Types of Conservation Plans Accepted

[Jake Wilson]

In MO, conservation plans are defined in our state regulations, but that definition does not mention NRCS or their official Conservation Planning process. Some local districts have interpreted this to mean as long as the plan meets the very generalized definition in our regulation that it does not have to meet all NRCS requirements. My questions for you are,

A: do you define what a conservation plan is anywhere in law, regulation or policy, and

B: Are there any other “versions” of plans being used in your state to implement cost-share practices, and if so, what standards do those plans adhere to?

[Delwyne Trefz]

Per Idaho Code, “”Conservation plan” means a description of identified natural resource issues and a specific schedule of implementation of component practices necessary to resolve those specific resource issues as agreed upon by the landowner”, no mention of NRCS standards and specs. Further, terms of the Cooperative Working Agreement between NRCS, our commission, and individual conservation districts that we operated under prior to the recently executed MOA, included this:

“TECHNICAL STANDARDS and  PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS

• The parties agree to adopt the NRCS Electronic Field Office Technical Guide (EFOTG) and/or other science-based technical standards as appropriate for planning and application  of conservation  The local EFOTG can be revised or supplemented based on local conditions or new technology.  Parties are encouraged to periodically review the EFOTG and recommend changes by forwarding proposals to the NRCS State Conservationist.”

and we–the state soil & water conservation commission and conservation districts–hung our hats on the “and/or other science-based technical standards” when we developed conservation plans for projects that didn’t involve Farm Bill programs, e.g., section 319 grant-funded projects.

A subtle change in the wording of the new MOA replaced the “and/or other science-based tech standards” with “and other science-based tech standards”, which in a court of law may preclude us from using any standards other than NRCS standards, but in practice we assume some wiggle room and continue to develop and implement conservation plans outside of the constraints of NRCS’s 9-step cons planning process and their practice standards. No disrespect to NRCS, but we believe alternative sources of technical specs, such as those published by our land grant university, are adequate for many practices in many situations, e.g., culverts, fences, spring developments. and stock water facilities.

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