Current Issues Before MAPSS

Two Hydrological Soil Group (HSG) document updates available. One is a spreadsheet matrix of soil series and their HSG’s. The second is from a 2014 techinal committee determining HSG designations from soil test pit data.

The Maine DEP endorsed our Connotative Legend in a letter Don Phillips received on March 16, 2015. The most important paragraph is copied below, with the DEP’s condition of use italicized by Don. “The DEP finds that the connotative legend may provide a quick and easy way for our non-soil scientist staff, and others, to determine basic soil properties at project sites, such as bedrock depth, groundwater table depth, parent material, etc., and would therefore be helpful information in addition to the required standard soil mapping information which includes soil series names and descriptions of soil limitations in soil survey narrative reports.”

Two Types of Soil Maps: NRCS and HISS. An objective evaluation of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) County Soil Survey versus the High Intensity Soil Survey (HISS) produced by private sector soil scientists. View the enlarged HISS map.

The proposal from the MAPSS Technical Committee for adoption of the Connotative Soil Survey (CSS) and accompanying Explanation and Usage Guide was approved at the Annual Meeting of March 18th, 2014.

• The Connotative Soil Survey and accompanying Explanation and Usage Guide are an “additional option” or “optional addition”, to be added to the current MAPSS Guidelines;

• And that the current MAPSS Guidelines for Order I mapping ("High Intensity Soil Surveys"; i.e., Class A, B, C, D) will not change;

• And the Order I mapping ("High Intensity Soil Surveys"; i.e., Class A, B, C, D) map will still need to be performed.

Please view the comparison chart for the two mapping styles for additional details.

Here is a sample of an original HISS style Class B High Intensity Soil Survey and the same soil map in the Connotative Soil Survey (CSS) style. Each file is ~ 4.5 M