Natural Resources

Conservation Service

Accomplishments Report

FY 2004

The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership

in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and

improve our natural resources and environment.

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Natural Resources

Conservation 

Service

November 2004
Conservation Leadership

Conservation of natural resources on

private lands depends on the efforts

of many individuals, groups, and 

government entities working together

on common goals. Local leadership

and local action—neighbors working

together—form the foundation for

effective land stewardship. The

Natural Resources Conservation

Service (NRCS) supports local, State,

and national conservation goals

through working partnerships with

State conservation agencies, local 

conservation and development 

councils, tribal governments and

community groups.

NRCS employees provide information and technical assistance to 

private landowners and land users.

Because natural resource issues are

best addressed on a watershed scale,

NRCS also helps community leaders

make sound natural resource 

decisions that enhance the local 

environment and improve their 

standard of living and quality of life.

What We Achieved

The Nation’s conservation efforts on

private land ensure a healthy and 

productive land that sustains food

and fiber production, protects 

watersheds and ecosystems, enhances

the environment, and improves urban

and rural landscapes.

To effectively achieve these benefits,

NRCS focuses on four strategic goals:

• Enhance the productive capacity

of soil and water resources to

enable a strong agricultural and

natural resource sector.

• Reduce unintended adverse

effects of natural resource 

development and use to ensure a

high-quality environment.

• Reduce risks from drought and

flooding to protect individual and

community health and safety.

• Deliver high-quality services to

the public to enable natural

resource stewardship.

Goal 1: Enhance the productive

capacity of soil and water resources.

NRCS helped producers—

• Develop conservation system plans

on 12.7 million acres of cropland.

• Apply conservation system plans

on 7.9 million acres of cropland. 

• Apply erosion control measures on

5.9 million acres of cultivated

cropland resulting in reducing soil

loss by 53.1 million tons. 

• Develop conservation system plans

on 25.1 million acres of grazing

land.

• Apply conservation system plans

on 19.4 million acres of grazing

land.

• Apply forest stand improvement

and tree and shrub establishment

on nearly 620,000 acres.

CTA

57%

Farm Bill Financial

Assistance 8%

Farm Bill 

Technical 

Assistance

35%

Goals Goal 1 

Science-based assistance provided through Conservation Technical 

Assistance (CTA) is the basis for all conservation efforts yet 

conservation goals are achieved through a comprehensive portfolio 

of NRCS programs. Incentive-based programs authorized by the 

2002 Farm Bill are tools available to producers to accelerate 

application of conservation. Data reflect each program’s percentage 

of the agency’s total expenditures devoted to that particular 

strategic goal. 

Source: FY 2004 Budget and Performance Integration 

Data from NRCS FY 2006 Agency Estimate.
Goal 2: Reduce unintended adverse

effects of natural resource 

development and use.

NRCS helped land managers—

• Apply conservation buffers on

281,295 acres. 

• Create or restore nearly 228,000

acres of wetlands.

• Apply upland and wetland wildlife

habitat management as a primary

or secondary purpose on nearly 6.3

million acres.

• Develop 6,287 comprehensive

nutrient management plans and

apply 3,582 plans.

• Apply nutrient management on

2.9 million acres.

• Apply pest management on nearly

3.5 million acres.

NRCS helped communities—

• Protect an estimated 135,000 acres

of farmland from conversion to

nonagricultural uses through the

Farm and Ranch Lands Protection

Program.

• Complete 3,358 resource 

conservation and development

(RC&D) projects that improve the

quality of life—including social,

economic, and environmental 

concerns.

Goal 3: Reduce risks from drought

and flooding.

NRCS helped local sponsors—

• Complete construction of 155

flood protection structures.

• Complete 241 risk assessments,

authorize 9 watershed 

rehabilitation plans, and 

rehabilitate 20 dams.

NRCS helped land managers—

• Apply conservation systems to

address flooding concerns on 

4.5 million acres.

• Apply conservation systems to

address water supply concerns on 

8 million acres.

• Improve irrigation water management on 686,000 million acres

and conserve 2.1 million acreinches of water.

