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The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a federal agency in the United States Department of Agriculture, is one of the oldest government agencies of its kind. The agency was essentially initiated by landowners, as the Soil Conservation Service, during the “Dust Bowl” era of the 1930s. The mission of the NRCS is to address natural resource conservation on private lands. NRCS defines "conservation" as wise use of natural resources - soil, water, air, plant, and animal - in order to sustain productivity for current and future generations. The Soil Conservation Act of 1935 created a relationship between the RCDs and NRCS. NRCS does its best to ensure that local conservation concerns are met and to balance specific local needs with a national conservation effort. To accomplish this mission, the NRCS employs a local District Conservationist to work directly with local Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) and Resource Conservation and Development Councils (RC&Ds), Together the NRCS, RCDs and RC&Ds work to solve issues at the local level.
All local NRCS services are made available, without service fees, through a mutual agreement with the RCD of Santa Cruz County.
Partnership services include:
- Site visits
- Workshops
- Publications
- Farm Bill funding
- Soils information (CD/website)
- Best Management Practice guidelines
- Road and homeowner association assistance
- Farm and forest land management
- Fire hazard reduction
- Emergency assistance and programs
- Stream care
- Vegetation management
- Drainage control
- And more…