Role of the Conservation Plan To provide a written framework to help the client:

1. The Conservation Plan North Carolina • Role of the Conservation Plan • To provide a written framework to help the client: • understand their SWAPA resources & concerns, • think holistically about science-based treatment alternatives to address resource concerns, • identify the best treatment to meet the needs of the land and their management objectives, • comply with federal, state, and local laws & regulations, • understand the specifications and maintenance requirements for selected practices. NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

2. The Conservation Plan North Carolina • Role of the Conservation Plan - continued • To serve as a record of the client’s decisions. • To support a cost-share contract. NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

3. The Conservation Plan North Carolina • Writing for the Client • Your narratives are where you communicate what the client has decided to do. Narratives are decisions -- not choices. • Customizing the plan. • The client must be able to understand it the next day. • Use terms and words the client understands. Watch for NRCS and FOTG jargon. NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

4. The Conservation Plan North Carolina • The Plan’s Appearance • The Plan represents your organization and you as a planner. • Clients equate a professional looking plan with a technically sound product. (and visa versa!) • The client will be spending a lot of money based on your plan. NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

5. The Conservation Plan North Carolina • Organizing the Plan • Field office discretion on plan organization & filing -- not planner discretion. Must be consistent within office. • Either 6- or 2-part folders. A tri-fold (3-part) may soon be available. • With 2-part folders, normally maintain cost-share contract(s) in separate folders/files. NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

6. The Conservation Plan North Carolina Organizing the Plan in a Six-Part Folder Part 1 Part 2 Conservation Plan Map Cons. Plan Map Legend Soils Map Decisions/Narratives Soils Legend & Interp.s SWCD Coop. Agreement Other Maps (Topos, etc)

7. The Conservation Plan North Carolina Organizing the Plan in a Six-Part Folder Part 3 Part 4 Specifications (Job Sheets) NC-CPA-52 Inventories, Worksheets Nutrient & Pest Mgt Plans WHSI, Other Plan Support Grazing Plans NEPA, NHPA, etc Docum.* Engineering Designs * May only be in case file.

8. The Conservation Plan North Carolina Organizing the Plan in a Six-Part Folder Part 5 Part 6 Cost-Share Contracts Cons. Assistance Notes* Contract Support Documents General Correspondence* HEL/WC Plan/Documents Envelope for archive, misc.* * May only be in case file.

9. The Conservation Plan North Carolina Organizing the Plan in a Two-Part Folder Part 1 Part 2 Conservation Plan Map Cons. Plan Map Legend Soils Map Decisions/Narratives Soils Legend & Interp.s Specifications (Job Sheets) Other Maps (Topos, etc) NC-CPA-52

10. The Conservation Plan North Carolina Organizing the Plan in a Two-Part Folder Case File Envelope Client Envelope Cons. Assistance Notes Inventories, Worksheets, Other Documentation HEL/WC Plan/Documents General Correspondence WHSI, Other Plan Support NEPA, NHPA, etc Docum.* Inventories, Worksheets, Other Documentation WHSI, Other Plan Support NEPA, NHPA, etc Docum.*

11. The Conservation Plan North Carolina Common Errors in Plans RUSLE Use the most recent RUSLE worksheet dated July 2001. Show soil loss computations for before and after conditions. Follow RUSLE instructions for determining RUSLE factors. Be especially careful with C and P. RUSLE data must agree with practices in the Conservation Plan. RUSLE is not shown for all the needed fields. RUSLE should be used to document soil erosion on all cropland fields, and all other land uses when soil erosion is a resource concern.

12. The Conservation Plan North Carolina Common Errors in Plans SOILS Show farm boundary on soils map. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS Complete the resource inventory section. The concerns identified should support the practices selected. Use the current NC-CPA-52. Complete the Threatened and Endangered Species question correctly. A common entry is (N); this is wrong. The entry needs to be (+), (0), or (-). [If it is not (0), the plan must document informal consultation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.] Fill out the CPA-52 completely. The CPA-52 should be signed and dated by the planner before it is considered complete. One of the blanks above the signature must be checked.

13. The Conservation Plan North Carolina Common Errors in Plans RECORD OF DECISIONS Use the current practice standards when developing conservation plans. Examples of old practice names: Conservation Tillage, Planned Grazing System, Trough or Tank. Practice narratives should be written to communicate with the landowner. Practice narratives should be written as “decisions”— NOT recommendations or alternatives.

14. The Conservation Plan North Carolina • Common Errors in Plans • SPECIFIC PRACTICES • Complete a Pest Management Worksheet. All plans that have pest management planned should include a Pest Control worksheet. Narratives should reference the environmental assessment. This is the key part of the NRCS practice. • Apply the Wildlife Habitat Suitability Index to the entire planning unit – not a food plot or field border. When is WHSI required? • When completing CCP certification plans. • When program ranking points are awarded based on a WHSI score. • When a primary land use is “Wildlife Land”. • And, as with RUSLE, the WHSI should reflect the practices planned.

15. The Conservation Plan North Carolina Common Errors in Plans SPECIFIC PRACTICES Residue Management, Seasonal. Should not be used as the residue requirement for the Residue Management, No-Till practice. Designate land uses correctly according to NPPH, Amendment 3, 600-3-2 and the primary resource management objective, especially “Forest”, “Natural Area”, and “Wildlife land”. Prescribed Grazing – Need some sort of brief summary of all the forms. (We will provide a Tech Note on this practice). Mistakes are pretty common.

16. The Conservation Plan North Carolina Common Errors in Plans GENERAL Do not load up the Plan with unnecessary paper, e.g. practice standards, etc. Organize the file to communicate with the client. Check to verify that O&M information has been provided. Make sure that the plan and supporting documentation matches up. If plan says, “…according to attached job sheet,” then be certain to have included the attachment and completed it properly.