LandCAN Toolbox

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LandCAN Toolbox

Tools for Engaging Landowners Effectively (TELE)
Tools for Engaging Landowners Effectively (TELE) is a project of the Sustaining Family Forests Initiative (SFFI), an ad hoc collaboration of universities, government agencies, industry, conservation organizations, certification systems, and landowners.
America’s family lands present our biggest conservation challenge. Nearly one million acres of our forests are being converted to development each year. Forty-one percent of the forest in the contiguous United States is owned by families, and it is the forest most at risk of being fragmented and converted for development. Decisions made by 10 million family forest owners collectively enhance or degrade the landscape. How they manage their forests and whether or not they convert them to other uses is of significant public interest. Reasonable estimates are that only 20-30% of them are being served by current programs aimed at conservation and sustainable forest management.

The goal of this multiyear project is to provide a practical set of tools to help conservation and forestry professionals reach more landowners with effective stewardship messages and develop programs that serve the needs and values of the landowners. Landowners and natural resource professionals have been intimately involved in all phases of the project. We strongly believe that our work must be useful to a wide array of organizations and agencies, and grounded in solid data about the landowners.

Tools to Manage Agriculture and Soil Resources
Environmental Health and Safety provides a list of freeware containing information and tools for helping farmers manage agricultural and soil resources. Some of the available tools include:
Cool Farm Tool- a greenhouse gas calculator that is free for growers to help them measure the carbon footprint of crop and livestock products.
DecAID- an advisory tool to help managers evaluate effects of forest conditions and existing or proposed management activities on organisms that use snags and down wood. Landscape Management System- assists in landscape level analysis and planning of forest ecosystems by automating the tasks of stand projection, graphical and tabular summarization, stand visualization, and landscape visualization.

To see all click here.

Track the threat of Hungry Pests.
Help keep Hungry Pests from spreading. Know the threats in your area. Use the Pest Tracker map to see where invasive species have been identified and what areas in the United States are at greatest risk. This interactive map is a joint effort of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and state and county agencies throughout the country. The Pest Tracker is updated frequently and provides an easy to use overview of the latest local invasive species spread information. You can also use the map to find state-specific contact information to report a pest. You'll find county-level views as well as maps for all 50 states.

Tree Planting Program
Dovetail Partners, Inc. has created an interactive map of organizations that provide resources, information, and assistance for people interested in planting trees. Each organization offers opportunities to get involved, whether it’s planting trees or making donations for trees and seeds. Click here.

It’s no secret that planting a tree is one of the best actions that you can take to improve and protect the environment. What you may not know, however, is that there are already hundreds of programs and efforts dedicated towards planting trees. By planting trees, we can improve air quality, harbor wildlife, and reduce carbon emissions that affect our climate.

TrueHarvest
TrueHarvest is the first and only yield benchmarking service that uses objective, unique and accurate data to show your farm's full range of performance potential, down to a 150 square foot area we call a micro-field.

With TrueHarvest, you can compare your yields to the full range of performance for comparable land with comparable conditions at the portfolio, field, zone and micro-field levels. You will find that high yield doesn't necessarily mean peak performance and low yield doesn't necessarily mean poor performance.

These "Benchmarks" will help you make better decisions about where to invest - or not invest - resources to optimize yield and profitability on each and every field. Learn more about TrueHarvest here.

U.S Drought Portal
Drought is one of the most costly natural disasters affecting the U.S. The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) was established in 2006 (NIDIS Act) to help begin to move society from a reactive response to drought to a proactive stance. NIDIS was envisioned to be a dynamic and accessible drought information system that provides users with the ability to determine the potential impacts of drought and the associated risks they bring, and the decision support tools needed to better prepare for and mitigate the effects of drought. In this, NIDIS forms the backbone of a national Drought Early Warning System and the U.S. Drought Portal is the public face of NIDIS on the Web.
Click here to learn more.

U.S. Drought Monitor
The National Drought Mitigation Center, in conjunction with the USDA, DOC, and NOAA, produce the national drought monitor. Click here to learn more.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Regulations and Policies
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) share responsibility for administration of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We have issued internal guidance and national policies to promote efficiency and nationwide consistency in implementing the ESA to conserve and recover listed species of plants and animals native to the U.S. and its territories.

Here you will find links to summaries of our major policies, sorted by the associated section of the ESA. Most of these and other policies can be downloaded in PDF format from our document library.

Candidate Conservation Policies

Listing Program Policies

Habitat Conservation Planning Policies

UC IPM - Agricultural Pests
Information about managing pests, indexed by crop, including University of California's official guidelines for monitoring pests and using pesticides and nonpesticide alternatives for managing insect, mite, nematode, weed, and disease pests.

