Soil Health/Soil Quality

Healthy soil is the basis for productive crops and scenic forestlands. It leads to productive grazing lands and diverse wildlife habitats.

Soil performs five essential functions: 1) regulating water, 2) sustaining plant and animal life, 3) filtering and buffering potential pollutants, 4) cycling nutrients, and 5) physical stability and support. The NRCS provides a comprehensive site detailing the importance of soil health.

Hays County Soil Surveys

Soil surveys provide the public with comprehensive information about soils across the U.S. Developed specifically for each county in the nation, the soil survey is produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey, which is operated by the USDA NRCS.

Originally produced as paper-based soil survey books, the soil survey is now provided via the Web Soil Survey (WSS). The WSS, maintained as the single authoritative source of soil survey information, allows one to create custom reports by selecting their specific area of interest. The archived soil survey books are still available for review as PDFs, however the WSS is the official, current soil information repository.

Soil surveys are for general land use. Soil quality assessments and certain conservation and engineering applications may require onsite investigation and testing.

Consult the soil survey resources below to learn more about soil in your location.

Youth Conservation Education

Conservation topics provide an interesting course of study for students. Conservation falls within the realm of science, stewardship, and leadership.

The National Association of Conservation Districts offers a Conservation Education Hub where students, teachers, parents, and guardians can find a wide array of resources to help youth learn the importance of conserving our natural resources.