National Conservation Buffer Science and Technology Conference - This week at the National Conservation Buffer Science and Technology Conference in San Antonio, TX, Acting Chief Tom Weber pledged a continued commitment to support the buffer initiative at all levels of the agency. He said, "Resources will be directed to those activities that will be most beneficial at the field level - actions that will bring the 'biggest payback for the dollar,' so to speak."

"In addition to the environmental benefits gained from the initiative, there is the reward of improved relationships with landowners. This can lead to landowners being more receptive to future participation in conservation programs and personal involvement in natural resource management. We know we still face some skepticism about government programs in the countryside. Anything we can do collectively to lessen the mistrust or uncertainty surrounding Federal assistance is a step forward in protecting the health of the land."

During the conference, ideas and knowledge were shared. The latest information on buffer technology was discussed. Conference participants helped establish a research agenda for conservation buffer technology that will be essential to NRCS technology transfer activities and the quality of technical assistance. Weber said, "I can't stress enough what an outstanding model partnership this initiative has become. It truly represents what can be achieved - how both producers and the landscape can benefit - when public agencies, the business community, and private organizations pool their resources and combine their strengths."

Tom Hebert, Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment to Leave USDA - Tom Hebert has announced that he will resign from his current position, effective February 14, to work in private industry as a consultant. He has served in the current position for the last 4 years and has a total of 10 years of Federal service. He intends to maintain his close affiliation with the natural resources conservation effort.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Set at $200 Million for 1998 - Secretary Glickman has announced 1998 State funding allocations for $200 million under EQIP. Under the program, USDA can provide cost-share assistance to family-sized farms and ranches for up to 75 percent of the costs of certain environmental protection practices, such as grassed waterways, filter strips, manure management facilities, capping of abandoned wells, and wildlife habitat enhancement.

EQIP was authorized by the 1996 Farm Bill to address agriculture's priority natural resource and environmental problems. It reflects the commitment of USDA and the Congress to a flexible, effective, voluntary conservation program for agricultural land. NRCS administers the program.

State	Amount	State	Amount
Alabama	$3,200,000	Nebraska	$5,023,000
Alaska	432,000	Nevada	1,507,000
Arizona	5,069,000	New Hampshire	372,000
Arkansas	6,490,000	New Jersey	1,070,000
California	6,386,000	New Mexico	3,865,000
Colorado	7,558,000	New York	4,560,000
Connecticut	614,000	North Carolina	5,720,000
Delaware	4,774,000	North Dakota	4,479,000
Florida	1,113,000	Ohio	3,284,000
Georgia	4,267,000	Oklahoma	5,391,000
Hawaii	1,051,000	Oregon	4,219,000
Idaho	4,198,000	Pacific Basin	516,000
Illinois	4,143,000	Pennsylvania	4,180,000
Indiana	3,180,000	Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands	1,159,000
Iowa	5,490,000	Rhode Island	245,000
Kansas	5,188,000	South Carolina	2,080,000
Kentucky	2,891,000	South Dakota	4,348,000
Louisiana	5,311,000	Tennessee	3,056,000
Maine	2,545,000	Texas	16,335,000
Maryland	2,249,000	Utah	3,838,000
Massachusetts	860,000	Vermont	1,218,000
Michigan	4,157,000	Virginia	2,631,000
Minnesota	5,569,000	Washington	4,999,000
Mississippi	5,391,000	West Virginia	1,809,000
Missouri	4,975,000	Wisconsin	4,356,000
Montana	6,264,000	Wyoming	3,875,000
Subtotal Distributed			197,500,000
Not Yet Distributed			2,500,000
EQIP U.S. Total			200,000,000

USDA Accepts 5.9 Million Acres into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) - Secretary Glickman announced that USDA will accept 5.9 million acres of environmentally sensitive farmland into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

The 5.9 million acres accepted will result in a 13 percent increase in environmental benefits compared to the acres accepted in the 15th signup and these acres have double the average environmental benefits of the program from one year ago.

The environmental benefits of the 5.9 million acres accepted are significant due to a combination of factors, including producer willingness to plant vegetation on their land that provides better wildlife benefits; the restoration of more than 300,000 acres of wetlands and protective upland areas and 57,000 acres of rare and declining habitat; the enrollment of over 3 million acres in conservation priority areas; and 150,000 acres of trees.

The new enrollment will bring the total acres in the CRP to 29.9 million acres on October 1, 1998. This compares to 28.7 million acres currently enrolled, of which 4.8 million are subject to contracts that will expire September 30, 1998. The statutory maximum number of acres that can be enrolled in the program at any one time is 36.4 million. Landowners offered 9.5 million acres during the 16th sign up. The Farm Service Agency will immediately begin to notify farmers and ranchers of the Department's decisions regarding their CRP offers.

The following gives a comparison of acres offered and acres approved for the 16th signup.

