Fiscal Year 2008 Accomplishments 

Helping People Help the Land 

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides products and services 

that enable people to be good stewards of their soil, water, and related natural 

resources. As a result of our assistance, land owners, land managers, and communities 

take a comprehensive approach to using and conserving the Nation’s natural 

resources. The table below reports the conservation actions these stewards took, with

our help, in fiscal year (FY) 2008. It also shows our key activities that provide the 

technology and inventory data they needed to manage their natural resources well. 

Goal* Performance Measure and Program Trend: Fiscal Year Performance FY 2008 

2005 2006 2007 Target Actual

Conservation Implementation 

High Quality, CTA 6.0 6.4 7.3 7.0 8.3

Productive Soils Cropland with conservation applied to 

improve soil quality, million acres EQIP 2.2 3.4 5.3 5.5 5.6 

Agricultural land with enhancement 

activities applied to increase soil quality,

million acres CSP 7.2 1.4 0.14 1.4 1.3

Clean and CTA 2,421 2,269 1,911 1,550 1745

Abundant Water Comprehensive Nutrient Management 

Plans applied, number EQIP 2,032 2,774 2,490 2,300 2520

CTA 595,050 678,149 828,246 650,000 844,818 

EQIP 701,497 758,923 883,033 700,000 1,048,319 

Land with conservation applied to improve 

irrigation efficiency, acres 

GSWC 353,554 407,885 359,227 200,000 311,144 

Klamath 38,531 38,444 29,953 20,000 38,009

Unsafe dams rehabilitated or removed, 

number 

WS 

Rehab 11 4 13 15 18 

CTA 7.5 11.8 14.2 12.0 16.0

Healthy Plant 

and Animal 

Communities 

Grazing and forest land with conservation 

applied to protect and improve the resource 

base, million acres EQIP 8.0 12.2 16.5 12.3 16.9

Nonfederal land managed for the protection 

and enhancement of habitat for species 

with declining populations, million acres WHIP 0.20 0.25 0.15 0.20 0.36 

Wetlands created, restored or enhanced, CTA 53,498 65,345 62,093 51,300 72,806

acres WRP 180,358 181,979 149,326 100,000 128,860

CRP 50,934 61,279 68,834 60,000 52,640

Conservation Planning

Conservation plans written, million acres CTA 41.7 45.7 41.4 40.0 39.7 

Watershed or area-wide conservation plans 

developed, number CTA 441 408 220 200 152 

Natural Resource Inventory and 

Assessment

New or updated web soil surveys, number 132 126 105 30 66 

Soil surveys mapped or updated, million 

acres 

Soil 

Survey 31.9 35.5 36.4 32.5 35.2 

Water supply forecasts issued, number SSWF 11,549 11,534 12,141 11,400 12,505 

Natural Resource Technology Transfer 

Plant materials technical documents written 

and released to the public, number PMC 308 427 459 400 435 

Financial Assistance 

Prime, unique or important farmland 

protected from conversion to nonagricultural uses by conservation 

easements, acres FRPP 55,253 46,909 38,495 32,500 38,297 

* For the Conservation Implementation business line, the table attributes performance to the strategic goal that was the

primary purpose of the activity, but in many cases the conservation treatment benefits other goals as well. For all other 

business lines, activities generally support achievement of all mission outcomes. 
About NRCS NRCS is a technical agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. Most NRCS 

employees work in nearly 2,900 field offices across the Nation, providing services directly

to our customers. These employees are supported by NRCS employees in other offices 

that provide technical and administrative support, conduct natural resource inventories, 

and develop new conservation technologies.

NRCS products and services form the five business lines highlighted in the table on the 

previous page. These are: conservation planning and technical consultation, 

conservation implementation, natural resource inventory and assessment, natural

resource technology transfer, and financial assistance. The following table shows the 

amount of staff time devoted to each business line. The time shown for each business 

line includes necessary administrative and management support. 

NRCS staff time by agency

business line for fiscal years 

2005-2008. 

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

2005 2006 2007 2008

Fiscal Year

Staff Years

Conservation Planning and Technical Consultation Conservation Implementation

Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment Natural Resource Technology Transfer

Financial Assistance

Conservation Program and Primary Business Lines Supported

Conservation Program Business Lines

Conservation

Services 

Conservation 

Infrastructure 

Financial 

Assistance 

Conservation Technical Assistance CTA 

Soil Survey

Snow Survey & Water Supply

Forecasting 

Plant Materials Centers PMC 

Watershed Surveys and Planning

Flood Prevention Operations 

Watershed Operations 

Emergency Watershed Protection EWP 

Watershed Rehabilitation Program 

Resource Conservation & Development RC&D 

Environmental Quality Incentives 

Program 

EQIP 

Ground and Surface Water Conservation GSWC 

Klamath Basin 

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program WHIP 

Agricultural Management Assistance AMA 

Wetlands Reserve Program WRP 

Grassland Reserve Program GRP 

Healthy Forest Reserve HFRP 

Farm & Ranch Lands Protection Program FRPP 

Conservation Reserve Program CRP * 

Conservation Security Program CSP 

Conservation Services includes Conservation Planning and Technical Consultation and Conservation 

Implementation. Conservation Infrastructure includes Natural Resources Inventory and Assessment 

and Natural Resource Technology Transfer. 

* Financial Assistance is administered by the Farm Service Agency.

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 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, 

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.