Conservation Targeting: Past, Present, and Future

For over 75 years, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has been a pioneer in conservation, working with farmers and ranchers, local and state governments, and other federal agencies to maintain healthy and productive working landscapes.  Since the establishment of the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) at USDA in 1935, there has been a recognition that successful soil and water conservation required addressing resource concerns at the watershed scale. SCS and, now NRCS, has developed numerous science-based tools and standards in agronomy, forestry, engineering, economics, wildlife biology and other disciplines that local NRCS field office conservationists use in helping landowners plan and install conservation practices.  In conjunction with these field oriented efforts, NRCS has also invested in analytical efforts such as the Conservation Effects Analysis Project to determine the effectiveness of conservation systems in addressing natural resource concerns.  These efforts have supported evolving approaches to targeting conservation assistance to geographies and conservation systems to increase the effectiveness of conservation programs.  The current NRCS Landscape Conservation Initiatives and the recently authorized Regional Conservation Partnership Program are the latest iteration in this series of targeting efforts.