Natural Resource Management

The goal of natural resource management is to sustain the long term quality of the soil, water, plant, air and animal resources in balance with human needs. To do this, normally, one or a group of conservation practices is needed. Some have termed these as BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES or BMPs. As you will discover, the term "BESTt" may be hard to define. Maybe a better term would be "ALTERNATIVES". Alternatives allow conservation practices to be tailored to the resources, site specific situations, and objective or management style of the land user. 

URBAN
​Natural resource management concerns in urban and developing areas are about concentration. Relatively small land areas can have a tremendous affect on the whole. The Shawnee County Conservation District conducts a broad information program to present the issues to the public using five areas of focus: Soil, Water, Plants, Air, Animals.

Preventing Urban Water Pollution by the City of Topeka Department of Public Works lists 9 urban pollutants with corresponding solutions. Urban Water Pollution, A Draining Topic is our version.

RURAL / AGRICULTURAL
Sustaining the quality of our natural resources for long term use is the challenge faced in the rural / agricultural community. This must be done while producing a constant supply of food and fiber for a hungry world at a price that is affordable.

There are Best Management Practices studied by Kansas State University Extension.  You can search their publication bookstore and here are several to check out:

• Impacts of No-Till on Water Quality
• Managing to Minimize Atrazine Runoff
• Best Management Practices for Nitrogen​​
• Best Management Practices for Phosphorus

A District Conservationist added a ninth BMP and called it Top 9 Best Management Practices for Nutrient Management​.