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| Friday, April 21, 2000 Washington, DC. |
Secretary Glickman Announces New Continuous CRP Incentives - Secretary Glickman recently announced a new package of incentives for the continuous CRP sign-up. The new incentives should prove attractive to landowners in many parts of the country. They include:
"Higher payments should persuade more landowners to participate, protecting ever more environmentally sensitive land along streams, rivers, wetlands, and public water supplies," said Glickman. NRCS will help get the word to producers about the new incentives.
The USDA news release ("Glickman Announces Up to $350 Million in Increased Payments for the Conservation Reserve Program's Continuous Signup") and questions and answers sheet can be found at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/news/releases/2000/april.htm For additional information, contact Max Schnepf, NRCS Coordinator for the National Conservation Buffer Initiative, phone: (515) 289-2331, x15, e-mail: maxs@swcs.org
New Carbon Brochure to be Distributed Soon -
Within the next couple of weeks, each State will receive multiple copies of a new brochure called "Growing Carbon: A New Crop That Helps Agricultural Producers and the Climate, Too." This brochure will provide groundwork for agency staff and the conservation partnership to understand this important issue and help answer clients' questions. Enough copies will be provided for distribution to technical and professional staffs, RC&D council members, conservation district boards, and other appropriate State agencies and stakeholders. Field offices will receive 40 copies. Additional copies may be downloaded at http://www.swcs.org, or ordered through 888-LANDCARE. If you have any technical questions regarding this brochure, please contact Jeri Berc, Special Assistant to the Deputy Chief for Soil Survey and Resource Assessment, at jeri.berc@usda.gov or on (202) 720-2534.
FOCUS ON THE FIELD
Senator Joins NRCS, Partners for EWP Project Groundbreaking - U.S. Senator Jack Reed joined Mayor William Macera, State Conservationist Joseph DelVecchio, and several other State, Federal, and local officials in Johnston for a groundbreaking celebration for the Pocasset River restoration project under the EWP program. NRCS supplied technical expertise and engineering services. The cost is estimated to be $25,000. This is the first time in 20 years that EWP has been used in Rhode Island.
A significant rainstorm and Hurricane Floyd last September caused severe erosion to the Pocasset River. Mayor Macera requested Federal assistance to restore a 275-foot section of the river. Jean Lynch, a resident of the Town of Johnston, was instrumental in calling attention to the erosion along the riverbank. Lynch contacted the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District (NRICD), to inquire whether there were any Federal programs that could help the town. NRICD put her in touch with NRCS and through the EWP Program the riverbank will be restored. A brilliant example of what a local resident can accomplish. Your contact is Jeanne Comerford, Program Support Specialist, on (401) 828-1300.
Landowner, Through FIP Partnership, Protects Parcels in Puget Sound - As the pressures of rapidly increasing human populations continue in the Puget Sound region of Washington State, many timber companies are subdividing their low elevation forest land holdings into 10- and 20-acre parcels. These smaller parcels are then sold to private individuals seeking rural acreage.
Hans Dankers bought one of these parcels in Snohomish County, Washington. The parcel had 15- to 20-year-old Douglas-fir saplings that were competing with each other for light, plus understocked areas that were filling in with red alder trees and brush.
Hans contacted both the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and NRCS for assistance in managing his newly acquired timberland. With outstanding cooperation between the two agencies, Hans applied for and was awarded Forestry Incentives Program cost share for non-commercial thinning and pruning for his property.
An experienced contractor under the guidance of the DNR forester, selected the final crop trees, pruned the limbs from the lower portions of their stems and cut out the trees that were in competition with the selected crop trees.
Hans's excitement about owning the forest property extended to wildlife as well as fiber. He began installing bat boxes on his wooded property under the guidance of a DNR wildlife biologist. Encouraged by his success, Mr. Dankers coordinated a field meeting with the NRCS FIP administrator, a DNR forester, the DNR wildlife biologist, and four of the adjoining landowners. The entourage walked portions of each of the neighbors' forestland. At the end of the field day, two of the adjoining neighbors had signed FIP cost share applications for non-commercial thinning.
Hans Dankers has now purchased additional small parcels of timberland in Snohomish County and has begun the FIP cost share process to bring these parcels into a managed condition.
Your contact is Robert Molleur, NRCS Resource Conservationist, National Headquarters, on 202-720-6521.
