National Cooperative Soil SurveySurvey Conference Proceedings Fort Collins, Colorado June 25-29, 2001 Building forfor the Future: Science, New Technology & People 2001 National Cooperative Soil Survey Conference The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs). Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint, write USDA, Director of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity employer. 2001 National Cooperative Soil Survey Conference TABLE OF CONTENTS General Session ................................................................................................................. 1 Status of the National Cooperative Soil Survey: A Federal Perspective, by Horace Smith, Director, Soil Survey Division.................................................. 1 Strategic Planning for the Science of Soil Survey, by Maurice J. Mausbach, Deputy Chief for Soil Survey and Resource Assessment................................. 9 Welcome to Colorado State University at Fort Collins!, by Lee Sommers, Dean, College of Agriculture, Colorado State University .............................. 14 Cooperative Soil Survey Efforts in Colorado, by Robert Zebroski, Director, Colorado State Soil Conservation Board ........................................................ 17 Pedology and Soil Survey in the United States: Becoming Relevant in a Changing World, by David Hammer, University of Missouri, SSSA, S-5 Past Chair ................................................................................................. 19 National Cooperative Soil Survey Conferences—Definition and Bylaws.................. 26 2000 Regional Conferences ............................................................................................ 31 Northeast Cooperative Soil Survey Conference—Highlights and Recommendations........................................................................................... 31 Southern Region Cooperative Soil Survey Conference.............................................. 33 Highlights and Recommendations from the North-Central Region ........................... 35 West Regional NCSS Conference Highlights and Recommendations....................... 39 Committees and Task Forces......................................................................................... 42 Standing Committees—General Descriptions ............................................................ 42 In-Conference 2001 Committees—General Descriptions .......................................... 43 Task Forces—General Descriptions ........................................................................... 45 Committee Reports ......................................................................................................... 46 Research Agenda Standing Committee ...................................................................... 46 Charge 1: Identify, document, prioritize, and address the critical research and development issues within the NCSS .......................................... 48 Charge 2: Identify opportunities for partnering on priority research needs......... 83 Charge 3: Identify opportunities for funding priority research needs.................. 84 Charge 4: Increase the visibility and credibility of the NCSS............................. 85 Charge 5: Ensure the technical excellence of the NCSS ..................................... 85 Charge 6: Identify an outstanding research project within the NCSS partnership to present at the NCSS conference................................... 86 i 2001 National Cooperative Soil Survey Conference Charge 7: The NCSS Research Agenda Standing Committee will be required to report its activities at each national conference................ 86 Recommendations of the Committee.................................................................... 86 Outstanding Research Project⎯Soil Survey Needs, Partnering, Funding, and Visibility at the NSF-LTER Sites ................................................................... 87 Standing Committee on NCSS Standards................................................................... 90 Standing Committee on New Technology.................................................................. 91 Results................................................................................................................... 91 Findings................................................................................................................. 92 Recommendations................................................................................................. 92 Outstanding New Technology⎯The Use and Application of SoLIM (Soil Landscape Inference Model) in Project Soil Surveys..................................... 92 2001 Conference Committee 1⎯Selling Soil Science to Society.............................. 95 Charge 1: Review the 1999 marketing committee report and 2000 regional conference reports with similar charges. Determine progress of recommendations from these meetings............................ 95 Charge 2: What soil survey products do users need/want, and how do they want them delivered? .......................................................................... 96 Charge 3: How do we deliver products on time and on budget?......................... 98 Charge 4: Develop a market strategy to sell soil science to society .................... 98 Charge 5: Market evaluation analysis for soil survey.......................................... 99 Charge 6: Coordinate a task force to study the feasibility of creating an Internet soils library ............................................................................ 99 2001 Conference Committee 2⎯Training for Pedology with Landscape Analysis......................................................................................................... 100 Methods............................................................................................................... 101 Findings and Recommendations......................................................................... 101 2001 Conference Committee 3⎯Training For Use and Applications of Soil Survey ........................................................................................................... 103 Charge 1: What kind of training is needed for soil scientists in basic soil science and in applications of soil survey?....................................... 103 Charge 2: Review standard university curricula for soil scientists and evaluate how new soil scientists will get training for use and applications of soil surveys............................................................... 103 ii 2001 National Cooperative Soil Survey Conference Charge 3: What are training recommendations to enhance or update skills for public and private sector soil scientists? Are there outlets that could provide for needed training that are accessible? .............. 105 Charge 4: Is there a national strategy for data collection and interpretation with the public at large?.................................................................... 106 Summary of Findings.......................................................................................... 106 2001 Conference Committee 4⎯Recruitment and Retention of Soil Scientists in Soil Survey................................................................................................ 110 Charge 1: Investigate incentives and programs available to the NCSS to recruit soil scientists with assistance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for the Federal Government........... 110 Charge 2: What are the reasons that students do not apply for Federal jobs when they are made available? ......................................................... 111 Charge 3: What impedes applicants from registering with OPM for positions such as soil scientist or soil conservationist? .................... 111 Charge 4: Explore options for electronic or Internet clearinghouse that improves information flow on positions, student applicants, scholarships, grants, and contacts with NCSS.................................. 112 Action Items........................................................................................................ 112 NCSS Subcommittee—Land Capability Classification: Class and Subclass........... 114 Review of the concept of the Land Capability Classification (LCC) system..... 114 Relationship of the LCC to similar land classification systems ......................... 114 The current and projected use of the system, including criteria for programming the LCC ...................................................................... 115 NCSS Cooperators’ Reports ........................................................................................ 127 USFS Highlights⎯Initiatives for Future Interagency Cooperative Efforts ............. 127 USDA, Forest Service: Standards Update ................................................................ 131 Soils Inventory and Monitoring Program in the National Park