Secretary Announces Final Rules for EQIP - On May 20, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced the publication of the final rules for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Administered by NRCS, the program provides for $200 million annually through 2002. For fiscal year 1997, at least 65 percent of the funds will be used in locally identified priority areas and up to 35 percent can be used for other significant statewide natural resource concerns. The program is limited to persons who are engaged in livestock or agricultural production. Nationally, one-half of the funds are targeted to livestock-related natural resource needs and the remainder to other significant conservation priorities associated with crop production.

The 1996 Farm Bill prohibits providing EQIP cost-share assistance to large confined livestock operations for the construction of animal waste storage or treatment facilities. The final rule defines a large confined livestock operation as one with more than 1,000 animal units. Because of the significant differences in operations, circumstances, and environmental needs across the Nation, each NRCS State Conservationist, after consultation with the State Technical Committee, has the flexibility to modify this national standard to meet each State's conservation needs. Any proposed modification of the definition of large confined livestock operation must be approved by the Chief of NRCS.

The final rules can be found in the Federal Register or on the NRCS home page under 1996 Farm Bill: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov.

Secretary Announces CRP Enrollment Figures - On May 22, Secretary Glickman announced that USDA will accept 16.1 million acres of the Nation's most environmentally sensitive cropland into the new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). USDA will begin to notify farmers immediately whether their offers were accepted. Those whose land was not accepted are being advised to consult with a representative from FSA, NRCS, or a conservation district to improve the environmental benefits or rental rate of offers for the next CRP signup, scheduled to take place this fall. The Secretary also encouraged farmers and ranchers who may not have participated in this CRP signup, or did not have land accepted, to look into the CRP's continuous signup options. Additional information is available on the Farm Service Agency's home page: http://www.fsa.usda.gov.

Secretary Proclaims National Grassland Week - Secretary Glickman signed a proclamation that officially recognizes the third week of May as National Grassland Week. This is the first of what will be an annual event. National Grassland Week will give NRCS and Forest Service the opportunity to enhance awareness of national grassland and its importance. A National Grassland Week recognition ceremony was held in Wall, SD, May 19-23.

American Heritage Rivers Initiative Out for Public Comment - The proposed program for the American Heritage Rivers initiative, announced by President Clinton in his State of the Union Address in February, has been published in the Federal Register. The public has until June 9 to comment. The proposal outlines a draft structure of the program, including details regarding how communities can nominate stretches of river; the criteria that will be important in choosing rivers; the process for selection; and the implementation of the program itself. The President will designate rivers where communities have demonstrated, through a one-stop application process, that local partnerships are in place to protect distinctive qualities of their river and its surroundings. NRCS is one of 13 Federal agencies working on the initiative. Copies of the Federal Register notice can be obtained by calling the Council on Environmental Quality at 202-456-6224, or the notice can be found on the Internet at www.whitehouse.gov/CEQ or www.epa.gov/OWOW/heritage/rivers.html.

IN THE FIELD

Nebraska's Conservationists To Do "Fly-By's" - NRCS conservationists in Nebraska will be flying through their status reviews this year. As part of a national pilot project, the employees will be conducting their status reviews from an airplane window. They plan to shorten the 3-week process of status reviews to 3 days by checking residue cover and wetlands from 500 feet. Soil Conservationists Tim Gragert, Bloomfield, and Stephanie King, Rushville, visited Montana last year for training. Tim says NRCS employees in Montana successfully perform their status reviews with an airplane. However, he says, many employees in Nebraska are still skeptical.

"Everyone's skeptical at first. I was when I first went to Montana," Tim says. "But it's amazing. It's actually more helpful to see the whole field at once when estimating residue." Tim says NRCS employees in Montana visit about 5 percent of the field onsite after the flyover.

Ten Nebraska employees are trained to do this year's flyovers. Tim says he believes the airplane will save time and money, especially in Western Nebraska. "I think it's got real application," Tim says. "And if not for status reviews, it could definitely help NRI."

GIS Works for CRP - According to Darla Juhl, soil conservationist in Wahoo, NE, GIS Specialist Tim Prescott saved a lot of dot-counting in Saunders County. He designed a GIS script for the CRP signup that produced a conservation plan map, including the photo base, field boundary and soil lines, in less that 10 minutes. The program also produced a report for each CRP-2 that provides the number of acres of each soil type present in each field.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Supplemental Funding Bill Passes House - On May 15th, the House passed the supplemental appropriations bill, H.R. 1469, by a vote of 244-178. The bill had been held up in procedural motions and debate earlier in the week, including controversy over funding for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) feeding program. A provision that would have capped enrollments in the Conservation Reserve Program at 14 million acres was stripped from the bill by a procedural motion brought to the floor by Rep. Bob Smith (R-OR). Smith raised precedents of the House to argue that the language limiting enrollment in CRP was authorizing language that should not be contained in an appropriations measure. The point of order was sustained and the limitation language dropped from the bill. The supplemental bill will now go to conference to be reconciled with the Senate version of the bill.

Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill Being Reconciled - This week, House and Senate conferees began reconciling differences in the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill (H.R. 1469 and S. 672).

