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The stripped and shapely Maple grieves The ghosts of her Departed leaves. The ground is hard, As hard as stone. The year is old, The birds are flown. And yet the world, In its distress, Displays a certain Loveliness -- John Updike, "A Child's Calendar"NRCS This Week mast head

The Natural Resources Conservation Service — Helping People Help the Land.

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Florida

Ocklawaha River is filled with debris is a result of hurricanes Francis and Jeanne that ravaged Marion County, Florida in 2004Florida River Gets an Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP) Makeover
The Ocklawaha River is filled with debris is a result of hurricanes Francis and Jeanne that ravaged Marion County, Florida in 2004.  The debris has ripped out the bottom of boats and caused other damage that has sent boaters swimming to shore through alligator infested waters.  Now thanks to the NRCS EWP program there's relief on the way.

Massachusetts

(from left) Massachusetts NRCS State Conservationist Cecil Currin, David Dumaresq, Samantha Dumaresq, Chris Chisolm, Wanda Bozek, Douglas Gillespie, and Ed Leczynski (kneeling) Gene Leczynski (NRCS photo)Family Celebrates Farmland Preservation
Members of a Massachusetts farming family were joined by local, State, and Federal officials, and other area farmers in celebrating the permanent preservation of 30 acres of farmland on Parker Road that the family owned for 87 years.

 
Minnesota

shoreline erosion treatment completed, bioengineering used, native grasses and shrubs planted, erosion blanket, rock at toe of slope, fence to keep public off steep bank, and new steps to keep visitors off the bank and allow beach access (NRCS photo)Eagle Lake Shoreline Erosion Project
The NRCS Plant Materials Center (PMC) in Bismarck, North Dakota; the WesMin Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D – oldest RC&D in the U.S. ); along with many volunteers and sponsors teamed-up to stop shoreline erosion on Eagle Lake in the City of Frazee, Minnesota.
 

Vermont

Farmer/owner Richard Wiswall says using re-cycled cooking oil from local restaurants to produce energy has significantly reduced his heating costs (NRCS photo)Cate Organic Farm in Plainfield, Vermont
Energy produced from local restaurants' cooking oil heats a home and six large greenhouses on the Cate farm.  Produce from the greenhouses and 22 cultivated acres is marketed to local co-ops, restaurants, and stores in Vermont as well as Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.  Farmer/owner Richard Wiswall says using re-cycled cooking oil from local restaurants to produce energy has significantly reduced his heating costs.
 

Connect to NRCS' State News, Newsroom, and News Releases!

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from left) present at the swearing in were USDA Deputy Under Secretary, Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) Merlyn Carlson; Kathy Gugulis; NRCS Chief Arlen Lancaster; USDA Under Secretary NRE Mark ReyGugulis Named Vice President of Executive Women in Government
Kathy Gugulis, NRCS Deputy Chief for Strategic Planning and Accountability, has been elected Vice President of Executive Women in Government (EWG).  She was installed in her new EWG office at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., by Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at a special ceremony on October 17, 2006.

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(left) USDA Natural Resources and Environment Under Secretary Mark Rey and Benjamin Grumbles, Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water, sign a partnership agreement to establish and promote water quality credit trading markets (NRCS photo)USDA and EPA Sign Water Quality Credit Trading Agreement
USDA Natural Resources and Environment Under Secretary Mark Rey and Benjamin Grumbles, Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water, signed a partnership agreement to establish and promote water quality credit trading markets through cooperative conservation.  The agreement features a pilot project within the Chesapeake Bay basin to showcase the effectiveness of environmental markets.  Water quality credit trading uses a market-based approach that offers incentives to farmers and ranchers who implement conservation practices that improve water quality.

Links...
NRCS news release "USDA and EPA Sign Water Quality Credit Trading Agreement" (October 13, 2006)

Adobe Acrobat icon Water Quality Trading Partnership Agreement (PDF version)

Information on the market based approach and the NRCS strategic plan

Information about EPA’s water quality trading policy and guidelines

aspens in fall color in Uncompahare National Forest (NRCS photo)Johanns Appoints Members of 2006-2008 USDA Agricultural Air Quality Task Force
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has renewed the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force and named 29 individuals to serve as members.  They will serve two-year terms that will end September 30, 2008.  This task force will tackle diverse air quality issues such as the reduction of criteria pollutants, carbon sequestration, ozone and ammonia emissions, greenhouse gases and the enhancement of opportunities for environmental trading markets for agriculture.
Links…
 USDA logo. USDA news release “Johanns Appoints Members of 2006-2008 USDA Agricultural Air Quality Task Force" (October 13, 2006)

USDA Agricultural Air Quality Task Force

Soil Survey of Arkansas County, Arkansas (NRCS photo)Soil Survey Publications Report for September 2006
Link to the latest on-line soil survey reports from around the U.S.

 

 

 

 

NRCS National Disability Employment Awareness Month posterOctober is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
To recognize the contributions of Americans with disabilities and to encourage all citizens to ensure equal opportunity in the workforce, the Congress, by joint resolution approved as amended (36 U.S.C. 121),  designated October of each year as "National Disability Employment Awareness Month."

Links…
 See the President's National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2006 Proclamation

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potential climate change impact (source US EPA)What Does the Future Hold for PRISM?
As NRCS This Week has run a series of Tech Tips dealing with PRISM applications and successes over the past months, it seems appropriate at this point to take a look at what the future holds for this technology.


 

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