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Missouri Association of |
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Missouri Association of |
| June 1996 | Volume 51 |
Minutes of the MAPSS Executive Board Agenda
MAPSS Certification Chairman
New MAPSS Members
Editorial: A Mapper's Perspective. by Wyn Kelley
MAPSS Code of Ethics for Certification
The Executive board of MAPSS met on May 8 at Cabool. Attending were Dan Childress, President, Robert Rouse, Vice-President, Richard Tummons, Secretary-Treasurer, Scott Eversoll, Member-at-Large, Dave Skaer, Chair, Ethics & Certification Committee, Dr. Harry james, Tom DeWitt and Ken Benham, Certification Board, Tony and Pat Kowalewycz, past Presidents, and John Preston, Editor, Probauger.
Richard Tummons presented the financial statement. There is $1213 in checking and $4479 in savings.
Certification was discussed. With the Health Department now certifying soil scientists, the issue of MAPSS needing to continue with certification was raised. Dave Skaer reported that there is still great interest in the certification effort. He also stated that we were committed by vote of the membership at last fall's meeting to continue. He stated that various units of government are interested in using only tested and certified people.
The certification committee is distributing application forms in this issue of the Probauger with the standards for certification. Applications are due to Dr. hary James by September 1, if the individual wants to be tested this fall. Test questions will be sent upon approval of applicatnt meeting the standards for testing
Certification testing will be held in Springfield in conjunction with the fall MAPSS meeting on October 25-26. The test will consist of both written and field work.
Members interested in serving on MAPSS committees for administrative year, 1996-1997 should contact Robert Rouse at xxx xxx xxxx, or complete the form in this Probauger. Standing committees are Nominations, Finance, Education, Ethics and Certification, Constitution and By-Laws, and Membership and Public relations.
The Executive Board approved compilation and distribution of a list of MAPSS members doing consultant work. If you are interested, the form is included in this issue of the Probauger.
Nominations for candidates for the next year's MAPSS officers are open. If you are interested in running or nominating someone, contact Tony Dohmen at xxx xxx xxxx or fill out the form in the Probauger and give it to an officer at the summer meeting.
The MAPSS Summer meeting and float will be held on July 19-20. Committee members who volunteered (or were volunteered!) to organize the meeting/float are Dan Childress, Pat Kowalewycz, Leon Thompson, Melvin Simmons and John Preston. We will float the Eleven Point River. The Executive Board approved MAPSS providing the evening meal (steak dinner) as it did last year. Details are in this issue of Probauger.
The Executive board approved the draft of the constitutional amendment for Lifetime Membership. This amendment is published in this issue and will be voted on by the membership at the fall meeting. Suggested dues for a Lifetime Full member was either 10 times annual dues ($100) or 20 times ($200).
The Executive Board approved purchase of a new supply of MAPSS caps in the ever popular camo pattern.
Dr. James announced he will teach a Soil Morphology Course this summer at SMSU.
MAPSS Certification/Registration had its first attempt turned down by the state legislature back in 1978. The group was considered to small for state liscensing.
This fall we will have the opportunity to begin a certification program by testing and subsequently listing individuals who have passed the requirements set ub by our organization. These qualified individuals can write "CPSC" Certified Professional Soil Classifier behind there name. These credentials could help qualify professionalism if summoned to court as a professional witness.
This list will be forwarded to government agencies interested in Certified Soil Classifiers. The potential then exists that our list could become the accepted individuals to perform Soil Morphologic interpretations, which could lead to a state license potential.
We as a group can take a (overdue) leadership role in this area. Each of us are professinals and realize there will be responsibilities connected with keeping this program functioning. I personally was a bit disheartened last fall when our group attended in great numbers to initiate this certification process, and then left with no participation in the following MAPSS program.
At the fall MAPSS meeting the certification test will be offered to accepted applicants. I would hope we will take the time to share experiences and knowledge.
The MAPSS membership would like to recognize and welcome the following new members:
Margorie Campbell Nevada, MO (associate member) Rickey Cox Seneca, MO Mark Felton St Louis, MO Charles Fultz Little Rock, AR Douglas Gaines Worden, IL Kevin Godsey Marble Hill, MO Scott Harding Fairview Heights, IL Mark Kohrt Blackstone, IL Gary Lindgren Desoto, MO Dean Martin Jefferson City, MO Matt Roth Fairview Heights, IL
We want all MAPSS members to feel free to participate in the MAPSS organization. Don't feel that you need to be in the upper echelons of the DNR or NRCS or the head of the Soils Department at a University to run for office, serve on a committee, or nominate someone for an office or a committee. MAPSS is always looking for people to work in areas that they are interested in. We can only benefit as an organization by having as many members as possible taking active roll in the leadership of MAPSS
By Wyn Kelley
If you ask the user of a soil survey report what the Soil Taxonomy of a particular soil is, the response would likely be, "What soil tax on me?!". Guy Smith stated in his Rationale for Concepts in Soil Taxonomy, (1/) "The user of a soil survey is not concerned with whether that is a taxadjunct of clarion, he is concerned with what we have to say about that soil in terms of its responses in use and management and he is not mislead if we use the wrong name provided we make the proper interpretations for it.......That has nothing to do with Taxonomy. This is how we use it, it's the application to the soil surveys."
Soil classification has and will continue to be the method which soil surveyors use to assist in the mapping process. It has evolved and built on teh knowledge base learned over the years. From the days of teh 7th approximation up to the current taxonomic system this has been the case. Guy Smith echoed this sentiment when he stated, (2/) " A classification system should be dynamic, in the sense that it should be continuously used and in the process continuously tested. You must remember that a calssification is a creation of man and is a reflection of the state of knowledge at that time and the uses that were intended at that time."
Though taxonomy updates are a necessary part of any classification system, I question the practicality to mapping process and ultimately interpretations for the user that several of teh current taxonomy updates propose. If we are trying to create a classification system that only academia can understand then we have forgotten the basic reason for doing a soil survey, i.e. use and management of the soil and interpretations for the user. In my opinion, most of the "improvements" to taxonomy over the past two years have done nothing more than create paperwork that manages to just change names on a paper. The interpretations taht we provide remain the same. Some of the upcoming changes to taxonomy do no more.
There has been a considerable amount of discussion conerning what constitutes a fragipan and everyone has their opinion. As difficult as it is to get a straight answer on what a fragipan is, shortly we will have a fragic great group to further subdivide that which we don't understand. Another change in the near future is the cation exchange activity class that will be listed after mineralogy at the family level. Again, this adds another word to the classification but does nothing to assist the user. What about the upcoming separation of fine and very-file particle size classes in the Ultisols? Conceptually this makes sense. How long will it be before it's decided that the clayey portion of loamy-skeletal over clayey particle size classes should be identified as loamy-skeletal over fine or very-fine?
As a soil mapper I have found taxonomy to be an excellent mapping tool. It is not my intention here to say that updates to taxonomy are not needed, but rather to ask teh question, "Are all these changes really necessary and what purpose will they serve?"
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1/ The Guy Smith Interviews:SMSS Tech. Monograph # 11 Pg 7
2/ The Guy Smith Interviews:SMSS Tech. Monograph # 11 Pg 11
The privilege of professional practice imposes obligation of responsibility as well as professional knowledge.