• Manage limited western water supplies effectively. NRCS issued

11,281 water supply forecasts for

Federal, state, and local water

resource planning purposes. Water

users and managers requested snow

survey, water supply forecasts, and

soil moisture data and products

4.7 million times through the

National Water and Climate

Center website. 

Goal 4: Deliver high quality 

services to the public.

NRCS employees—

• Provided technical assistance in

planning nearly 145,000 

conservation plans and in 

applying 110,000 conservation

plans. 

• Mapped soils or updated soils

maps on 28 million acres.

• Provided 339 new soil surveys in

digital format and revised 1,394

additional surveys in digital format

(SSURGO). 

• Released 14 new conservation

plants for commercial or private

use and evaluated 359 plant 

materials studies.

• Provided data to 2.6 million 

customers through the PLANTS

database website.

• Distributed more than 1 million

publications from the NRCS

National Publication Distribution

Center/888-LANDCARE.

• Achieved an impressive year for the

Earth Team volunteer program

with more than 40,600 volunteers

donating nearly 1 million hours in

over two-thirds of NRCS offices

across the country. 

CTA 12%

Farm Bill 

Financial

Assistance

64%

Farm Bill 

Technical 

Assistance

16%

RC&D

4%

Water

Resources

Programs

4%

CTA 15%

Farm Bill 

Financial

Assistance

34%

Farm Bill

Technical

Assistance

10% Snow Survey

2%

Water

Resources

Programs

39%

CTA 57%

Plant Materials

4%

Soil Survey

33%

Biomass

6%

Goal 2 Goal 3 Goal 4
NRCS Programs and

Activities

The four Conservation Operations

programs (Conservation Technical

Assistance [CTA], Soil Survey, Snow

Survey and Water Supply Forecasting,

and Plant Materials) are the core 

support for all NRCS programs and

activities. CTA provides the 

infrastructure through which NRCS

provides assistance to conservation

districts, develops technical standards

and technical guides, conducts

resource inventories, and provides

assistance to individuals and 

communities to plan and manage

their natural resources.

The Resource Conservation and

Development (RC&D) Program 

provides assistance to RC&D councils

to plan, develop, and carry out 

projects that address land 

conservation, water management,

community development, and land

management. 

NRCS water resources programs

focus on restoring the health of

watersheds through a comprehensive

planning approach. These programs

help communities protect their watersheds from damage caused by erosion,

floodwater, and sediment, and to 

conserve and develop water and land

resources. 

NRCS also is responsible for various

Farm Bill voluntary conservation 

programs, including the Conservation

Security Program, Environmental

Quality Incentives Program, Farm

and Ranch Lands Protection

Program, Grassland Reserve Program,

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program,

and Wetlands Reserve Program.

These programs provide technical,

financial, and educational assistance

to address single or multiple natural

resource concerns identified at the

local level. These programs are used

to help participants plan and apply

conservation to their land. 

More Information

Additional information on NRCS

programs and services can be found

on the Web at www.nrcs.usda.gov

or by calling your local USDA service

center. Specific information on the

NRCS Integrated Accountability

System can be found at

www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/

spa/accountabilityindex.html

Program and

Contract

Management

Application and

Maintenance

Planning

Assistance

Science and

Technology

Training Communication

and Community

Relations

Management and

Supervision

Admin Support

Infrastructure

Activities

0

500

1000

1500

2000

3000

3500

Staff

Years

17%

20%

13%

7% 7%

10%

2500

11%

16%

Conservation

Operations 

67%

Farm Bill

Programs 

24%

Water

Resources

Programs 

5%

RC&D 4%

Source: NRCS Conservation Information System, Report 1.3

Staff Years by Program

Data reflect the percentage of total NRCS

staff years devoted to each major program

category.

Source: NRCS Conservation

Information System, Report 1.1

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits 

discrimination in all its programs and activities on the

basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age,

disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital 

or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all 

programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information

(Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s

TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director,

Office of Civil Rights, Room 326W, Whitten Building, 14th

and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-

9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an

equal opportunity provider and employer.

Activities

The primary services provided by NRCS field office staffs are assistance in developing conservation plans and in applying and maintaining the conservation practices called for in those

plans. NRCS also is responsible for providing science-based resource data, technical tools, and

information needed for good stewardship. Data reflect the percentage of total NRCS staff

years devoted to each activity.