Nushagak-Mulchatna Soil Survey

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Nushagak-Mulchatna  Watershed Council have initiated a partnership to obtain soil survey coverage for a large area drained by the Nushagak and Mulchatna Rivers.  Landowners and managers, including both private and government land, are invited to join as cooperators.  No lands will be accessed without permission of the landowner or manager.

Good decisions require good information.  Soil Surveys help landowners, land managers, and communities select the best sites for homes, schools, airfields, roads and trails, sanitary and waste facilities, forestry, and agriculture.  The data is important in making resource plans and proposing the right sites for various land uses.  The information also provides baseline data or a ‘snapshot’ of current conditions so that the impacts of natural or cultural change to the land can be monitored over time.

Soil Surveys are a scientific inventory of the soils and related vegetation, landforms, and surface hydrology of an area.  The inventory locates the different types of soils on maps, describes the physical and chemical properties of each soil, and provides information on the potential uses and limitations of each type of soil.

NRCS is funded by Congress to provide soil survey coverage for private lands.  This includes state and municipal lands.  Those landowners and others interested in participating in the soil survey are asked to join a partnership with NRCS.  Although there is no charge to the landowner, funds are limited so survey crews are often understaffed requiring lengthy time periods to complete surveys.  Any support that landowners can provide whether financial, in-kind services, or housing and logistical support greatly helps completing a survey in a timely period.  If federal agencies desire lands under their management to be included in a soil survey, each agency must pay the full cost for work on their lands.

Status of survey work, plus photos and maps, can be viewed here. For information on preliminary work completed to date, contact Stephanie Schmit, soil survey project leader.

Click on the following map to see the area where field work is planned for 2007.

Contacts

Nushagak-Mulchatna Watershed Council
Sue Flensburg
Environmental Program Manager
Bristol Bay Native Association
Box 310
Dillingham, AK 99576
Phone: (907) 842-5257
Fax: (907) 842-5932
E-mail: sflensburg@bbna.com
Web site: http://www.bbna.com

Natural Resources Conservation Service
Joe Moore
State Soil Scientist
USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
800 W. Evergreen St., Suite 100
Palmer, AK, 99645
Phone: (907) 761-7759
Fax: (907) 761-7790
E-mail: Joseph.Moore@ak.usda.gov
Web site: http://www.ak.nrcs.usda.gov

Stephanie Schmit
Soil Scientist\Project Leader
USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
4014 Lake St., Suite 201
P.O. Box 400
Homer, AK  99603-0400
Phone: (907) 235-8177 ext. 104
Fax: (907) 235-2364
E-mail: Stephanie.Schmit@ak.usda.gov