Conservation System Guides

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Conservation System Guides

• State Resource Conservationists
• National Conference
• March 2004

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Conservation System Guides

• eFOTG
• Conservation System Guides
• Next Steps

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From FOTG to eFOTG

• FOTG provides technical support to processes used
  in the 9 steps of planning
  
• SmarTech is supporting creation of the eFOTG to
  do the same thing in the electronic, Web-based
  environment
  
• New applications for conservation planning and
  performance measurement require data in an easily
  accessible form
  

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eFOTG Supports ePlanning

• eFOTG Conservation System Guide (CSG) concept was
  developed to provide a database that would
  dynamically support ToolKit.
  
• Major applications are not stovepipes and the
  data that support ToolKit would be available for
  supporting Integrated Accountability System
  
• CSG database has to possess the same flexibility
  of management that conventional FOTG
  possessesmaybe more
  
• First-phase eFOTG at State level has data
  available to users in frozen, non-database
  format (Adobe Acrobat)

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eFOTG

• Conservation System Guides use information from
  FOTG Sections 3 and 5 for each land use in each
  Common Resource Area plus other information based
  on field experience where needed
• Data for baseline CRA conditions
• Most frequently used RMSs and practices in them
• Most likely effect of each conservation system on
  pertinent resource concerns
  
• An estimation, based on experience and research
  where available, of the relative contribution of
  each practice to the overall system effect in
  terms of percent (additive to 100 percent)
• The CSG database is an example of the flexibility
  of FOTG data management available through eFOTG

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eFOTG

• Including effects estimates within Conservation
  Systems in eFOTG will
  
• Bring an increased level of quantification to the
  Conservation Practice Physical Effects matrix
  
• Provide a more complete estimation of effects for
  national performance reporting
  
• Provide NRCS field staff, TSPs, and others with
  an indication of conservation practice and system
  effects on specific resource concerns
  

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eFOTG

• How many Conservation System Guide sheets should
  be developed?
  
• Depends upon the number of CRAs
• Depends upon number of unique systems (many) or
  similar systems (fewer)
  
• Minimally
• One RMS for each landuse in the CRA
• Program-specific variations (HEL, CSP, etc)

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Conservation Planning

• CSGs are designed to help
• Provide electronic support for an e-planning
  application
  
• Reduce documentation time for plans
• Reduce keystrokes at field office level
• Provide consistency in format
• Prepare for public scrutiny
• Provide information for Technical Service
  Providers
  

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Conservation Planning

• Conservation System Guides will support decreased
  time for field data entry
  
• Resulting in in-office time savings
• Leading to more time available for plan
  development
  

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Conservation Planning Support

• How the CSGs fit
• Planner initiates plan through Toolkit CSG
  icons appear on screen along with CRA baseline
  information
  
• Planner selects pertinent system from CSGs and
  may edit to meet site specific conditions
  
• Planner saves system in the practice schedule
  part of Toolkit
  
• Planner selects practices for contracting and
  uploads practices to ProTracts from Toolkit
  
• Later, automated functions harvest the progress
  or implementation information for progress
  reporting purposes

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Next Steps

• Teams formulated to address tools for resource
  criteria and resource concerns
  
• Committee to develop General Manual policy for
  eFOTG will likely be put together in April 2004
  
• Making sure that the eFOTG supports the range of
  agency needs that the FOTG does
  
• Further refinement of CSG content
• Use of CSP information to support CEAP (and vice
  versa)
  
• ?

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CSG as an IT Module

• Phil Smith will describe CSGs from the
  Information Technology point-of-view later in the
  program

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Major CSG Modifications

• Nov 26 - Set up CSG list serve with all eFOTG
  Administrators, SRCs and other as requested.
  (Sent out 18 messages via list serve between Nov
  26 and Feb 26)
• Dec 22 - Set up all eFOTG State Administrators as
  IAS Account Managers
  
• Dec 23 - Sent Definitions of Terms Used in
  Conservation System Guides to states
  
• Dec 23 - Added all interim (700) series practices
  to practice table
  
• Jan 15 - Updated choices available for primary
  resource considerations and resource concerns for
  conservation systems. Primary Resource
  Considerations now include all SWAPAH
  categories, except Human.
• Jan 19 - Released relaxed Business Rules
  concerning what and when data can be edited and
  changed in the Conservation System Guide
  database.

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Major CSG Modifications

• Jan 20 - Merged data from the original state
  provisional CRA designation to the new national
  CRA nomenclature in the production CSG database.
  
• Jan 25 - Provisional CRAs didnt map correctly
  converted over next month (see Feb 3) These are
  problems with CRA map, or inconsistencies in how
  states interpreted provisional maps.
• Jan 20 - Deleted all inactive Conservation System
  guides and Conservation Systems
  
• Jan 26 - CSG database linked to PRS. PRS can now
  harvest data from active Conservation systems
  

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Major CSG Modifications

• Feb 3 Deleted inactive Systems and Guides
  (those never activated)
  
• Feb 3 Added check boxes the Data Entry screen
  to give choice of access to Active guides, Draft
  guides, Inactive guides, or any combination.
  
• Feb 3 Added a check box to the System Dialog
  edit window to allow deletion of CSGs as long as
  they are draft or inactive, and never been
  activated. (Once a system has been activated, it
  is possible to have performance data associated
  with it. Users can inactivate these systems. They
  can be 'hidden' by not checking the Inactive box
  on the data entry or report screen.)
• Feb 3 Added check boxes to the Report screen
  allow viewing of Active, Draft, or Inactive data.
  If Active is checked, both the System and the
  Guide must be Active to be displayed. If Draft is
  checked, data will be displayed if either the
  System or Guide are Draft. Same with Inactive.

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Major CSG Modifications

• Feb 3 Added a System Status column to the
  report screen. Guide Status is already on this
  report. Users can now more easily identify when a
  System or it's Guides are different status.
• Feb 3 - Correcting known problems when state
  provisional CRA's either changed, or didn't
  change as States wanted. 139 Systems, 72 Guides
  in 13 CRA's have being restored. Additional data
  is being moved from one CRA to another.
• Feb 3 -Conservation System Guide Training web
  site moved to web farm and linked to PRS training
  web site.
  
• Feb 3 - Changed wording on about 15 screens to
  remove management and replace with system
  

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Major CSG Modifications

• Feb 10 Added CRA filter selection on Data entry
  and Reports Screens
  
• Feb 24 - Added CRA report so data editors can
  compare benchmark, effect, impact and practice
  data between states within same CRA and land use
  
• Feb 25 -Updated practice names adjusted
  measurement units to match NHCP Feb 26
  -Additional corrections and additions from
  teleconferences posted
• March 11 - Updated measurement units on 7
  resource concerns and added 2 new resource
  concerns to database.
  
• March 16 - Added text blocks for documenting
  CSG, CS and Guide Name naming conventions
  

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New Features

• March - New Revised Help Documents
• April 1 - New report showing data sorted by
  Conservation System Guides
  
• April 6 - Add Threshold values for resource
  concerns (including soil loss T)
  
• June - Allow entry of all resource concerns
  this will need significant input to select tools
  for measurement
  

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