USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Our Mission

To provide leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, 

maintain and improve our natural resources and environment.

2003 Nevada State Story
NRCS Nevada 2003 Annual Report 2 January 2004

NRCS is proud to be an active partner in the battle against 

noxious and invasive weed species in Nevada. Besides our 

deep commitment to apply integrated pest management 

to private lands in Nevada through NRCS programs, 

our activities extend to active participation with the 

Nevada Weed Action Committee and the Nevada Weed 

Management Association, support of Cooperative Weed 

Management Areas (CWMA), and maintaining the Nevada 

Noxious Weed Geographic Information System (GIS). Our 

employees are working with the Nevada Department of 

Agriculture, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, 

federal and state agencies, counties, municipalities, private 

landowners, and others to wage the war on weeds. 

The Nevada Weed Action Committee was formed to 

help coordinate activities surrounding the noxious weed 

problem in the state. Its accomplishments include the 

development and maintenance of the State Weed Plan 

which guides the state noxious weed effort in areas of weed 

management, education and awareness, noxious weed 

mapping, coordination and cooperation, and research. The 

Nevada Weed Management Association provides a forum 

each year for participants to report on accomplishments 

and research efforts, to learn from experts in the field, and 

NRCS Helps Battle Noxious/Invasive Weeds in Nevada

—Rod Dahl

to network with colleagues and develop new professional 

relationships.

NRCS staff and conservation district members have 

participated in the formation and on-going activities of 

CWMA’s. The CWMA effort brings the noxious weed 

problem to the local level, as local agencies and private 

citizens come together to develop action plans to guide them 

in control activities, thus creating local solutions for local 

problems.

The NRCS developed the Nevada Noxious Weed 

GIS in 1999 and continues to manage it. The challenges 

of developing and implementing standards, normalizing 

submitted data to the data model, and providing training 

to a wide spectrum of field workers continue to be met as 

we enter its fifth successful year. The GIS is an integral 

part of the state strategy for combating noxious weeds. Its 

products provide support to the education and awareness 

effort. They help us gauge progress on control efforts and 

they help us show the spatial and temporal spread of noxious 

weed species. Further, the GIS allows us to respond rapidly 

to queries from researchers and other interested parties 

regarding the status of noxious weeds in Nevada.

—Dave Pickel

NRCS and Conservation District Help Farmers Conserve Water

More than 100 farmers, ranchers and high school students watched a ditch lining demonstration at the Churchill 

County Fairgrounds/Agricultural Service Center complex in September. Three different synthetic ditch lining 

materials were used, and representatives from the three companies, Huesker Inc., Firestone, and Siplast, were 

on hand to demonstrate how to install the materials, answer questions and offer technical expertise. Resource 

specialists from the Natural Resources Conservation Service 

were also there to answer questions on improving irrigation water 

efficiency and cost share assistance that is available through the 

2002 Farm Bill.

In addition to saving water, the new liners cost approximately 

30-50 percent less than concrete to install and are guaranteed to 

last 20 years. Delivery efficiency is improved and the smooth lining 

reduces friction losses through the ditch. The rubber liners can be 

installed in existing earthen or concrete ditches, or can be used to 

patch and repair ditches. The liners also reduce the maintenance 

requirements for weeds and vegetation along delivery ditches. 

The synthetic materials are designed to meet NRCS standards 

and specifications, and are eligible for USDA conservation program 

cost share through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program or the Agricultural Management Assistance 

Program. 

The Lahontan Conservation District, as part of its on-going water conservation program, sponsored the project 

to demonstrate how the synthetic liners compare to earthen and concrete ditches. District and NRCS personnel will 

monitor the project over the next several years. 

Several organizations and agencies help cosponsor the demonstration project, including 

Churchill County, 

Churchill County Parks and Recreation Department, and the 

Bureau of Reclamation. 
NRCS Nevada 2003 Annual Report 3 January 2004 SEARCH AND DESTROY MISSION — GOATS ATTACK TAMARISK ON THE WALKER RIVER PAIUTE TRIBE RESERVATION The Walker River Paiute Tribe is trying out an experimental 

method of eradicating tamarisk on their reservation. The tribe 

has been battling tamarisk for decades, putting everything from 

machines to insects to the task, without much luck. So far, it 

seems they may have found the best control in a herd of goats.

Tamarisk, or salt cedar, is one of the largest noxious weeds 

in the West. It is not a native plant, but it has adapted well to 

Nevada’s desert climate. One tree can use up to 200 gallons of 

water per day. It is a deep-rooted plant that pulls salts out of 

the soil and exudes it out of its leaves, so nothing else can grow 

around it. For the Tribe’s grazing land, that is bad news. 

Chuck O’Rourke with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and 

NRCS’s Ed Biggs and Tracey Jean Wolfe, joined the battle to help 

the Tribe combat the weed and restore native vegetation. Wolfe 

developed a conservation plan outlining the steps to follow, and 

O’Rourke was successful in obtaining funding to pay for the 

goats.

