Soil Information for the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is now available through the Web Soil Survey, thanks to cooperative efforts lead by USDA- Natural Resources Conservation Service and included Penn State University, Department of Environmental Protection and many local governments.

The more than 20 year effort to compile and digitize the county soil survey maps, capture the soil property and interpretation data, complete quality control and post the data to the Web Soil Survey was completed on September 27.

“Capturing all the soil resource information that was contained in county Soil Survey reports will be of great benefit to all the residents and agencies in Pennsylvania,” said Craig Derickson, NRCS State Conservationist for Pennsylvania. “Through the Web Soil Survey, information about our most valuable natural resource- the soil- can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Digital data will also allow us to easily update and enhance the soil information as new knowledge is gained and new information is needed. Having all the information now available on the Web Soil Survey is an important milestone in our continuing efforts to help people help the land.”

Soil Survey information is highly used for state, federal and local programs that include conservation planning and application, stormwater management, nutrient management, farmland preservation, watershed planning, and community planning to help people make the right choices to improve productivity, protect the environment and conserve natural resources.

Pennsylvania is one of the highest states in Web Soil Survey use and the demand for soil survey information from landowners and agencies is rapidly increasing as environmental and productivity issues continue to increase.

Three easy steps are needed to generate soils information for anywhere in Pennsylvania: Define your Area of Interest, view your Soil Map, and Explore Your Soil Information.

For additional information contact Ed White, State Soil Scientist at 717-237-2207.

10/5/2007