Partner with the NRCS in Florida to enhance your land through programs like EQIP, CSP, ACEP, and RCPP. This guide details how the CART system assesses resource concerns – from soil health to air quality – to rank applications and prioritize conservation investments across the state.
Application Overview
An applicant may submit an application to participate in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program(EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), or Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
The NRCS state conservationist or area director, in consultation with the State Technical Committee, Tribal Conservation Advisory Councils, local workgroups, and other stakeholders, has developed the following ranking criteria to prioritize and select applications that best address the applicable program purposes and priority natural resource concerns in Florida.
The state conservationist or area director will establish application batching periods and select the highest ranked applications for funding based on applicant eligibility and the NRCS ranking process.
In fiscal year 2027, NRCS will use the Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool (CART) to assess and rank all eligible applications for NRCS conservation programs.
Inventory and Assessment in CART
CART is a decision support system that provides a consistent, replicable framework for the conservation planning process based on geospatially referenced information, client-provided information, field observations, and NRCS conservation planner expertise. CART helps NRCS conservation planners assess site vulnerability and existing conditions and identify natural resource concerns.
CART assessments of existing management and conservation efforts are compared against conservation planning criteria thresholds to determine the additional level of conservation efforts needed for addressing natural resource concerns. NRCS uses the results to identify conservation planning activities for the client. CART consolidates resource data and program information to prioritize program delivery and report outcomes of NRCS investments in conservation.
In general, resource concerns fall into one of three categories used to assess and document a resource concern:
- Client Input/Planner Observation: A streamlined list of options is presented to the planner to document the client’s activities and the planner’s observation of the resource concerns.
- Procedural/Deductive: A large group of resource concerns fall into this category and are assessed using a resource concern-specific evaluation tool or a list of inventory-like criteria. Due to the variability in state tools, assessment questions and answers will be broad in nature to allow states to align them with state conditions.
- Predictive: The remaining resource concerns are assessed using a predictive interactive model. The CART system attempts to replicate the outcomes related to the
assessment threshold outcomes compared to the model outputs.
After identifying resource concerns and describing existing conditions, planned conservation practices and activities can be added to the existing condition to determine the state of the proposed management system. Practices needed to support primary conservation practices and activities are also added but do not increase conservation management points.
If the client is interested in financial assistance through an NRCS conservation program, the inventory and assessment information, along with client decisions related to conservation practice adoption, are transferred from the assessment portion to the ranking portion of CART. CART identifies the appropriate program ranking pools based on the transferred assessment information and the conservation practices proposed for implementation.
Ranking in CART
Florida created state-specific ranking pools within the parameters of the national ranking template. The state ranking pools include questions that are divided by sections: applicability, category, program questions, and resource questions. Ranking pool customization allows states to focus funding on priority resource concerns and initiatives identified at the state level with input from NRCS stakeholders. Each eligible application may be considered for funding in all applicable ranking pools.
In general, the ranking criteria uses the following guiding principles:
- Degree of cost effectiveness of the proposed conservation practices and activities;
- The level of performance of proposed conservation practices and activities;
- Treatment of resource concerns or national priority resource concerns;
- Magnitude of the environmental benefits resulting from the treatment of resource concerns reflecting the level of performance of the proposed conservation practices and activities; and
- Compliance with federal, state, local, or tribal regulatory requirements for natural resources.
CART uses national ranking templates developed for each NRCS program and initiative. The
templates have four parameters that are customized for each program. The four parameters are:
- Land Uses. NRCS has developed land use designations to be used by planners and modelers at the field and landscape level. Land use modifiers more accurately define the land’s actual use and how it is managed. Land use designations and modifiers are defined in Title 180 National Planning Procedures Handbook, Part 600.
- Resource Concerns. The resource condition that does not meet minimum acceptable condition levels of the resource planning criteria. This implies an expected degradation of the soil, water, air, plant, or animal resource base that will impair the sustainability or intended use of the resource. Because NRCS quantifies or describes resource concerns as part of a comprehensive conservation planning process, which includes client objectives, human and energy resources are considered components of the resource base.
- Practices. A specific treatment used to address resource concerns, or management techniques that are planned and implemented per applicable standards and specifications.
Ranking Component Weights. A set of five components that form the ranking score for an individual land-based assessment. The five components are:
a. Vulnerability. Site vulnerability is determined by subtracting the existing condition and existing practice scores from the thresholds. This score is weighted based on the resource concerns prioritized by that ranking pool.
b. Planned Practice Effects. The planned practice effect score is based on the sum of the planned practice addressing the resource concern on a land unit. This score is weighted by ranking pool to address the resource concerns prioritized by that ranking pool.
c. Resource Priorities. National and state resource priorities are established to address the most critical land and resource considerations and are based on NRCS national and state priorities identified with input from national, state, and local stakeholders.
d. Program Priorities. National and state program priorities are established to maximize program effectiveness and advance program purposes and are based on NRCS national and state priorities identified with input from national, state, and local stakeholders.
e. Cost Efficiency. Sum of planned practice points divided by the log of the practice efficiency factor, which is assigned for each asset-narrative.
Note: The points for vulnerability, planned practice effects, and cost efficiency are from the assessment portion of CART.
NRCS Resource Concerns
The NRCS resource concerns for conservation planning are:
Air Quality
- Emissions of airborne reactive nitrogen
- Emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHGs)
- Emissions of ozone precursors
- Emissions of particulate matter (PM) and PM precursors
- Objectionable odors
Aquatic Habitat
- Aquatic habitat for fish and other organisms
- Elevated water temperature
Energy Use
- Energy efficiency of equipment and facilities
- Energy efficiency of farming/ranching practices and field operations
Livestock Health
- Feed and forage balance
- Inadequate livestock shelter
- Inadequate livestock water quality, quality and distribution
Plant Health
- Plant pest pressure
- Plant productivity and health
- Plant structure and composition
Soil Erosion
- Bank erosion from streams, shorelines, or water conveyance channels
- Classic gully erosion
- Ephemeral gully erosion
- Sheet and rill erosion
- Wind erosion
Soil Health
- Aggregate instability
- Compaction
- Concentration of salts or other chemicals
- Organic matter depletion
- Soil organism habitat loss or degradation
- Subsidence
Terrestrial Habitat
- Terrestrial habitat for wildlife and invertebrates
Water Quality
- Drifted snow
- Groundwater depletion
- Inefficient irrigation water use
- Naturally available moisture use
- Nutrients transported to ground water
- Nutrients transported to groundwater
- Nutrients transported to surface water
- Nutrients transported to surface water
- Pathogens and chemicals from manure, biosolids, or compost applications transported to groundwater
- Pathogens and chemicals from manure, biosolids, or compost applications transported to surface water
- Pesticides transported to groundwater
- Pesticides transported to surface water
- Petroleum, heavy metals, and other pollutants transported to groundwater
- Petroleum, heavy metals, and other pollutants transported to surface water
- Ponding and flooding
- Salts transported to groundwater
- Salts transported to surface water
- Seasonal high water table
- Sediment transported to surface water
- Seeps
- Surface water depletion
Wildfire Hazard
- Wildfire hazard from biomass accumulation