NRCS Alaska Aids Bering Sea Restoration Project -
NRCS Alaska is collaborating with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on its long-range Bering Sea Restoration Project. NOAA is compiling a comprehensive database of resource information and ecological conditions of coastal lands in the Bering Sea region, and implementing restoration work. Mandated by Congress to restore degraded sites such as oil contaminated soils on the Pribiloff Islands, NOAA is building on existing resource data from Alaska State and Federal agencies. NRCS is providing GIS data from soil and range vegetation surveys on St. Paul Island in the Pribiloffs gathered in assisting the Alaska Native TDX Corporation with reindeer herd management planning. Your contact is J. David Swanson, Alaska State Range Conservationist, on (907) 271-2424.
EQIP Assistance to Landowner Makes News, Springs Springs - Efforts by a Texas Hill Country landowner to improve his land through technical and financial assistance through NRCS' Environmental Quality Incentives Program were broadcast throughout the Austin area on KXAN-TV. NRCS Rangeland Management Specialist Charles Cowsert reports that the landowner used EQIP assistance to clear juniper trees to improve wildlife habitat and diversity and reduce erosion. Property owners in the area report that creeks, seeps, and springs from old sites began to reappear following clearing of juniper trees. Junipers consume large amounts of water and discourage the growth of plants around them. Your contact is H. Harold Bryant, State Public Affairs Specialist, on (254) 742-9811.
In ND, Mobile Learning Lab Teaches Kids Connections to Agriculture - To teach kids about their everyday connections to agriculture, the North Dakota Agriculture in the Classroom Council has renovated a 30-foot-by-8-foot camper trailer to take their show on the road. Christened the "AGcitement," the mobile teaching and learning facility helps students gain a greater understanding of agriculture. It features displays and materials that integrate with science, math, social studies, language arts, and other studies. Exhibits and materials will be changed regularly.
In conjunction with Ag-Earth Week, AGcitement made its debut by travelling to Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, and Bismarck. It was filled with displays and other materials. The theme of the NRCS display was "Backyard Conservation," which was complete with handouts, bird feeders, and other items.
Initially, staff from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture will travel with the trailer. Plans call for trained volunteers to eventually take over the operation of the mobile facility. Teachers in North Dakota or groups interested in a visit from AGcitement should call the State Agriculture Department on (701) 328-2231. Your contact is Arlene Deustcher, State Public Affairs Specialist, on (701) 530-2099.
South Carolina Initiates Employee Awareness Program Pilot - NRCS South Carolina wrapped up a 1-month Employee Awareness Program pilot project with a Hispanic employee from the West Region. Selected for the detail was Danny Branch, a district conservationist from Cuba, New Mexico. Branch is headquartered in the Calhoun/Richland County Field Office and assists District Conservationist Jim Wilson with technical activities ranging from water quality, nutrient management (AFO/CAFO) to pastureland, cropland, forestland and urban land. South Carolina Hispanic Emphasis Program Manager and soil scientist Dennis DeFrancesco initiated the project to expose conservation professionals to natural resource work being done around the country. Your contact is Perdita Belk, State Public Affairs Specialist, on (803) 765-5402.
NRCS WV Grows Interest in Native Plants - More than 175 people attended the Native Plant Seminar held at Canaan Valley State Park. Native plants that could be used for landscape management and a list of alien and invasive species was compiled. NRCS will continue to work with other groups to further define these issues. Coming up: a meeting will be held for the development of a Web site for sources of plant materials and recommendations. A link will be established to NRCS's PLANTS Web site. Your contact is Peg Reese, State Public Affairs Specialist, on (304) 284-7547.
Forest Insect, Disease CD Available from U of Georgia -
Identification of forest insects and diseases, and recognition of their damage are important for Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as well as for training and education. A 300-image photo CD series now available from the University of Georgia can be used to support and assist the implementation of forest IPM in North America. The photographs were taken by many different photographers and were obtained from several image collections as part of a larger project being undertaken by the authors. The high-resolution, full-color Photo CD Image Pac format captures all of the image data contained on 35mm film. A one-user license copy of the Kodak Access 3.1 software for viewing and manipulation of Photo CD images is on CD Vol. 1. Your contacts for more information or to order a CD are Dr. G. K. Douce on (912) 386-3424 and Dr. D. J. Moorhead (912) 386-3418.
STATSGO and SSURGO - From the National Soil Survey Center
State Soil Geographic Database (STATSGO) - STATSGO is a collection of digitized State General Soil Maps compiled at a scale of 1:250,000 (1:1,000,000 for Alaska) for all lands (private and public) in the United States. STATSGO is extensively used by Federal, State, and local agencies, international groups, and the private sector as a layer in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for making soil interpretations, assessments of soil resources, ecoregion mapping, and policy planning. STATSGO was designed to provide quality soil information, for multi-county, State, multi-State, regional, and national extents.