Memorial Day Recess - The Senate has tentatively set May 24-June 1 as its next congressional recess. The House has May 22-June 2 marked on its tentative schedule to be in recess.

CONSTITUENCY AND PARTNERSHIP NEWS

Stream Protection Initiative a Success in Iowa - A partnership effort in the Middle Raccoon River watershed, which includes one of the tributaries that provides water to the city of Des Moines, IA, has been a success. The partners include the local NRCS and soil and water conservation district offices, FFA chapters, Monsanto Company, Pheasants Forever, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Raccoon River Watershed Project, Trees Forever, Total Resources Management Services, Lake Panorama Association, Wildlife Forever, and the Middle Raccoon Regional Watershed Foundation. Each landowner in the watershed received a packet containing program information, and application to the program, and the National Buffer Strip Initiative brochures.

Landowners who signed up for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) filter strips and also signed up for the Stream Initiative Program were eligible for a one-time bonus payment of $100 per acre, 50 percent reimbursement for native grass plantings, and up to $2.50/rod for fencing materials. In addition, the local FFA chapter would come out and build the fence, with the program donating money for the chapter's help. FFA chapters also were encouraged to call these landowners about Monsanto's Operation Green Stripe program. If the chapter contacted a landowner and the landowner put in a filter strip, Monsanto would give the chapter $100 per strip up to $1,000.

The Stream Initiative Program has helped bring in more than 80 CRP applications for filter strips, with more coming in every day. The Carroll County Pheasants Forever Chapter is donating seed and labor to help get the filter strips planted. For more information, contact David York, NRCS District Conservationist, Carroll County, IA, at 712-792-9422.

Clean Water Program Provides a Model for Locally Led Conservation - The Worcester Conservation District, MA, is now in its second year of a project called "Partnerships for Clean Water." In phase one, the District and its partners surveyed the area's natural resource needs, held 8 workshops to address those needs, and produced 11 technical bulletins to answer commonly asked questions and sent them to municipal boards. Sources of help were identified. Resource needs included stormwater management, wetland delineation, and erosion and sediment control. Phase two is just beginning and will involve protection of water supply areas serving three-fourths of Massachusetts' residents.

To give the locally led conservation effort another boost, a Rhode Island Conservation District, through an agreement with NRCS, has hired Peggy Fantozzi to facilitate development of the locally led concept in the 12 Northeast States. The 6-month assignment will provide a solid communication network among all the States as they meet the challenges of the 1996 Farm Bill. For more information on locally led conservation and how to put it into action, contact Peggy Fantozzi at 508-759-4363.

CORRECTED INTERNET ADDRESS:

National Envirothon - www.dunnscomp.com\natenv.

UPCOMING EVENTS

June - Dairy Month and National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month

June 1-7 - International Volunteers Week

June 5 - World Environment Day

June 12-14 - American Rivers Third National Urban Rivers Symposium and Awards, "The River as a Community Gathering Place," Arlington, VA. For conference information, call 202-234-3880 or e-mail balcomgrp@aol.com.

June 15-18 - National Association of RC&D Councils Conference, St. Paul, MN. Contact: Becky Lane, 202-546-8800 or write to: National Association of RC&D Councils, 509 Capital Court, NE, Suite 100, Washington, D.C. 20002.

June 24-26 - National Agricultural Resource Management Planning Conference, Omni Royal Orleans, New Orleans, LA. Call Lyn Kirschner at 765-494-1827 or send e-mail to: kirschner@ctic.purdue.edu.

July 17-19 - Land Improvement Contractors of America Summer Meeting, Providence, RI. Contact Wayne F. Maresch at 301-248-9313 or e-mail to: Wayne F86@aol.com.

July 22-25 - The 52nd Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference; Interactions, Managing Ecosystems on a Watershed Basis; Toronto, Canada. Contact: Jennifer Pemble, 800-843-7645. Conference information can also be found at: http://www.swcs.org/AnnCon.htm.

August 3-6 - Fifth Conference on Agroforestry in North America, "Exploring the Opportunities for Agroforestry in Changing Rural Landscapes," Ithaca, NY. Contact Cornell University Conference Services 607-255-6290 or visit the Association for Temperate Agroforestry Web site at: www.missouri.edu/~afta/afta_home.html.

August 10-14 - American Society of Agricultural Engineers National Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.

September 1-6 - The 9th World Water Congress, International Water Resources Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Contact Aly M. Shady at 819-994-4098 or e-mail aly_shady@ACDI-CIDS.gc.ca.

QUOTE

"Natural resource concerns today are different from what they were in the Dust Bowl era, so we ask different questions and seek different insights. Fortunately, we have the latest in modern technology to help interpret today's information. Our grandchildren may well raise questions we have not yet thought of and use technologies we can only imagine. Such realities are an integral part of our continued learning and living on this vast and complex American landscape."

--America's Private Land, A Geography of Hope.

NRCS This Week is issued weekly by the Conservation Communications Staff, NRCS headquarters, Washington, D.C., and posted on the NRCS Home Page at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov. Please send correspondence and material via e-mail to: nancy.garlitz@usda.gov or mail to Editor, "NRCS This Week," NRCS, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013 or FAX to Editor, "NRCS This Week," 202-690-1221.

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