Southern Rocky Mountain Soil Survey Region
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) Office #6 (MO6)

MO6 provides quality assurance of soil information in the Southern Rocky Mountain Region using National Cooperative Soil Survey (NRCS) standards. It provides assistance to MLRA soil survey project offices located in parts of Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Acting MLRA Leader:  William Shoup MO6 Location: Denver Federal Center Building 56, Room 2604 PO Box 25426 Denver, CO 80225-0426 Phone: 720.544.2849 Host State Conservationist: Phyllis Ann Philipps

Responsibility

The primary responsibility of the MLRA Office #6 is to provide quality assurance of soil information in the Southern Rocky Mountain Region using the National Cooperative Soil Survey standards.

Definition

Major Land Resource Areas/MLRAs are geographically associated land resource units, usually encompassing several thousand acres.  They are characterized by particular patterns of soils, geology, climate, water resources, and land use.  A unit may be one continuous area or several separate nearby areas.

The Southern Rocky Mountain Region, MLRA Office #6, in Lakewood, Colorado, is one of eighteen MLRA regional offices serving the United States and the Caribbean area. This office provides assistance to soil survey project offices located in portions of Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah.

Additional MLRA Office 6 Information

M06 Staff

M06 Technical Guidance Documents

Instructions

These documents require Microsoft Word,  Adobe Acrobat,  or Microsoft Excel.

Instruction Tabulation Sheet
MO6 Instr 381 OSD Policy, Guidelines, and Information for Completing Official Soil Series Descriptions
MO6 Instr 381 OSD Template – English Units, Dec 2003
MO6 Instr 381 OSD Template – Metric Units, Nov 2010
MO6 Instr 381 Supplement – Using Geologic Formation in OSDs
MO6 Instr 382 Soil Survey Field Review Procedures
MO6 Instr 383 Manuscript Preparation Guidelines – Reissued Jan 2007
MO6 Instr 384 SSURGO Procedures
MO6 Instr 385 Map Unit Approval Flow Chart
MO6 Instr 385 Map Unit Approval Process Spreadsheet
MO6 Instr 385 Map Unit Approval Transmittal Letter
MO6 Instr 386 NASIS Date Entry Checklist
MO6 Instr 386 NASIS Data Entry Guidelines - Reissue
MO6 Instr 386 Transmit NASIS Data Entry Guidelines - Reissue
MO6 Instr 387 Guidelines for Using Family Taxons
MO6 Instr 388 Request for Soil Analysis Form
MO6 Instr 388 Lab Sampling Guidelines

Technical Notes

These documents require Microsoft Word, or Microsoft Excel.

MO6 Tech Note 1 – to the Use of Cation-Exchange Activity Classes
MO6 Tech Note 2 – Identification and Description of Albic Horizons, Glossic Horizons, and Related Soil Features
MO6 Tech Note 3 – NASIS Reports and Instructions for Generating Taxonomic Unit Descriptions
MO6 Tech Note 3 – TUD Profile Check Template
MO6 Tech Note 4 – Metric-English Conversion Guides for Inputting NASIS Data
MO6 Tech Note 4 – Metric-English Conversion Tables for Inputting NASIS Data
MO6 Tech Note 5 – Macro to Format Map Unit Descriptions
MO6 Tech Note 6 – Report to Generate Map Unit Descriptions in NASIS
MO6 Tech Note 7 – Guidelines for Populating Slope Aspect in NASIS
MO6 Tech Note 8 – Suggested Order and Guidelines for Populating a New Map Unit in NASIS
MO6 Tech Note 9 – Guidelines for Populating Surface Organic Layers in NASIS - Reissue
MO6 Tech Note 10 – Guidelines for Estimating and Interpreting Carbonate Clay
MO6 Tech Note 11 – Guide for Populating Horizons with Stratified Textures
MO6 Tech Note 12 – Spreadsheet to Calculate Field Calcimeter Data
MO6 Tech Note 12 – Calcimeter Equation
MO6 Tech Note 13 – Application of Soil Temperature Data to Soil Temperature Regimes
MO6 Tech Note Series Tabulation Sheet

Other Guidance

These documents may require Microsoft Word,  Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Excel, or PowerPoint.

MO6 Current Macros April 2008
MO6 Guide for Albedo
MO6 Guide for Determining Available Water Capacity
MO6 Guide for Determining Bulk Density
MO6 Guide for Ksat Limits
MO6 Guide for Kw Values
MO6 Guide for Determining Land Capability Classes in Colorado
MO6 Guide for Determining Texture Modifiers
MO6 Guide for Drainage
MO6 Guide for Estimating Linear Extensibility
MO6 Guide for Populating Acres in the Legend Overlap Tables
MO6 Guide for Populating ESD and Vegetation Information in NASIS
MO6 Guide for Populating Landforms in NASIS
MO6 Guide for Using and Populating REAP in NASIS
MO6 Guide for Using the HOBO Multiyear Template
MO6 Guide for Using the NASIS “Particle Size Estimator” Calculation
MO6 Guide for Volume to Weight Conversions
MO6 Guide for WEG & WEI
MO6 Guide to Volume Adjustment for Porous Parafragments
MO6 HOBO Multiyear Template
MO6 Notes on Recent Developments to Some NASIS Data Elements, March 2007
MO6 OSD Macro
MO6 Plasticity Chart
MO6 Policy on Using Unique NASIS Pedons
MO6 Recommended Naming Format for Pedon IDs
MO6 Soil Map Unit Note Form
MO6 Soil Map Unit Traverse-Transect Detailed Form
MO6 Soil Map Unit Traverse-Transect Form
MO6 Texture Triangle with Families
MO6 Unified Coarse Grained
MO6 Unified Flow Chart
MO6 Guide for Determining Types of Map Units
MO6 Guidance for Point and Linear Map Units
MO6 NSSC Guidance Letter for Populating Surface O Horizons
MO6 NSSC Guide for Substrata Classification

2009 Workshops

The following documents require Adobe Acrobat.

Basics of Quality Assurance Guide
Map Unit Development and Progressive Correlation
MO4 Queries Check - March 2009
MO6 Instr 382 Soil Survey Field Review Procedures
MO6 Instr 388 Lab Sampling Guidelines DRAFT
MO6 Request for Soil Analysis Form
MO6 Queries - March 2009
MO6 Reports - March 2009
NASIS Moisture Definitions
OSD Template Hints
Strongly Contrasting Particle
Tech Note 3 Strongly Contrasting Particle Size Class - Aniso
Tech Note 9 Populating Taxonomic Moisture Class and Subclass


The following documents require Microsoft PowerPoint.

A Suggested Approach to MLRA Updates and Work Plans
Contrasting Families
Flow Chart of NCSS Data Delivery
Improving Correlation Between Landform and Parent Material
Manuscripts - Publications - CGA
Map Unit Development and Approval Process
MO6 Documentation Guidance
MO6 Field Review Procedures
MO6 Guidance for Unique Pedons
MO6 Lab Sampling Procedures
Presentation SC OSD
Recent History of the Soil Survey Program in MO6
Rock Fragment Lithology
Roles and Responsibilities Presentation
Series Concept
Similar and Dissimilar Soils
Soil Data Viewer
Soil Series Extent Tool
Some Basics for Quality Control and Quality Assurance
Tech Note 9 Populating NASIS Moisture Class and Subclass
Technology Update