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Release
No. 0312.05 |
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USDA
ANNOUNCES WEB SOIL SURVEY |
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Internet-based
System Allows Users Access to Soil Survey Information |
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UNIVERSITY
PARK, Pa., Aug. 16, 2005-Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced
the launch of a USDA Web Soil Survey site that will provide secure public
access to the national soils information system. This site is a simple yet
powerful way to access and analyze soils data that contributes to every
aspect of public and private land use and development. "Soil
surveys are the foundation for land conservation activities as well as
private and commercial land development," said Johanns. "Soil
survey maps help to enable agricultural producers, conservationists,
engineering firms, county and city planners, and others to make informed
decisions concerning land use. Posting soil survey information on the
internet is one more step in our effort to make information more accessible
to the citizens we serve." Soil
surveys began in 1899 as part of the nation's earliest efforts on behalf of
cooperative conservation. Known as the National Cooperative Soil Survey, it
has evolved into a partnership of state and federal agencies working together
to collect, classify, interpret and provide soils information. "As
a landowner and farmer, I never bought a piece of land unless I consulted a
soil survey map," said Bruce Knight, Chief of USDA's Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS). "This simple but critical step is often the
difference between profit and loss when it comes to land use and conservation
activities and I am very pleased to deliver internet access to the
public." The
website has been designed with three easy to use features-Define, View and
Explore and operates much like internet sites that provide locator and
directional information. When viewers visit the web soil survey, they are
asked to "Define" a geographic area of interest by selecting a
state and county or just by highlighting an area or areas. Once a location
has been defined and projected on the screen, the viewer has the choice to
print the map and related information, save it to their hard drive or
download the data for use in a geographic information system (GIS). The
viewer also can "Explore" the designated location for specific
soils data giving the viewer important information on soil suitability in
relationship to usage. This flexibility provides the viewer an opportunity to
build a customized report that addresses the viewer's individual needs.
Information can be delivered in a variety of formats to include print, CD,
DVD or other media. Prior
to today's launch all soil survey maps were printed and bound into soil
survey books that were free to the public at local USDA Service Centers, NRCS
field offices and public libraries. The once familiar soil survey
publications will be phased out slowly and the federal government's
initiative of electronic government information (eGov) will replace the
printed publications through the use of this site. Currently,
NRCS has soils maps and data available online for more than 95 percent of the
nation's counties and anticipates having 100 percent in the near future. The
site will be updated and maintained online as the single authoritative source
of soil survey information. To
view the website go to http://soils.usda.gov/survey.
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Last Modified: 08/16/2005 |
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