divisions, Institutes and Centers related to soil science, soil survey and
resource assessment, technical assistance to foreign governments, and
international scientific and technical exchange. SSRA has technical leadership
for the use of geospatial technologies (GIS, GPS, remote
sensing) in NRCS and for establishing geospatial data standards for the agency.
SSRA also conducts the National Resources Inventory (NRI) for assessment of
natural resource conditions and trends in the United States. Drawing on the NRI
and other data sources, SSRA leads the agency’s resource analysis effort to
support USDA in policy making for resource conservation. SSRA works in
coordination with the NRCS Science and Technology deputy area to set research
and technology development priorities for the agency. SSRA also has
leadership for NRCS homeland security operations.
Katherine C. Gugulis, Deputy Chief of Strategic Planning and Accountability
The Strategic Planning and Accountability deputy area ensures accountability
for performance and results through the integration of strategic planning,
budget formulation, operations management, and oversight and evaluation. This
includes: establishing and communicating agency direction in the agency
strategic, performance and business plans; estimating and requesting resources
required to accomplish goals and objectives; ensuring agency operations are
efficient and effective; measuring and reporting on performance and customer
satisfaction; and providing oversight and evaluation of agency operations.
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