About Us

Technical Soil Services Roles and Responsibilities

Technical Soil Services involve soil scientists helping people understand soils and soil survey information. Assistance can be in the form of:

Information Services - The distribution and explanation of soil survey information and products.
Technical Policy and Program Services - Providing soils information to support the policies and programs of other federal, state, or local agencies or units of government.
Planning Services - Providing soils information and interpretations to NRCS field office employees, Conservation District cooperators, and USDA program participants in the planning of resource conservation practices and resource management systems.
On-site Soils Investigations, Testing, Interpretations, and Evaluations - Services that support the design and installation of civil engineering works, structures, and agricultural practices, or to test and evaluate agriculture research predictions.

Examples of Technical Soil Services are:

Developing and maintaining soils information in the Field Office Technical Guide for NRCS field offices.
Training NRCS employees and technical staffs of other agencies or groups in the use of soil survey information.
Assisting with the development, testing, and verification of new soils interpretations.
Participating in public awareness programs involving the soil survey and its uses.
Serving as a member of interdisciplinary teams to address resource problems.
Collecting soil and site data on soil performance and behavior.

Technical Soil Services Staff at the State Office, Davis, CA
Contact Information	Responsibilities
Glenn Stanisewski Resource Soil Scientist Phone: (530) 792-5638 Glenn.Stanisewski@ca.usda.gov	Provides NRCS state-wide leadership in the development of Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) databases in California. Administers agreements and contracts with local, state, and federal agencies and private organizations relating to SSURGO database development. Conducts Quality Assurance for the California SSURGO program. Edits SSURGO spatial and attribute data in order to produce seamless soils data across soil survey areas. Manages SSURGO project reimbursable budgets.
Scott Splean State GIS Coordinator Phone: (520) 792-5631 Scott.Splean@ca.usda.gov	Technical leadership for development and use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and digital geographic information for all NRCS programs and activities in California. Furnishes training and support for GIS, geospatial analysis and remote sensing activities. Coordinates acquisition, maintenance and exchange of aerial photography and digital and analog geographic information. Provides technical support for the geospatial components of the Customer Service Toolkit (CST), Electronic Field Office Technical Guide (eFOTG), and Soil Data Viewer (SDV).
Terryl Kocsis Geodata Administrator/GIS Phone: (530) 792-5630 Terryl.Kocsis@ca.usda.gov	Provide technical guidance in the development and implementation of GIS in other NRCS California program areas, including EQIP and NRI. NRI support.

Area Resource Soil Scientists
Contact Information	Address	Telephone/Fax Numbers	Email Address
Jim Komar Area 1 Soil Scientist	Red Bluff Area Office 1345 Main Street Red Bluff, CA 96080	Phone: 530 527-2667, x106 FAX: 530 527 6836	James.Komar@ca.usda.gov
Kenneth J. Oster Area 2 Soil Scientist	Templeton Service Center 65 Main Street Suite 108 Templeton, CA 93465	Phone: 805 434-0396, x111 FAX: 805 434-0284	Ken.Oster@ca.usda.gov
Edd Russell Area 3 Soil Scientist	Fresno Area Office 4974 E. Clinton Way Suite 114 Fresno, CA 93727	Phone: 559 252-2191, x104 FAX: 559 252 5483	Edd.Russell@ca.usda.gov
Peter Fahnestock Area 4 Soil Scientist	Victorville Service Center Bear Valley Business Park 17330 Bear Valley Road Victorville, CA 92392	Phone: 760 843-6882, x105 FAX: 760 843-9521	Peter.Fahnestock@ca.usda.gov