NRCS California Announces New Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations

DAVIS, Calif., June 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California is pleased to announce the appointment of Anthony Sunseri as the new Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations (ASTC-FO) for Area 1. This is a top leadership position within NRCS California and oversees the administration of 19 offices and field operations for 18 counties in the northern part of the state.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Mr. Sunseri to our state executive leadership team in this pivotal role," says Carlos Suarez, State Conservationist for NRCS in California. "Thousands of farmers and conservationists across California rely on the visionary and strategic administration of our voluntary, science-based Farm Bill programs."

Sunseri will work with NRCS employees and partners to provide leadership in coordinating, directing and evaluating conservation programs that were recently reauthorized in the 2018 Farm Bill. These include the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP); Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP); Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP); Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG); Agricultural Land Easements (ALE), which covers both farmland and wetland protection easements; and Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA), which is technical expertise and planning assistance provided to private land users to help address conservation opportunities and concerns and make sound natural resource management decisions.

Sunseri earned two Bachelor of Science degrees at Oregon State University, one in rangeland ecology with an emphasis in soil science and the other in crop management with an emphasis in agricultural business. He started working for the federal government in 2001 as a forestry aide with the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon.

Sunseri joined NRCS in 2006, first serving as a soil conservationist in Grass Valley, California, and then as a district conservationist in Mount Vernon, Washington. Most recently, he served as ASTC-FO for NRCS in Moscow, Idaho. He has also served as acting state conservationist in Idaho.

Sunseri replaces Jim Spear, who retired in January, and will start working at the Area Office in Red Bluff, California, on July 21, 2019.

NRCS is a federal agency that works in partnership with resource conservation districts and other agricultural, conservation and educational groups. With the mission of "Helping People Help the Land," NRCS provides products and services that enable people to be good stewards of the nation's soil, water, and related natural resources.

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SOURCE USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service