Field Office Technical Guide

eFOTG Content Page

401.3 Content of Technical Guides.

(a) Each section of the FOTG is to include a list of contents, which is to be revised each time a change is made in the contents. The list is to show clearly the date of the last revision and the date of the last STGC review of each item or supplement.

(b) The FOTG is to contain Sections I through V, as identified below, and appropriate subsections:

(1) Section I - General Resource References;

(2) Section II - Natural Resources Information;

(3) Section III - Resource Management Systems and Quality Criteria;

(4) Section IV - Practice Standards and Specifications; and

(5) Section V - Conservation Effects.

(1) Section I - General Resource References.

Section I lists references and other information for use in understanding natural resources of the field office service area or in making decisions about resource use and management systems. The actual references listed are to be filed, to the extent possible, in the same location as the FOTG. Computer-based tools used in resource analysis and modeling will be listed in Section I. References kept in other locations will be cross-referenced. Examples include texts and publications dealing with databases found in Section II (below) as well as other resource issues. Subsections can be seen in §401.5, Exhibit: Information and Examples for FOTG Contents, Section I, General Resource References, of this Subpart.

(2) Section II - Natural Resources Information.

(i) Section II contains natural resource data, databases, and procedures for interpretation. These may include Ecological Site Descriptions and Forage Suitability Group Descriptions. This section will have a statement indicating exactly what is used as the "official" copy of the Soil Survey. In some cases separate statements may be needed for maps, tables, and data.

(ii) The following are subsections of Section II of the FOTG:

(A) Soils Information;

(B) Climatic Data;

(D) Threatened and Endangered Species Lists;

(E) Ecological Site Descriptions; and

(F) Forage Suitability Group Descriptions.

(iii) See §401.6, Exhibit: Information and Examples for FOTG Contents, Section II, Natural Resources Information, of this Subpart for additional information about subsections of Section II.

(3) Section III - Resource Management Systems and Quality Criteria.

(i) Resource Management Systems (RMS's) will address all identified resource concerns at or above the level of sustainability, taking into account human-cultural, economic and social concerns relative to each of the following natural resources for:

(A) Soil;

(B) Water;

(D) Plants; and

(E) Animals.

(ii) Sample RMS's that treat resource concerns common to the field office service area will be maintained in Section III. Practice standards that make up a system should be identified. The documents shall be prepared according to guidance found in the National Planning Procedures Handbook for formulating RMS's.

(iii) Quality Criteria for treatment required to achieve a RMS's will be established by NRCS and filed in this section of the FOTG. Criteria shall be stated in either qualitative or quantitative terms for each resource consideration. Where national criteria have not been established, the State Conservationist will establish criteria. Where State and/or local regulations establish more restrictive criteria, these must be used in developing the RMS's.

(iv) Sample conservation systems that reflect various program requirements will be maintained in Section III. Those practice standards that make up a system should be identified. When programs exist which define other levels of planning for specific resource issues, clients will be offered alternatives that, as a minimum, meet the criteria of those programs. Where one or more resource concerns do not meet the minimum requirements for sustainability, planning is considered progressive, i.e. when a client is ready, willing, and able to make some, but not all, of the decisions necessary to achieve an RMS's level of management.

(4) Section IV - Practice Standards and Specifications.

(i) Section IV of the FOTG contains conservation practice standards applicable in that field office. It may also include specification guide sheets developed for use with the standards.

(ii) Practice standards establish the minimum level of acceptable quality for planning, designing, installing, operating, and maintaining conservation practices. Standards from the National Handbook of Conservation Practices and interim standards are to be used, and will be supplemented by states, as needed.

(iii) Practice specification guidance, developed by each State, establishes and lists terms and conditions, and how the practice standard will be made site-specific.

(iv) See Subpart B of this part for policy and procedural details for practice standards and specifications.

(5) Section V - Conservation Effects.

Conservation effects provide indicators of the impacts conservation practices and systems have on the natural and cultural resources. They are based primarily on empirical data and field experience with practices and systems of practices. The effects are listed for each individual practice. States may provide hardcopy effects or refer the user to the Conservation Effects data. (See §401.7, Exhibit: Information and Examples for FOTG Section V, Conservation Effects, of this Subpart.) The effects of systems can be estimated by evaluating the combined effects of practices included in a specific system. When properly planned and applied, systems of conservation practices are generally complimentary and accumulative. Rarely are conservation practice effects opposing or damaging to the natural resources base. This section of the FOTG contains:

(i) Data on the Conservation Practice Physical Effects (CPPE). The data for each individual practice is national in scope, and States are encouraged to review and localize the data as necessary to reflect those effects expected to occur under local conditions. The National Conservation Effects Data are available for each individual practice in the National Handbook of Conservation Practices - an electronic version in posted on the NRCS Homepage. Conservation effects are covered in the National Planning Procedures Handbook Part 600.4;

(ii) Data illustrating the effects of typical systems applicable at the field office; and

(iii) Appropriate procedures and methods for collecting, analyzing, and displaying conservation effects data.

(iv) Case studies should be developed for the most important resource concerns. Case studies are a way of observing, collecting, and documenting the practical results of conservation treatment, along with the motivations that lead to their adoption. They help us increase the technology base we work from to plan and implement conservation systems.