Goats have been used successfully on other weeds in the 

western U.S. Several years ago, one canyon in Idaho could feed 

250 cows per month before leafy spurge was found. Leafy spurge 

crowded out the native grasses and reduced the grazing capacity 

to 12 cows per month. Chemicals were sprayed on the land, 

costing $150 per acre. The spray killed the leafy spurge as well 

as every broadleaf plant growing in the area. “When we looked at 

the canyon, the leafy spurge was four feet tall. The only animals 

living in it were snakes, mice and skunks. There were no deer or 

anything else,” said Hugh Bunten of Lakeview, Ore. Bunten set 

up a grazing plan with the Idaho Resource Conservation District 

and other government agencies. The new technique he was 

pioneering worked—the goats stayed in their herd, they ate the 

leafy spurge and, within three years of return visits, had almost 

cleared the canyon of the noxious weeds. 

In addition, the goat’s digestive system kills the seeds of the 

plants that are eaten, so the germination from seed is greatly 

reduced. “We go back each year, but now we need only a handful 

of goats. They have become addicted to the leafy spurge. When 

turned loose, they mount a regular search and destroy attack on 

the few remaining noxious plants,” Bunten said. 

The Walker River Tribe is counting on this same success for 

their land. About 600 goats were brought in and temporary fences 

were put up to keep the goats in a confined area about 3 acres in 

size. Once the goats have done their job attacking the tamarisk in 

that area, they are moved to another area. About 3,000 acres of 

tamarisk will be treated. So far, they have done a remarkable job 

stripping the leaves off of the tamarisk and gnawing at the trunks.

The goats will be brought back next summer for the next 

treatment. Before that, however, the area will be seeded with 

native grasses and forbs. Then, the goats will trample the seed 

into the ground and fertilize it while they are attacking the 

tamarisk.

If everything goes as hoped, a third treatment won’t be needed. —Cub Wolfe
2002 Farm Bill Programs

The 2002 Farm Bill provides farmers and ranchers with more incentives than ever before to voluntarily 

conserve natural resources on their land. The conservation provisions will help reduce erosion, protect 

streams and rivers, and restore and establish wildlife habitat. In Nevada, the following programs have 

benefited landowners, people in Nevada, and the environment:

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

Improves water quality and quantity and protects endangered species

144 applications received

115 contracts approved for $3,966,694

9 contacts over $100,000, primarily water quantity projects addressing water savings 

and effects of long term drought

21 Native American contracts approved for $457,170

Ground and Surface Water

5 contracts approved for $655,400

Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP)

Develops and improves fish and wildlife habitat

28 applications

7 contracts awarded for $108,469

21 backlogged contracts amounting to $272,402

123 acres of wetland projects

525 acres of upland habitat - sage grouse habitat restoration, species of concern

Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP)

Restores and protects grassland including rangeland and pastureland

1 contract awarded for $39,400

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

USDA NRCS • 5301 Longley Lane • F-201 • Reno, NV 89511 • (775) 784-5863 • www.nv.nrcs.usda.gov

—Peggy Hughes

Soil Surveys still Provide Valuable Information

Continuing the legacy started by Lewis and Clark in the 1800’s, NRCS soil scientists continue to map and update soils across Nevada. 

This year, 435,000 acres of initial soil survey were completed and mapping on 230,000 acres was updated. Field mapping was 

completed for the White Pine County (East Part) Soil Survey, and mapping is being conducted in Clark and Lincoln Counties. Update 

mapping is being done in Douglas County, Fallon-Fernley Area, Lovelock Area, Surprise 

Valley-Home Camp, and Virgin River Area.

Soil surveys have been published and are available in 38 of the 49 soil survey areas of 

Nevada. The soil survey for the southwest part of Nye County will be published in a few 

months. So far, 43 of Nevada’s surveys have been digitized and certified.

The Nevada NRCS State Office houses one of the nation’s eighteen Major Land 

Resource Region Offices and one of six national Digital Map Finishing Sites for the 

agency. Although physically housed in Nevada, these employees have multi-state 

responsibilities specific to the Soil Survey Program. The Major Land Resource Region 

Offices, referred to as MO offices, service areas with similar ecological properties. For 

example, the Nevada MO office covers the Northern Basin and Range Region which 

includes Northeastern California, Southeastern Oregon, Southwestern Idaho, Western Utah, and most of Nevada. The MO office has a 

leader, three soil data quality specialists, an editorial assistant, and a GIS Specialist to guide the entire soil mapping process, from the 

field work to publishing the soil survey.

The Digital Map Finishing Office utilizes numerous types of geospatial technology to compile the soils information into a digital 

format. This team, made up of two cartographic technicians and four part-time students, prepares maps for eight states: Nevada, 

California, Utah, Arizona, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with State agricultural experiment stations and other Federal and State 

agencies, has been making soil surveys and publishing them since 1899. —Bill Dollarhide