Subject: INV ­- National Resources Inventory Onsite Data Collection
Action Required By: October 31, 2017
Expiration Date: December 31, 2017

Purpose

To provide information regarding the 2017 National Resources Inventory (NRI) Grazing Land onsite data collection on non-Federal and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Federal land. States require this information to help in their workload and budget planning.

Background

States have the responsibility for coordinating, collecting, and reviewing NRI Grazing Land onsite survey data for non-Federal pastureland, non-Federal rangeland, and BLM-managed Federal rangeland in 2017. Lists of the sample sites selected for the 2017 NRI Grazing Land onsite surveys on non-Federal and BLM lands were forwarded to State resource inventory coordinators (SRIC) in August 2016 to assist with planning.
 

Explanation

The 2017 NRI Grazing Land onsite data will be collected on non-Federal pasturelands in the 48 coterminous States, on non-Federal rangelands in 20 States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming), and on BLM-managed Federal rangeland in 13 States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming).

Additionally, NRCS is committed to honoring its agreement with BLM to carry out data collection on their land in accordance with established protocols in a timely manner. This year is the first of NRCS’ second 5-year interagency agreement with BLM.

Lists of sample segments for the 2017 NRI Grazing Land onsite data collection on non-Federal pastureland, and where applicable, non-Federal rangeland and BLM-managed Federal rangeland have been provided to SRICs. Lists of substitute sample segments for the non-Federal pasture and non-Federal range samples also have been provided to SRICs. The substitute sample segments are located in close proximity to the original segments that they can potentially replace. However, one or more substitute sample segments may be located in an adjacent county since the areas for selecting substitute samples generally do not follow county lines. This sample design will provide a more representative body of information on our Nation’s grazing lands, while allowing onsite data to be collected for the number of segments selected for the 2017 survey.

Contact

Questions may be directed to Daniel Good, Director, Resource Inventory Division, at dan.good@wdc.usda.gov.

 /s/

DAVID W. SMITH
Deputy Chief for Soil Science and Resource Assessment