a
- AA - Administrative Assistant
- AFO - Animal Feeding Operation
- AgLearn - A USDA Learning Management System including 3,000+ online courses and thousands of resources to aid in studying and training.
- AgNPS - Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution
- APAP - Agricultural Pollution Abatement Program
- APHIS - Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service
- APO - Annual Plan of Operations
- APW - Annual Plan of Work
- Area/Landscape/Watershed-Wide Planning - Conservation planning conducted at larger scales instead of on individual properties, and often carried out in collaboration with community leaders.
- ARS - Agricultural Research Service
b
- BAG - Basin Advisory Group
- BIA - Bureau of Indian Affairs
- BLM - Bureau of Land Management
- BMP - Best Management Practice
c
- CAFO - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
- CAP - Conservation Action Plan
- CAT - Critical Area Treatment
- CCA - Certified Crop Advisor
- CCC - Commodity Credit Corporation
- CD - Conservation District
- CED - County Executive Director (FSA)
- CEMA - Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activity
- CERCLA - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
- Certified Planner - A conservation planner who has completed the required training and demonstrated competency in creating conservation plans for producers. In many cases, these planners also oversee or approve work for planners who aren’t yet certified.
- CES - Cooperative Extension System
- CFS - Cubic Feet per Second
- CMP - Corrugated Metal Pipe
- CNMP - Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan
- CO - Conservation Operations (NRCS)
- Conservation Agricultural Mentoring Program (CAMP) - A new, employee-based mentoring program, established under a national partnership.
- Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool (CART) - An application evaluation tool that helps facilitate conservation delivery.
- Conservation Desktop (CD) - The software application used for documenting conservation planning information and producing conservation plans.
- Conservation Plan - A conservation plan is a voluntary, written record of how landowners/operators plan to manage natural resources while meeting their operational goals.
- Conservation Planner - A planner who develops conservation plans, with support from partner employees, and is overseen by a certified planner.
- Conservation Planning Process - A voluntary, customer-focused service provided by a conservation planner that works with landowners/producers to apply a holistic, science-based approach to managing land and natural resources sustainably while meeting their goals.
- CPESC - Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control
- CPS - Conservation Practice Standard
- CREP - Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
- CRES - Conservation Reporting Evaluation System
- CRP - Conservation Reserve Program
- CSP - Conservation Stewardship Program
- CTA - Conservation Technical Assistance
- CWA - Clean Water Act
d
- DC - District Conservationist
- DIA - Design and Implementation Activities
- District Employee - Managers, Administrators, technicians, education specialists and other district employee titles.
- District Official - Supervisors, Directors, and other titles for the elected or appointed conservation district boards.
- DOE - Department of Energy
- DOI - United States Department of the Interior
- DOT - Department of Transportation
e
- EA - Environmental Assessment
- eAuthorization (eAuth) - An authorization procedure used to access various USDA data and services.
- EEO - Equal Employment Opportunity
- EIS - Environmental Impact Statement
- EPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency
- EQIP - Environmental Quality Incentives Program
- ESD - Ecological Site Description
f
- FMP - Forest Management Plan
- FOTG - Field Office Technical Guide
- FPA - Forest Practices Act
- FRPP - Farm and Ranchland Protection Program
- FSA - Farm Service Agency
- FTE - Full-Time Equivalent
- FY - Fiscal Year
g
- GIS - Geographic Information System
- GMP - Grazing Management Plan
- GPS - Global Positioning System
- GRP - Grassland Reserve Program
- GSA - General Services Administration
h
- HEL - Highly Erodible Land
- HIP - Habitat Improvement Program
- Historically and Currently Underserved Communities - Communities that includes beginning farmers or ranchers, limited resource farmers or ranchers, socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers, and veteran farmers or ranchers
- HUC - Hydrologic Unit Code
- Hugh Hammond Bennett Award Program - An award program supported and funded by the five NCPP partners that recognizes individual conservation planners and producers for their conservation efforts.
i
- IPM - Integrated Pest Management
l
- Local Working Group - Typically county-level or conservation district meetings between farmers, landowners, conservation partners, and other community members, with the purpose of discussing natural resources needs for that county.
- LRP - Long Range Plan
- LWG - Local Working Groups
m
- MCM - Minimum Control Measures
- MLRA - Major Land Resource Area
- MOA - Memorandum of Agreement
- MOU - Memorandum of Understanding
- MUG - Map Unit Generator
n
- NACD - National Association of Conservation Districts
- NARCDC - National Association of RC&D Councils
- NASCA - National Association of State Conservation Agencies
- NASIS - National Soil Information System
- NCDEA - National Conservation District Employees Association
- NCSS - National Cooperative Soil Survey
- NEPA - National Environmental Policy Act
- NFC - National Finance Center
- NPS - Nonpoint Source
- NRCS - Natural Resources Conservation Service
- NRI - National Resources Inventory
p
- PA - Pollution Abatement
- PE - Professional Engineer
- PMC - Plant Materials Center
r
- RC&D - Resource Conservation and Development
- RCD - Resource Conservation District
- RCPP - Regional Conservation Partnership Program
- RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- RD - Rural Development
- RMS - Resource Management System
- RUSLE - Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation
s
- SBA - Small Business Administration
- SCD - Soil Conservation District
- SIP - Stewardship Incentive Program
- SO - State Office
- SOP - Standard Operating Procedure
- SSURGO - Soil Survey Geographic Database
- SWCD - Soil and Water Conservation District
- SWCS - Soil and Water Conservation Society
- SWPPP - Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
t
- TDP - Technician Development Plan
- Technical Service Providers (TSP) - Non-NRCS conservation planners that offer expertise in planning, designing, and incorporating services to farmers and landowners.
- TMDL - Total Maximum Daily Load
- TNC - The Nature Conservancy
- Tools - Useful systems that help conservation employees and planners perform conservation tasks efficiently. Examples include CD, CART and the Field Office Technical Guide, however there are many dozens of tools used throughout the country.
- TSP - Technical Service Provider
u
- USACE - Corps of Engineers (U.S. Army)
- USDA - United States Department of Agriculture
- USFS - United States Forest Service
- USFWS - United States Fish and Wildlife Service
- USGS - United States Geological Survey
v
- VRT - Variable Rate Technology
w
- WHIP - Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program
- Workforce Development - Human resources activities that contribute to a fully trained and successful staff, including hiring, formal/informal training, and on-the-job training
- WOTUS - Waters of the United States
- WQPA - Water Quality Program for Agriculture
- WRE - Wetlands Reserve Easement
- WRP - Wetlands Reserve Program
- WS - Watershed
