and the Office of Resource Conservation by plan-
ning, developing, and coordinating policy, pro-
grams, and public information. The soil and water
conservation work of the Office is coordinated with
soil conservation districts, and agencies and organi-
zations with related programs.
Under the Agricultural Water Management Pro-
gram, Program Planning and Development helps
public drainage associations maintain agricultural
drainage projects. Interagency reviews of public
drainage association plans for construction, recon-
struction, operation and maintenance are con-
ducted. Financial aid is made available to these
associations through drainage maintenance cost-
share agreements. Program Planning and Develop-
ment also coordinates and evaluates the Nutrient
Management Program, which helps individual
farmers plan nutrient management.

STATE SOIL CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
Robert M. Davis, Chairperson,
Wicomico County, 1996
Louise Lawrence, Executive Secretary
(410) 841-5863

Established in 1937, the State Soil Conservation
Committee works to retard soil erosion and non-
point source pollution, conserve soil, and protect
water quality (Chapter 436, Acts of 1937).
Through twenty-four soil conservation districts
covering the entire State (except Baltimore City),
the Committee coordinates district work to apply
scientifically sound and practical conservation
measures ("best management practices") to Mary-
land lands. For each district, the Committee ap-
points four of the five persons who serve on a local
board of soil conservation supervisors.
The State Committee helps districts secure aid
from State and federal agencies for soil and water
conservation, and certain phases of related land use
programs. Areas of concern include nonpoint
source pollution, watershed protection and flood
prevention, siltation of streams and reservoirs,
shore erosion control, and highway erosion control.
They also involve forest and woodland conserva-
tion and development, the protection and propaga-
tion of wildlife, development of public land areas,
and urban sediment and erosion control.
The Committee has eleven members. Six serve ex
officio. Five are soil conservation district supervisors
appointed to four-year terms by the Secretary of
Agriculture from recommendations made by the dis-
tricts represented (Code Agriculture Article, secs. 8-
101 through 8-501).

Department of Agriculture /195

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Louise Lawrence, Chairperson
(410) 841-5863

The Nutrient Management Advisory Committee
was created in 1992 (Chapter 137, Acts of 1992).
Nutrient management concerns soil fertilization and
determining the amount, placement, timing, and ap-
plication of animal waste, commercial fertilizer, sludge,
or other plant nutrients to prevent pollution and
maintain productivity The Committee advises the
Department on the certification and licensing of nu-
trient management consultants (Code Agriculture
Article, secs. 8-801 through 8-806).

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Royden N. Powell III, Chief
(410) 841-5896

Resource Management Services originated as
the Resource Conservation Operations Section in
1989 and was reorganized under its present name
in 1992. Resource Management Services adminis-
ters State resources that support soil and water
conservation programs on agricultural land and
provides guidance and assistance to twenty-four
soil conservation districts. It gives financial support
to soil conservation districts for conservation pro-
grams. Resource Management Services also pro-
vides technical assistance to farmers and
landowners on best management practices to con-
trol nutrient soil erosion and agricultural nonpoint
source pollution.

RESOURCE PROTECTION INCENTIVES
F. Gould Charshee, Supervisor
(410) 841-5864

Resource Protection Incentives began as the
Conservation Grants Section in 1989 and received
its current name in 1992. This office conducts the
Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share
Program (MACS) and the State Conservation Re-
serve Program (CRP).
Established in 1983, the Maryland Agricultural
Water Quality Cost-Share Program reduces water
pollution caused by nutrient and sediment erosion,
animal wastes, or agricultural chemicals. The Program
provides cost-share grants to individuals for installing
best management practices on agricultural land.
The State Conservation Reserve Program pro-
vides annual payments to landowners or operators
for certain acreage taken out of agricultural produc-
tion and planted in vegetative cover for a ten-year
period. The Program began in 1988 as an incentive
for enrolling in a similar federal program adminis-
tered by the U.S. Agricultural Stabilization and
Conservation Service.