conservation practice

NRCS Seeking Public Comment on Conservation Practice Standards

Dan Environment, USDA-NRCS

conservation practice
This warm water slough on the Foust Wetlands Reserve Program easement in lake County, Montana, provides important Winter and early Spring habitat for waterfowl.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is still seeking public comments on proposed revisions to 49 national conservation practice standards through a posting in the Federal Register. But, the comment period closes April 23, 2020.

The 49 updated national conservation practice standards include:

  • 12 agronomic practices for water quality and erosion control
  • Two aquaculture practices
  • Three forestry practices
  • Six practices affecting waterways
  • Five drainage-related practices
  • Seven livestock-related practices
  • Three energy and air quality practices
  • Eight water conservation practices
  • Three farm traffic-related practices

Conservation practices through NRCS offers guidelines for planning, installing, operating, and maintaining conservation practices used by farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners nationwide. So they are encouraging agricultural producers, landowners, organizations, tribes, and others that use conservation practices to comment on these revised conservation practice standards.

Comments can be submitted by:

  • Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to regulations.gov and search for docket number NRCS-2020-0001. Follow instructions for submitting comments.
  • Mail: Mr. Bill Reck, National Environmental Engineer, Conservation Engineering Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture, NRCS, 1400 Independence Ave., South Building, Room 6136, Washington, D.C. 20250.

For more information on how NRCS is implementing the 2018 Farm Bill, visit NRCS’s Federal Register Notices webpage.