The Farm Service Agency (FSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, focuses on equitably serving all farmers, ranchers, and agricultural partners by delivering effective agricultural programs for all.
The Clark Group, LLC (TCG) provided extensive multidisciplinary support to FSA, including cultural resource surveys for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The CRP assists producers with re-establishing valuable land cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and reduce the loss of wildlife habitat.
TCG assisted FSA by performing surveys on agricultural lands proposed for CRP enrollment and by developing comprehensive cultural resource management (CRM) research designs to identify, evaluate, and mitigate adverse effects within a project’s area of potential effects.
TCG’s CRM work included desktop research, compliance surveys (pedestrian and subsurface), material culture assessments, and thorough photographic and technical record-keeping. We also developed geographic information system geodatabases to identify and minimize adverse effects on National Register of Historic Places-listed or -eligible historic properties.
Our CRM efforts included 19 surveys across 31 distinct project areas. We evaluated 17 new or previously recorded historic properties during these survey mobilizations. Successful execution required a strong level of collaboration, demonstrated through consistent communication between TCG staff, FSA, and landowners, requiring notification before survey commencement. Each mobilization was preceded by extensive desktop research to develop site survey designs. TCG also maintained a high level of organization, establishing a comprehensive archive for each survey, including administrative records, organized folder structures, and meticulous record collection that was inclusive of all materials sent or received by TCG.