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Conservation Technical Assistance
The Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) program provides voluntary conservation
technical assistance to land-users, communities, units of
state and local government, and other Federal agencies in planning and
implementing conservation systems. This assistance is for planning
and implementing conservation practices that address natural resource
issues. It helps people voluntarily conserve, improve and sustain
natural resources.
Objectives of the program are to:
- Assist individual landusers, communities, conservation
districts, and other units of State and local government and Federal
agencies to meet their goals for resource stewardship and assist individuals
to comply with State and local requirements. NRCS assistance to individuals
is provided through conservation districts in accordance with the memorandum
of understanding signed by the Secretary of Agriculture, the governor of the
state, and the conservation district. Assistance is provided to land users
voluntarily applying conservation and to those who must comply with local or
State laws and regulations.
- Assist agricultural producers to comply with the highly
erodible land (HEL) and wetland (Swampbuster) provisions of the 1985 Food
Security Act as amended by the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act
of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et. seq.) and the Federal Agriculture Improvement
and Reform Act of 1996 and wetlands requirements of Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act. NRCS makes HEL and wetland determinations and helps land users
develop and implement conservation plans to comply with the law.
- Provide technical assistance to participants in USDA
cost-share and conservation incentive programs. (Assistance is funded on a
reimbursable basis from the CCC.)
- Collect, analyze, interpret, display, and disseminate
information about the condition and trends of the Nation’s soil and other
natural resources so that people can make good decisions about resource use
and about public policies for resource conservation.
- Develop effective science-based technologies for natural
resource assessment, management, and conservation.
Technical assistance is for planning and implementing natural resource solutions to
reduce erosion, improve soil health, improve water quantity and quality, improve and conserve
wetlands, enhance fish and wildlife habitat, improve air quality, improve
pasture and range health, reduce upstream flooding, improve woodlands, and
address other natural resource issues.
Farm Bill Assistance
The conservation technical assistance base program, wholly or in part,
provides technical assistance for implementation of the Highly Erodible
land (HEL) and Wetland Provisions, and many other programs authorized by
the 1996 Farm Bill. NRCS technical field staff makes HEL and wetland
determinations and assist land-users to develop and implement
conservation plans needed to ensure compliance with the law.
Natural Resources Inventory
The CTA program supports the National Resources Inventory (NRI). The NRI
is a statistically based survey to assess conditions and trends of soil,
water, and related resources on non-Federal lands in the United States.
USDA, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, and other
organizations to support agricultural and conservation policy
development and program evaluation use this information.
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.
Additional Information
Program Contacts
Mitch Flanagan,
Acting National Program Manager, 202-690-5988
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