Dillon Area Soil Survey Published

July 17, 2007

For More Information:
Chuck Gordon, 406-587-6818
Robert Moler, 406-587-6842

Bozeman--The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has recently published the Dillon Area Soil Survey and is making it available to the public. Soil surveys furnish soil maps and interpretations used for making land use planning and management decisions.

“Soil surveys provide a wealth of information on the best uses for soils,” said Carrie Mosley, NRCS acting state conservationist. “Foresters, ranchers, community officials, and home buyers are just some of the folks that use soil surveys to make decisions based on Dillon area soils.”

Major land uses in the Dillon area include cropland, rangeland, and forestland. There are about 110,000 acres of cropland, most of which is irrigated. The main crops are alfalfa or grass hay. Irrigated alfalfa hay production ranges from 3.2 to 5.5 tons per acre and irrigated grass hay production is about 1.0 to 2.5 tons per acre. Rangeland production averages 800 to 2,400 pounds per acre on deep soils, depending on the precipitation zone and soil textures. The rangeland production is about half that amount on shallower soils. Wet areas produce 3,000 to 5,200 pounds per acre depending on the depth of water tables and the length of seasonal wetness. The dominant forestland trees are Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine. Tree productivity ranges from 45 to 62 cubic feet per acre per year for Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine.

NRCS soil scientists mapped more than 355,200 acres and identified 90 soil series in the survey area. When the mapping was completed, the soil information was entered into the National Soil Information System database, correlated and certified to meet National Cooperative Soil Survey standards, and digitized. More information about the Montana soil survey program can be found at www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov.

The Dillon Area Soil Survey is available free in both digital and printed format by request at the Dillon NRCS field office at 406-683-3800. The survey is also available from the NRCS Soils Program by sending an email to stsoil@mt.usda.gov. To find the information online, visit the Web Soil Survey at http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/.

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