State	Signup 16 Offers (Acres)	Total Approved Signup 16	State	Signup 16 Offers (Acres)	Total Approved Signup 16
Alabama	145,287	81,227	Nebraska	316,489	178,315
Alaska	138	0	Nevada	597	544
Arkansas	41,350	12,058	New Jersey	1,603	951
California	17,142	15,111	New Mexico	12,573	9,992
Colorado	506,190	362,645	New York	12,847	11,293
Connecticut	102	72	North Carolina	28,541	13,499
Delaware	472	404	North Dakota	1,144,009	549,908
Florida	15,699	6,655	Ohio	65,734	33,976
Georgia	102,910	27,016	Oklahoma	341,323	136,122
Idaho	84,087	63,299	Oergon	82,945	60,135
Illinois	203,016	133,750	Pennsylvania	16,021	14,850
Indiana	91,298	46,440	Puerto Rico	370	363
Iowa	446,461	341,234	South Carolina	61,660	23,874
Kansas	544,927	369,317	South Dakota	616,273	154,506
Kentucky	76,553	49,468	Tennessee	73,965	31,495
Louisiana	45,212	30,421	Texas	1,397,676	944,792
Maine	9,052	4,423	Utah	53,952	40,155
Maryland	3,653	2,103	Virginia	18,996	8,132
Massachusetts	247	15	Washington	591,217	483,918
Michigan	70,798	50,408	West Virginia	263	120
Minnesota	519,989	455,178	Wisconsin	169,005	138,140
Mississippi	142,403	89,364	Wyoming	57,342	30,005
Missouri	295,309	178,760
Montana	1,079,134	739,920	US	9,504,835	5,924,375

Agricultural Outlook Forum '98 - This year's Agricultural Outlook Forum will take place February 23-24, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C. The program will include a conservation session, Conservation Issues for the New Millennium, on February 23 at 3:45 p.m. The panel will explore the topics of Growing with Conservation, Conservation Programs after 2002, Managing Global Change through Soil Conservation, and Nutrient Management in Agriculture.

For registration details, call 202-720-3050; e-mail: agforum@oce.usda.gov, or write to Outlook Forum '98, 5143 South Building, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-3812.

Conservation Partnerships Information Available from NRCS - A new technical report, The Conservation Partnerships: Indicators of Success, discusses what makes public and private partnerships successful. The report provides well documented methodology for ensuring and assessing partnership success. The indicators will prove useful to partnership participants, both inside and outside NRCS. In addition, a technical note is being developed that will provide NRCS employees with information on some of the most important aspects of successful partnerships. It is scheduled to be available in March.

Social Factors Influencing Farm Bill Program Products Available - The NRCS Social Sciences Institute is producing a poster and a related booklet entitled, Social Factors Influencing Implementation of Programs: Conservation and the 1996 Farm Bill. Both the poster and the calendar identify social obstacles and strategies to overcome the obstacles for the Conservation Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Flood Protection Program, and Grazing Lands. The wall calendar was developed to highlight strategies to increase Farm Bill participation by minority groups such as part-time farmers or absentee owners. Distribution is planned for late winter.

Hydrologist Begins Detail at Headquarters - Senior Water Supply Hydrologist, Kenneth C. Jones, from NRCS' National Water & Climate Center in Portland, OR, has begun an extended detail with the NRCS Conservation Engineering Division (CED). He will provide water supply and climate liaison to the World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB). Ken will also provide CED and WAOB with on-site, operational hydrometeorological support during the 1998 water year. This will include operational assessment of the western U.S. snowpack and water supply conditions, in response to the uncertainty created by the El Nino-Southern Oscillation activity in the Eastern Pacific. Other water supply analyses of benefit to both agencies will also be investigated.

IN THE FIELD

Secretary Glickman Announces Establishment of a National Water Management Center in Arkansas: On January 30, Secretary Glickman announced the establishment of a National Water Management Center in Little Rock, AR. The center will help private landowners and local and State governments solve water resource problems. Additionally, the center will provide information to field conservationists and landowners on nutrient and pest management plans, animal manure management systems, and other conservation systems to protect water quality.

This center will be operated by NRCS and will be linked through the agency to other centers with expertise in climate and water supply forecasting, soils, natural resource inventory and analysis, and information technology. Conservation information developed by these centers is provided to landowners by NRCS and conservation districts.

Florida to Host Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Pilot Site Meeting - On February 9 and 10, State offices for the three Food and Agriculture Council (FAC) partner agencies in Gainesville, FL, will host an organizational meeting that begins a nine-State piloting effort of USDA's reengineered business processes for USDA Service Centers. Present for the kick-off will be Greg Carnill, National FAC Executive Officer.

In early December, the National FAC identified a small group of Service Centers across the Nation to serve as pilot sites for the first "real-world" testing of new business process recommendations. The Okeechobee Service Center in Okeechobee, Florida, was one of nine service centers chosen. Later that month, the piloting effort in Florida was expanded to include the FSA, NRCS and RD State offices test of the reengineered processes in the Combined Administrative Management System (CAMS) areas of hiring, performance management, and training.

The eight other USDA Service Centers that were selected are: Snow Hill, MD; Scottsburg, IN; Los Lunas, NM; Abilene, TX; Paola, KS; Rolla, ND; Sacramento, CA; The Dalles, OR.