STATSGO began in 1984. It is used extensively by NRCS, other federal and state agencies, universities, industry, and the general public. Most regional or national soil thematic maps are made using the 1994 STATSGO data.
STATSGO Update Team - The Soil Survey Division has established and given high priority to a STATSGO (State Soil Geographic Database) Update Team for FY 2000. The mission of the STATSGO Update Team is to provide standards and guidance for the development of map data, attribute data, and metadata into a high quality soil geographic database that will better support national, agency and customer needs. The team will focus on data quality, data integration, data delivery in formats compatible with mainstream GIS software and computer platforms, and data use including technical support, user guides and documentation, and software interfaces. STATSGO will be updated to "The Digital General Soil Map of the United States," which is planned for release to the public during FY 2001.
To learn more about STATSGO... - Please visit http://www.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/stat_data.html To participate in online STATSGO update discussions, visit http://www.nssc.nrcs.usda.gov Choose NSSC Discussion Forums in the left frame near the bottom and click Soil Geography.
Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) - Another NRCS digitized soil survey product is SSURGO, a digitized soil survey product for individual counties, parts of counties, or multi-counties at scales generally ranging from 1:12,000 to 1:24,000. SSURGO is designed to provide detailed soil information for farm planning. It is used by NRCS in delivery of conservation programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Program and Environmental Quality Incentive Program, to individual cooperators and landowners. More than 800 soil survey areas are presently digitized. Twenty-six hundred soil surveys are expected to be digitized by 2004.
Please visit http://www.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/ssur_data.html to learn more about SSURGO.
CIVIL RIGHTS
NCRC Holds First Meeting, Addresses Civil Rights Issues - The National Civil Rights Committee (NCRC) recently conducted its first meeting of the year. The meeting, held in Washington, D.C., addressed a variety of issues and concerns presented by States. Included were the needs to fill national SEPM positions, criteria for acceptance into the Graduate Studies program, an NCRC Web page, and evaluation of candidates for the Chief's Civil Rights Award and the National Civil Rights awards.
The NCRC is composed of a diverse group of NRCS employees, who represent the wide variety of grade levels, classifications, races, and ethnic groups that make up the agency. NCRC serves as the sounding board for employees and customers to raise issues and make recommendations to the Chief regarding civil rights in employment, as well as access to programs.
The Committee encourages all employees to bring issues of concern to their State civil rights committee for forwarding to the NCRC. Any civil rights concerns, suggestions, and questions that may have national implications should be sent to Ken Kaneshiro, NCRC chair, at kkaneshiro@hi.nrcs.usda.gov or to any current member of the Committee. There will be a vacancy announcement in the near future to fill a current post on the committee.
Committee members are Terry Cagle, National Headquarters; Barbara Carey, Utah; Clifford Denshire, Wyoming; Ivan Dozier, Illinois; Kenneth Kaneshiro, Hawaii; Virginia C. Lewis, New Mexico; Fernando Garza, Texas; Sharon Gipson, Southeast Regional Office; Irwin J. Russell, North Dakota; Roy Toney, Kentucky; Christina Turner, New Jersey; and Shiraz Vira, Washington.
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Wallace Wins Ag Honor Society Award - The NRCS East Region is pleased to announce that Margo Wallace, Connecticut State Conservationist, has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Connecticut Chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, the Honor Society of Agriculture. The award was bestowed on Margo at a dinner in her honor on April 4. Your contact is Terry Heide, Northeast Region Public Affairs Specialist, at Terry.Heide@ea.nrcs.usda.gov
Work on Stabilization Project Brings Award to TN Earth Team - NRCS' Rhea County (Tennessee) Earth Team was selected as Volunteer Group of the Year in the Southeast Region for its contributions to the Piney River Streambank Stabilization Project in Spring City. The primary goal of this project was to restore and stabilize the streambank and protect it from further erosion. Streambank stabilization activities will begin about 1,000 feet upstream of the confluence of the Piney River and Watts Bar Reservoir. NRCS and its Earth Team volunteers partnered with Federal, State, and local governments, concerned citizens, and civil organizations to carry out the project, especially representatives and professionals from Spring City, Rhea County, Tennessee Valley Authority, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, and Rhea County Soil Conservation District. Your contact is Lavonne Winters, Public Affairs Specialist, on (615) 736-5490.
CONFERENCE & TRAINING CONNECTION
April 21, 2000
As a service to NRCS personnel and the agency's partners, "NRCS This Week" offers the following by-subject list of conferences and training sessions. To add an event, please send an e-mail message to brad.fisher@usda.gov
