Tennessee conservation professionals invited to participate in CRP workshops

Posted: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 8:00 pm

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Readiness Initiative is returning to Tennessee with a pair of workshops on CRP topics.
The first workshop on developing a CRP plan will be held on July 23 with a registration deadline of July 12. The second course on the environmental evaluation process will be held on July 24, with a registration deadline of June 30. Participants can choose to attend one or both courses and lunch will be provided both days. The location for both courses is the Bradley County Extension Office, 95 Church St. SE, Cleveland. Online courses on CRP core training, wind erosion modeling, soil erosion modeling, and web-based planning tools are available now.
Sponsored by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Tennessee workshops are part of the CRP Readiness Initiative, a nationwide effort to train conservation professionals and independent consultants to provide the planning, implementation and management services associated with the Conservation Reserve Program. While especially relevant to the more than 400 professionals who have already participated in the program, the Tennessee workshops may also be useful to conservation professionals working on other NRCS and conservation planning projects. Professionals from nonprofits, conservation districts and state agencies with ties to NRCS are encouraged to participate.
“Participants taking these courses will dig deeper, learning about advanced planning concepts and conservation tools and practices, like writing CRP plans and conducting resource assessments. After completing the training, they will be able to help landowners plan for and implement sound conservation practices that will enhance water quality and wildlife habitat, while keeping nutrients in soil where they can boost yields,” said Kevin Erb, CRP Readiness Initiative co-director and Certified Crop Advisor.
In-Person course descriptions
• CRP Plan: Start to Finish (July 23) is a one-day course designed to walk participants through the CRP conservation planning process step by step. Participants in this course will learn how to: develop NRCS-required maps, use online tools to evaluate soils in order to choose the best conservation practices, assess installation and maintenance specifications, and develop a timeline so landowners can meet all CRP program requirements.
• NEPA and the CPA-52 Environmental Evaluation (July 24): This hybrid course focuses on the NRCS environmental evaluation process to assess both the existing resource condition of a site and the impacts of proposed changes from implementing a conservation plan to improve resource conditions. Topics include identifying resource concerns, addressing those concerns with the NRCS quality criteria and assessing the positive and negative impacts of conservation practices. The course covers the process of evaluating the site for special environmental concerns such as threatened and endangered species, cultural resources and scenic rivers as well as other concerns subject to specific federal laws, executive orders or policies. An online portion of this course must be completed in advance of the July 24 in-person workshop. Instructions on completing the online portion will be provided three weeks prior to the class. An online portion of this course must be completed in advance of the in-person workshop. Instructions for completing the online portion will be provided three weeks prior to the class.
Online course descriptions
• The Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS) course covers the WEPS computer model, wind erosion process and its effects on agricultural production and the environment. This basic course takes participants from software installation to basic use of WEPS to compare a variety of conservation practices to reduce wind erosion.
• The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE2) course teaches participants to use the model to understand and compare practices to reduce soil erosion caused by rainfall and runoff.
• The Conservation Planning Web Tools course provides a hands-on exploration of the Web Soil Survey and electronic Field Office Technical Guide (eFOTG), two tools used by conservation professionals in a variety of conservation programs.
• The CRPRI Online Core Training guides participants through the process of creating a viable CRP conservation plan. The course covers the various sub-programs of the CRP (General, Continuous and CREP), resources available to planners, and strategies for stakeholder interactions when developing a conservation plan. The NRCS 9-Step Planning process under the Conservation Reserve Program is covered in detail. The course concludes with next steps for becoming a certified Technical Service Provider.
Online Core Training is free of charge to all participants. Supplemental courses are available free of charge to those who complete the online Core Training and for a fee to all others.
For more information on the CRP Readiness Initiative, visit facesofcrp.info. For specific questions, contact David Ferrell, CRP Readiness Initiative Southern Media Contact, at (912) 337-5548 or ferrell2302@gmail.com. To register for the Tennessee or online workshops, visit conservation-training.wisc.edu and click on the Conservation Planning link.

Published in The Messenger 6.18.13