UC IPM Exotic & Invasive Pests
Links to articles, fact sheets, and other information prepared by UC scientists on topics related to exotic and invasive pests that threaten California.

UC IPM Natural Environment Pests
Insects, diseases, and invasive weeds threaten California's natural environments as well as homes, gardens, and agriculture. This page contains links to articles, fact sheets, and other information prepared by UC scientists on topics related to pests in natural environments.

UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines - Agricultural Pest Management
The UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines for managing pests of agricultural crops, floriculture and ornamental nurseries, and commercial turfgrass are peer-reviewed scientific publications. Pest Management Guidelines for these crops are available to view online and in a downloadable PDF version.

UC IPM Weed Photo Gallery
The UC IPM Weed Photo Gallery includes many, but not all, weed species commonly found in California farms and landscapes.

Search by CATEGORY or skip to a LIST OF ALL WEEDS.

University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program

The University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) helps residents, growers, land managers, community leaders, and other professional pest managers prevent and solve pest problems with the least unintended impacts on people and their surroundings.

The program draws on expertise of University of California scientists to develop and distribute UC's best information on managing pests using safe and effective techniques and strategies that protect people and the environment. These techniques and strategies are the basis of integrated pest management, or IPM.

UC IPM works through Cooperative Extension to deliver information to clients in every California county. Web and printed publications provide a wealth of how-to information about identifying and managing pests, and the program also provides online training courses.

USDA Farmers Markets Search
The USDA National Farmers Market Directory, maintained by AMS Marketing Services, is designed to provide members of the public with convenient access to information about U.S. farmers market locations, directions, operating times, product offerings, and accepted forms of payment. Find your local farmers market here.

USDA National Farmers Market Directory
The USDA National Farmers Market Directory, maintained by AMS Marketing Services, is designed to provide members of the public with convenient access to information about U.S. farmers market locations, directions, operating times, product offerings, and accepted forms of payment. Market information included in the Directory is voluntary and self-reported to AMS by market managers, representatives from State farmers market agencies and associations, and other key market personnel.

While AMS Marketing Services updates market listings in the USDA National Farmers Market Directory throughout the year on request from market stakeholders, the program also actively solicits new and updated market information from farmers market stakeholders each spring in order to keep the listings in the Directory as accurate and comprehensive as possible. Despite these efforts to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the data, there is no way to ensure that each individual farmers market listing in the Directory is completely accurate and up to date at any given point in time. To make it easier for users of the Directory search engine to evaluate the likelihood that market information provided in the Directory is still current, each market listing contains a date stamp at the bottom of the record. To avoid disappointment, users may wish to contact the listed market representative or consult the market’s own website, if available, before planning a visit.

The USDA National Farmers Market Directory is one of the most comprehensive listing of farmers markets across the country. Please help to make it the most accurate resource it can be. Contact the Farmers Market Directory team at directoryupdates@ams.usda.gov for assistance.

USDA PLANTS Database
The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. It includes names, plant symbols, checklists, distributional data, species abstracts, characteristics, images, crop information, automated tools, onward Web links, and references. This information primarily promotes land conservation in the United States and its territories, but academic, educational, and general use is encouraged. PLANTS reduces government spending by minimizing duplication and making information exchange possible across agencies and disciplines.

PLANTS is a collaborative effort of the USDA NRCS National Plant Data Team (NPDT), the USDA NRCS Information Technology Center (ITC), The USDA National Information Technology Center (NITC), and many other partners. Much of the PLANTS data and design is developed at NPDT, and the Web application is programmed at ITC and NITC and served through the USDA Web Farm. Here’s more information about who does what on the PLANTS Team, our Partners, and our Data Contributors.

USDA Service Centers - Local Service Centers Directory

USDA Service Centers are designed to be a single location where customers can access the services provided by the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Rural Development agencies.
This Service Center Locator Web site will provide the address of a USDA Service Center and other Agency offices serving your area along with information on how to contact them.

USDA-APHIS’ Identification Technology Program (ITP)

ID Tools online database system to identify pests, including insects, diseases, harmful weeds. Includes more than 30 websites covering a vast array of pests and pests associated with specific commodities.

USDA-NRCS Water Quality Index for Runoff from Agricultural Fields (WQI)
USDA-NRCS Water Quality Index for Runoff from Agricultural Fields (WQI) is currently being developed by the USDA/NRCS-WNTSC National Water Quality/Quantity Team in Portland, Oregon.

A Water Quality Index (WQI) is driven by a need to evaluate existing conservation practices.
Purpose / Benefits include:
Comparative Assessment over time & space
No Substitute for Monitoring/Measurement
Evaluating Effect of Conservation Practices
Cost Effective and Easy to use
Flexible/site-specific adjustments possible