[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 6]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR600.1]

[Page 341]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
   CHAPTER VI--NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                               AGRICULTURE
 
PART 600--ORGANIZATION--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 600.1  General.

    (a) The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) was authorized 
by the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture 
Reorganization Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-354, 7 U.S.C. 6901 note) and 
established by Secretary's Memorandum 1010-1 (2.b.6), Reorganization of 
the Department of Agriculture, to provide national leadership in the 
conservation, development, and productive use of the Nation's natural 
resources. Such leadership encompasses the conservation of soil, water, 
air, plant, and animal resources with consideration of the many human 
(economic and sociological) interactions. NRCS is the Federal agency 
that works with landowners on private lands to help them conserve their 
natural resources. NRCS employees are highly skilled in many scientific 
and technical specialties, including soil science, soil conservation, 
agronomy, biology, agroecology, range conservation, forestry, 
engineering, geology, hydrology, wetlands science, cultural resources, 
and economics. NRCS was formerly the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) 
which was established by the Soil Conservation Act of 1935 (Pub. L. 74-
46, 49 Stat. 163 (16 U.S.C. 590 (a-f))). NRCS has responsibility for 
three major areas:
    (1) Soil and water conservation;
    (2) Natural resource surveys including soil surveys, resources 
inventory, snow surveys, and water supply forecasting; and
    (3) Community resource protection and management including watershed 
projects, river basin studies and investigations, resource conservation 
and development areas, land evaluation and site assessment, and 
emergency watershed protection. In addition, NRCS has leadership for the 
Wetlands Reserve Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, 
Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, Farmland Protection Program, 
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, Forestry Incentives Program, and 
Conservation Farm Option. NRCS provides technical support for the 
Conservation Reserve Program.
    (b) The NRCS organization consists of a National Headquarters 
located in Washington, D.C.; six regional offices; 50 state offices and 
two equivalent offices in the Caribbean Area and the U.S. Trust 
Territories of the Pacific Basin Area; approximately 2,500 field offices 
and 300 specialized offices; 26 plant materials centers; 17 major land 
resource area soil survey offices; nine national centers; and seven 
national institutes. A Chief who reports to the USDA Under Secretary for 
Natural Resources and Environment heads NRCS.