Indiana's State Technical Committees provides advice on a number of issues within a variety of USDA conservation programs. Although the Committees have no implementation or enforcement authority, USDA gives strong consideration to the Committee's recommendations.

In Indiana, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist serves as the Indiana State Technical Committee (ISTC) Chairperson. ISTC members represent public, private, and non-profit organizations and producers, who serve on four subcommittees. The subcommittees report to the ISTC with their recommendations. The ISTC as a whole makes recommendations to the Indiana NRCS State Conservationist, who makes the final decision regarding program management and implementation of Farm Bill conservation programs.

ISTC Subcommittees for Farm Bill conservation programs include:

• Conservation Reserve Program Subcommittee
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program Subcommittee
• Wetlands Reserve Program Subcommittee
• Wildlife Habitat Program Subcommittee

Local Working Groups

No one knows more about a community’s natural resource priorities than the people who live and work there. Local Working Groups (LWG) are an important mechanism to give local landowners, Tribes, tribal entities and partners a voice in how to best prioritize and address natural resource concerns in their communities. LWGs are considered sub-committees to the NRCS State Technical Advisory Committee (STAC). Information gathered at each LWG is reported to and discussed at a future STAC meeting.  Find out more here.