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Soil Surveys Soil survey maps and interpretations are fundamental and versatile tools for helping solve many kinds of immediate and future problems in land use planning. For many years this information was used primarily for making interpretations for agricultural and conserva- tion uses in farm and ranch planning. In recent years, however, due to increasing population pressures, the demand for suitable site locations for such nonagricul- tural uses as suburban, industrial, and recreational de- velopments has greatly increased. With this increased demand has come a growing realization that soil survey maps and interpretations offer the same fundamental information essential in wise planning for these nonag- ricultural endeavors. Such problems as malfunctioning septic tank filter fields, flood damage, footing and foundation failures, soil erosion, and sedimentation can occur by failure to take the capabilities and limitations of soil into consid- eration during the planning stage. Knowledge of the soil resource and its ability to sustain development can help to avoid the above problems and can also contribute to avoidance or reduction of excessive land development costs. Soils should not be used for farming or urbanization unless they are suited for that purpose or can be made so economically. The National Cooperative Soil Survey Program in the United States has been in progress since 1899 and is a coordinated effort of the United States Department of Agriculture and related state agencies. The Soil Con- servation Service within the USDA has been responsi- ble for conducting these surveys since the program's conception. The Agronomy Department (Colorado State University) is the cooperating state agency in Colorado. The Forest Service, USDA, is a cooperating agency on National Forest Land. The Colorado soil survey program has been in exis- tence for about 64 years. At this time approximately 33 million acres, or 50% of the state, has been mapped on modern-type soil surveys. The scheduling of basic soil surveys and the specifica- tions as to the detail of mapping are determinedjointly by agencies and/or groups who have need for soil sur- vey information. The number of soil scientists involved in making soil surveys is limited by funding, thus soil survey scheduling is made on a priority basis. Other federal, state, and local agencies can cooperate with financial assistance and manpower. Several counties and towns within Colorado have also assisted with fi- nancial help for mapping and making interpretations. STATUS OF SOIL SURVEYS IN COLORADO The color map shows the status of soil surveys in Col- orado. Although some counties are not yet completed, advanced maps and interpretations are available for use and consultation in the county office of the Soil Con- servation Service, or in local Forest Service offices when the survey is within the National Forests. Soils information is available for many other areas of the state in forms that require skilled personnel for in- terpretations. This information includes older pub- lished surveys, scattered surveys made for farm or ranch planning, and reconnaissance surveys of coun- ties. AVAILABILITY OF SOIL SURVEY INFORMATION Published soil survey information is available to the general public from the following sources. Copies are free from sources other than the U.S. Government Printing Office. Soil Conservation Service, USDA County and State Offices Agronomy Department Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Forest Service, USDA U.S. Senators have copies of the latest surveys within their states. U.S. Congressmen have copies of surveys within their districts. U.S. Government Printing Office The soil map is made by a soil scientist who traverses the landscape at 1/4-mile intervals or less. Holes are bored by power, or by hand in areas inaccessible to power equipment. The soil scientist studies the soil to a depth of five feet and records his findings. He also studies the surrounding environment such as slope, type ofland form, vegetation, and geologic formations. When the soil scientist has identified the kind of soil and its extent, he enters the information on aerial photo- graphs which serve as the base map for the survey. 10