Subject: INV ­- 2018 National Resources Inventory Grazing Lands Onsite Data Collection
Expiration Date: December 31, 2018

Purpose

To provide information about 2018 National Resources Inventory (NRI) Grazing Lands Onsite data collection on non-Federal and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Federal land and plans for 2018 NRI Grazing Lands Onsite data collection training.

Background

NRCS State offices are responsible for coordinating, collecting, and reviewing NRI Grazing Lands Onsite survey data for non-Federal pastureland, non-Federal rangeland, and BLM-managed Federal rangeland. Lists of non-Federal sample sites selected for NRI Grazing Lands Onsite surveys were sent to State resource inventory coordinators (SRICs) by Roni Lessard, statistician with the Resource Inventory Division, on September 28 to aid them in planning for the upcoming 2018 data collection. The list of BLM sample sites are being finalized and will be sent in mid-October. National training for SRICs is provided by the National Employee Development Center (NEDC), and grazing land specialists conduct webinars to provide updates for the current year’s survey and an overview of data collection methods and survey applications.

Explanation

The 2018 NRI Grazing Lands Onsite data will be collected on non-Federal pasturelands in the 48 conterminous 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). Lists of sample segments for the 2018 NRI Grazing Lands Onsite data collection on non-Federal pastureland and, where applicable, non-Federal rangeland and BLM-managed Federal rangeland have also been provided to SRICs.

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

In the 2016 and 2017 NRI Grazing Lands Onsite data collection years, we instituted a substitute segment process. It allowed the replacement of a segment with another randomly selected segment when the original one could not be collected for some reason. After careful consideration weighing the statistical benefits of using substitute segments vs. the additional burden that process puts on NRCS State offices, we have concluded that we will discontinue use of substitute segments in 2018 and increase the sample size to some degree to mitigate the change.

NEDC has tentatively scheduled two national 2018 NRI Grazing Lands Onsite data collection trainings in Tucson, AZ, February 27–March 1, and in Knoxville, TN, April 24–26.

In addition to the NEDC trainings, webinars are scheduled for February 13-15, 2018, to provide updates for the 2018 survey and an overview of data collection methods and survey applications. Details and login information will be circulated by email.

Contact

Questions may be directed to Patrick Flanagan, acting director of the Resource Inventory Division (Patrick.Flanagan@wdc.usda.gov).

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MARY PODOLL
Acting Deputy Chief for Soil Science and Resource Assessment