State Technical Committee in NJ
What is the State Technical Committee?
The Food Security Act of 1985, as amended, authorizes the State Technical Committee to provide recommendations for establishing technical guidelines and program criteria and priorities necessary to carry out conservation provisions of the Farm Bill. The committee also helps assure that Civil Rights requirements in Program Delivery are met. Additionally, the State Technical Committee provides recommendations on a number of issues within a variety of conservation programs. Although the State Technical Committee has no implementation or enforcement authority, USDA gives strong consideration to the Committee's recommendations.
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The State Technical Committee participated in the development of the 2011 State Resource Assessment. The purpose of the SRA is to help National and State Leadership have guidance on resource objectives. The findings will potentially help with funding and priority area decisions. More about the process and the findings are available in our Technical section on the State Resource Assessment web page.
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Roles and Responsibilities
The State Technical Committee may advise the NRCS State Conservationist on many issues, such as:
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State program management policies and procedures
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Technical programmatic recommendations
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Statewide public information and outreach campaigns
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Identifying significant statewide natural resource concerns
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Guidelines for developing ranking criteria for evaluating applications
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Guidance on eligible conservation practices
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Technical guidance on conservation practices, including new, innovative practices
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Cost-share rates and incentive payment limits and methods of payment
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Identifying, monitoring, and analyzing performance indicators
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Evaluating and reporting program impacts on natural resources and the environment
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Coordinating with other Federal, State, tribal, and local public and private activities
At the discretion of the State Conservationist, subcommittees are formed to provide increased oversight and input into NRCS program delivery. These subcommittees meet when there is an issue for them to address.
Meetings
The New Jersey State Technical Committee meetings are held three times a year (February/March, June/July, October/November) at a central location in the state. The summer meeting usually includes a conservation tour.
Reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities is available. Please request any necessary disability accommodation within 48 hours of the meeting.
If language assistance is needed, every effort will be made to accommodate these requests. We would appreciate that requests for language assistance be submitted a week before the meeting to allow sufficient time to secure the appropriate service.
Who are the Committee Members?
The NRCS State Conservationist shall act as the Committee Chair.
In addition, the state conservationist will ensure equal representation of interests, seriously consider the Committee’s technical advice, and call and provide notice of public meetings when necessary.
State Technical Advisory Committees are composed of individuals who represent a variety of natural resource sciences and occupations that focus on the conservation and protection of soil, water, air, plants, wetlands, and wildlife resources.
To participate on the Committee, individuals or groups may submit a request to the NRCS State Conservationist that explains their interest and outlines their natural resource credentials.
Representatives on the committee include:
| Center for Agricultural Partnerships |
New Jersey Water Supply Authority |
| Chickadee Creek Farm |
Northeast Organic Farm Association |
| Cooper Creek |
North Jersey Resource Conservation & Development |
| D&R Greenway Land Conservation |
Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever |
| Delaware Highlands Conservancy |
Pinchot Institute for Conservation |
| Ducks Unlimited |
Pinelands Nursery, Inc. |
| Duke Farms |
Pinelands Preservation Alliance |
| Farm Service Agency |
Raritan-Piedmont Habitat Partnership |
| Grain and Forage Association |
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |
| Greater Newark Conservancy |
Shelterwood Forest Managers, LLC |
| Growmark FS |
Society of American Foresters |
| Kingfisher Farm |
South Jersey Agricultural Products |
| Mercer County Planning Department |
Standard Bioenergy, LLC |
| National Wild Turkey Federation |
Stella Farms |
| Natural Lands Trust |
Stockton University |
| New Jersey Agricultural Statistics Service |
Sussex County Board of Agriculture |
| New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts |
Sweet Sourland Farm |
| New Jersey Audubon |
The Nature Conservancy |
| New Jersey Composting Council |
The Watershed Institute |
| New Jersey Department of Agriculture |
Trout Scapes |
| New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection |
Trout Unlimited |
| New Jersey Farm Bureau |
U.S. Fish and Wildlife |
| New Jersey Forestry Association |
U.S. Geological Survey |
| New Jersey Forest Fire Service |
Rural Development |
| New Jersey Nursery & Landscape Association |
Wallkill River Watershed Management Group |
| New Jersey State Soil Conservation Committee |
Windy Brow Farms |
| New Jersey Water Association |
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Chairperson
The New Jersey State Technical Committee is chaired by the NRCS State Conservationist who can be contacted at the following address:
Julie Hawkins, State Conservationist
USDA-NRCS
220 Davidson Avenue, 4th Floor
Somerset NJ 08873
Phone: 732-537-6040
E-mail: Julie Hawkins
Most meetings of the State Technical Committee are held at the NRCS State Office in Somerset, NJ. Directions to NRCS State Office (110 kb) are available here in Adobe Acrobat pdf format.
For More Information
If you need more information about the State Technical Committee or any other NRCS program, please contact your local USDA Service Center, listed in the telephone book under U.S. Department of Agriculture, or your local conservation district.
The following document requires Adobe Acrobat.
State Technical Committee Fact Sheet - A Seat at the Table for Conservation Policy (1337 kb)
