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Natural Resources Conservation Service

Learn about the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and its role in soil conservation worldwide. Created in 1965, the USLE helps estimate soil erosion, guide conservation planning, and protect the environment. Discover how this tool has influenced conservation practices globally.

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Natural Resources Conservation Service

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  1. Natural Resources Conservation Service Ronald Riggenbach District Conservationist Saguache, Rio Grande, Mineral Counties

  2. Natural Resources Conservation Service: Who Are We ?

  3. Hugh Hammond Bennett When a dust storm from the Great Plains moved over Washington, D.C., in the spring of 1935 during the height of the Dust Bowl, Bennett was testifying before a Congressional committee on the bill that would create the Soil Conservation Service. He knew the storm was coming and used it to dramatically demonstrate the need for soil conservation. The resulting Soil Conservation Act of April 27, 1935, created the Soil Conservation Service at USDA. Bennett served as its chief until he retired in 1951.

  4. NRCS Mission: Helping People Help the Land

  5. NRCS What We do: Conservation • Soil • Water • Air • Plants • Animals • Energy (new)

  6. The Universal Soil Loss Equation A = R K L S C P The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) was developed at the USDA National Runoff and Soil Loss Data Center at Purdue University in a national effort led by Walter H. Wischmeier and Dwight D. Smith. The USLE was published in 1965 in USDA Agriculture Handbook 282. The USLE is based on extensive erosion data from studies throughout the USA, and provides a quick approach to estimating long-term average annual soil loss (A). The equation is comprised of six factors: R - rainfall and runoff; K - soil erodibility; L - slope length; S - slope steepness; C - cover and management; and P - support practice. USLE was the first empirical erosion equation that was not tied to a specific region of the United States, thus the title “Universal” Soil Loss Equation. The USLE has been used in more than 100 countries to guide conservation planning, assess soil erosion for conservation policy development, and estimate sediment yield. It has helped to save millions of tons of soil, thus helping to feed the world’s population, and to protect the environment from sediment produced by soil erosion.

  7. Wind Erosion Suspension Saltation Surface Creep

  8. Wind Erosion

  9. Bank Stabilization

  10. Conservation Reserve Enhanced Program

  11. Emergency Watershed Protection West Fork Fire Complex 2013 Longmont Flooding 2013

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