Conservation Technical Assistance 2006

Program helps landowners improve natural resources

The Conservation Technical Assistance Program (CTA) is a voluntary program that provides technical assistance supported by science-based technology and tools to help people conserve, maintain, and improve their natural resources.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s principal agency for providing conservation technical assistance to private landowners, conservation districts, tribes and other organizations.

The CTA Program is the foundation of this conservation technical assistance and serves to focus on natural resource issues at the local level that are of local, state, multi-state, and national concern. The CTA Program works in partnership with locally led decision-making processes and other conservation programs to augment the federal investment in order to address national priorities in concert with local and state needs most effectively.

Benefits

Seven out of every 10 acres of our nations’ land is privately owned. Healthy working land is the foundation of a prosperous U.S. agricultural industry, the corner stone of environmental quality and the core of healthy communities.

The CTA Program helps clients address opportunities, concerns, and problems related to the use of natural resources. The nation benefits from the strong commitment to private land conservation. Benefits are multi-faceted, including sustained and improved agricultural productivity; cleaner, safer and more dependable water supplies; clean air; abundant wildlife; enhanced recreational opportunities; tranquil and scenic landscapes; reduced damages caused by flood, fires and other natural disasters; and an enhanced natural resource base to support continued economic development.

The CTA Program continuously fosters new technologies and conservation practices to address emerging challenges from an expanding conservation agenda. An increasing number of federal, state, and local laws and policies on environmental quality place new requirements on landowners and land-users making CTA invaluable to landowners. Our country’s economic and environmental well-being depends on maintaining the health of privately owned land, "America’s working land."

How The CTA Program Works

The CTA Program works through a voluntary conservation network built through NRCS and its partnership with conservation districts, state conservation agencies, and millions of private landowners. NRCS’ most important accomplishment has been maintaining the trust and respect of America’s farmers and ranchers. That trust has been built through the CTA Program.

Most technical assistance provided by NRCS is based on the voluntary development of a conservation plan - a resource assessment of the land. A successful plan helps clients achieve their objectives while, at the same time, meet their responsibility to care for the land.

NRCS helps decision makers with the conservation planning process ranging from site-specific for individuals to community, watershed, or area-wide plans for groups of land managers. Conservation technical assistance furnished by NRCS includes conservation planning and practice or system application, technical consultations, and assistance in the technical phases of USDA and state cost-share programs.

Technical assistance is provided to help clients apply and maintain planned conservation practices. NRCS assistance for applying the conservation practices and systems may include:

• Design, layout, and evaluation of conservation practices;
• Development of management alternatives and cultural practices needed to establish and maintain vegetation; and
• Planning, construction, and maintenance of other conservation practices needed to protect and enhance natural resources.

Requests for technical assistance through CTA will be prioritized by NRCS and the local conservation district to ensure that assistance is provided in a fair and equitable manner.

This program does not include financial assistance. However, through the CTA Program, clients develop conservation plans, which may serve as a basis for them to enter into financial assistance and easement conservation programs provided by other federal, state and local programs.

Eligibility

All owners, managers and others with a stake and interest in natural resource management are eligible to receive technical assistance from NRCS.

For More Information

If you need more information about CTA, contact your local USDA Service Center, listed in the telephone book under U.S. Department of Agriculture, or your local conservation district.

Information also is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs.

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