The testing efforts of the nine pilot sites will determine the cost benefit of the new processes and the viability of the supporting technology. Personnel at the pilot sites will learn new ways of doing business and act as a single service delivery unit that will cross traditional agency boundaries of responsibility. Pilot sites will be equipped with updated equipment to support the new way of doing business.

West Virginia NRCS Employee Appears on Channel Earth TV - The leader of West Virginia's major land resource area No.13 Stephen Carpenter, recently appeared on Channel Earth's Back To Campus program. He discussed how NRCS, West Virginia University, and the West Virginia State Soil Conservation Agency pooled resources to purchase Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment enabling the agencies to collect, share, and use natural resource data. He explained that the new technology has greatly increased the speed and accuracy of gathering natural resource data.

CONSTITUENCY AND PARTNERSHIP NEWS

League of Women Voters (LWV) Kicks-Off Drinking Water Education Initiative - The LWV recently launched its latest public education initiative. The "Tools for Drinking Water Protection Community Outreach Packet" provides tools, guidelines, and recommendations for creating awareness of drinking water sources and activating communities to protect their water. It includes: Tools for Drinking Water Protection, a 90-minute videotape; Tools for Drinking Water Protection Leader's Guide; and Protect your Groundwater: Educating for Action.

The goal of the initiative is to provide citizens and decision makers with planning and management tools to create public awareness and educate the public and government officials on drinking water issues. It also encourages communities to work together to develop successful local water protection programs.

The Tools for Drinking Water Protection Outreach Packet can be ordered from the League of Women Voters Publications Department, 1730 M Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20036. Ask for publication No. 1070 (the cost is $25) or call 202-429-1965; fax: 202-429-0854. You can visit the LWV web site to learn more about the program at http://www.lwv.org/drinkingwater and select "LWV WaterWEB" from the main menu.

UPCOMING

February 10-12 - Soil and Water Conservation Society's West North Central Manure Management Conference, "Managing Manure in Harmony with the Environment and Society," Iowa State Center, Scheman Building, Ames, IA. Contact Bob Ball at 573-876-0900 or write to NRCS, Parkade Center, Suite 250, 601 Business Loop 70 West, Columbia, MO 65203.

February 16-20 - International Erosion Control Association 29th Annual Conference and Trade Exposition, Reno, NV. For information e-mail: ecinfo@ieca.org and enter "Reno" in the subject field or call 1-800-455-4322 or 970-879-3010. Register online at http://www.ieca.org.

February 18-21 - Land Improvement Contractors of America annual convention, Opryland Hotel, Nashville, TN. Call Wayne Maresch at 301-248-5749 or e-mail: WayneF86@aol.com).

February 21-24 - Winter Meeting of the National Governors' Association, Washington, D.C.

February 23-24 - Agricultural Outlook Forum 98, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C. For registration details, call 202-720-3050; e-mail: agforum@oce.usda.gov, or write to Outlook Forum 98, 5143 South Building, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-3812.

March 16-17 - Idaho Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Association Annual Meeting, Boise, Idaho. For more information, contact Harry Lee at 208-885-6900.

March 19-21 - The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment Conference, "Water and Sustainable Development" International Conference. Contact the International Office for Water, 21, rue de Madrid, 75008 Paris, France; fax: 33 (0) 1-40-08-01-45; e-mail: ciedd@oieau.fr. Visit the web site at http://www.eaudd.com/.

March 23-24 - Clearwater RC&D Area workshop for the private forest landowner, "Forest Stewardship Management: New and Unique Opportunities." Best Western University Inn, 1516 Pullman Rd., Moscow, Idaho. Contact Dan Pierce at 208-882-2411.

March 26-28 - 3rd Annual Timber Utilization Conference and Equipment Exposition, Fountainhead Resort, Eufaula, OK. Sponsored by Ouachita Mountains RC&D, Inc. For information call 918-423-2479 or 580-873-9277; e-mail: omrcandd@icok.net. Visit the web site at http://www.icok.net/~omrcandd/.

April 6-7 - First National Mitigation Banking Conference, J.W. Marriott Hotel, Washington, D.C. Conference registration is being handled by the Terrene Institute, 4 Herbert St., Alexandria, VA 22305; or call 703-548-5473; fax: 703-548-6299. For more information contact Gary Wooten, Watersheds and Wetlands Division, National Headquarters, at 202-690-1588; e-mail: gary.wooten@usda.gov.

May 4-10 - Public Service Recognition Week, National Mall Event. For more information contact Gretchen Hakola 202-410-4352; fax: 202-401-4433; e-mail permail@patriot.net.

September 28-30 - Wisconsin Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Association Annual Meeting, Manitowoc, WI. Contact Greg Hines at 920-683-5196.

May 23-28, 1999 - 10th International Soil Conservation Organization (ISCO) Conference "Sustaining the Global Farm," Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. For information call 765-494-8683; fax: 765-494-5948 c/o ISCO99; e-mail: isco99@ecn.purdue.edu. Write to ISCO99, Purdue University, 1196 SOIL Building, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1196.

QUOTE

"If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking."

--George S. Patton, Jr. (1885-1945), Commander, Third U.S. Army 1944-45.

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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