Do you find yourself asking “How do I maximize production, maintain long term viability and leave something for the next generation?” A conservation plan should be your first step. Resource professionals can provide you with options and assist you or your land manager in selecting the best combination of conservation practices to meet both natural resource needs and the land management goals of your operation.

 

Conservation plans combine the land owner’s or land manager’s land management skills and budgets with proven technology to help ensure: clean water, clean air, quality soil, abundant wildlife, healthy environment and energy conservation. Which when implemented and   combined with conservation activities on neighboring properties results in effectively managing natural resources across the landscape.

 

So how do we know what needs to be done? Well each of us, if we actually stop and look around know we can    improve how we do things. In Conservation Planning that is what we start off doing. We stop, look for resource   issues and consider how they affect the overall objectives for your operation and the landscape.  We then inventory the soil, water, air, plant, animal, human, and energy resources available to us. Combining this information and analyzing the interactions of the resources and management activities already in place, the planner can now formulate alternatives for improvement.

 

Your next step is to consider the suggested conservation practices and management systems the planner is proposing. Which is the best alternative to meet your objectives? Which alternative will help you comply with environmental regulations? What else might need to be considered? Do the practices really fit your budget? How much change can you adjust to?  How soon do you want to get things done? You the client make the decisions which are then recorded in a conservation plan. 

 

A Conservation Plan that includes your goals, a map of your property, a soils map and soils description, resource inventory data, a list of your conservation decisions, location and schedule for applying conservation practices and systems, and maintenance information for installed measures becomes a guide to land management and  conservation implementation.  It may also help qualify you for incentive programs that would financially assist you in implementing your plan and meeting your goals.

 

For those who may already have a Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP), we can incorporate that plan into the Conservation Plan.  The Conservation Plan can address areas that are not typically covered in the FSP such as open fields and headquarters areas.  Some common practices we design are: Tree and Shrub Plantings, Windbreaks, Hedgerows, Forest Stand Improvement, Forest Site Preparation, Upland Wildlife Habitat Improvement, Early Succesional Habitat Development (Brush and Browse Management and Forest Openings), Prescribed Grazing, Dams, Pasture and Hayland Plantings, Well Decommissioning and many other practices.

 

Contact your local NRCS office to learn more about conservation planning, conservation practices and financial assistance programs.