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Oregon National Resources Inventory

The 1997 National Resources Inventory (NRI) is the latest in a series of inventories conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly the Soil Conservation Service. It provides updated information on the status, condition, and trends of land, soil, water, and related resources on the nation's non-Federal land. The 1997 NRI is unique in that it provides a nationally consistent database that was constructed specifically to estimate 5-, 10- and 15-year trends for natural resources from 1982 to 1997. The 1992 NRI was instrumental in providing data on natural resources for the USDA publication, A Geography of Hope.

Adobe Acrobat DocumentThese documents require Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat DocumentGeography of Hope Part 1 (1024 KB)
Adobe Acrobat DocumentGeography of Hope Part 2 (880 KB)
Adobe Acrobat DocumentGeography of Hope Part 3 (992 KB)

Data for the 1997 NRI were collected for more than 17,000 sampling sites in Oregon by NRCS field personnel, resources inventory specialists, and remote sensing data collectors at the Inventory Collection and Coordination Site in Beaverton, Oregon. The NRI was scientifically designed and conducted and is based on recognized statistical sampling methods. NRI data are statistically reliable for national, regional, state and substate analysis. Generally, however, interpretations at the local level may be misleading.

As the key to interpreting the state of America's land, NRI information will be used to formulate effective public policies, to fashion agricultural and natural resources legislation, to develop state and national conservation programs, and to allocate USDA financial and technical assistance in addressing natural resource concerns.

Support to users of the NRI data in Oregon is provided by the Oregon NRCS Resources Inventory Team Office (RITO) in Beaverton. The RITO will work with you to provide custom reports for NRI data elements or geographic areas not covered by reports on this website. We are also available to explain the scope of the NRI, clarify data definitions and limitations, and discuss any other issue of concern to you regarding the NRI program.

Contact us by phone (503-414-3271 or 503-414-3267), FAX (503-414-3277), or at the mailing address below:

USDA - NRCS
Oregon Resources Inventory Team Office
1201 NE Lloyd Blvd
Suite 900
Portland, OR 97232

ESTIMATES FROM THE 1997 NRI DATABASE (REVISED DECEMBER 2000) REPLACE ALL PREVIOUS REPORTS AND ESTIMATES. Comparisons made using data published for the 1982, 1987, or 1992 NRI may produce erroneous results. This is due to changes in statistical estimation protocols, and because all data collected prior to 1997 were simultaneously reviewed (edited) as 1997 NRI data were collected. All definitions are available in the glossary. In addition, this December 2000 revision of the 1997 NRI data updates information released in December 1999 and corrects a computer error discovered in March 2000.

Send comments and suggestions to the Oregon Resources Inventory Team
Last Modification: Monday, November 07, 2005

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