USDA Administrative Convergence Implementation Planning Team (ACIPT) Functional Teams Announced - Members of the 5 ACIPT functional teams were recently announced. Each team will submit a report containing staffing plans and recommendations on how its administrative or information technology function should operate at all levels in the Support Services Bureau. Team members are listed below.

Information Technology Functional Team:
George Aldaya, FSA - Team Leader	Bernie Shafer, NRCS
Thomas Christensen, NRCS - Deputy Team Leader	Geraldine Osborn, NRCS
Frank Shehan, FSA	Barbara Hood Kellar, NRCS
Jerry Patterson, FSA	Carol Henson, RD
Lisa Sauer, FSA	Sharon Randolph, RD
Chet Gurka, FSA	Bill Dallas, RD
Earl Cosby, NRCS	Lynn Conger, RD
	Steve Hollis, FSA

Financial Management (FM) Functional Team:
Terry Young, RD - Team Leader	Connie Adams, RD
Jim Little, FSA - Deputy Team Leader	Chris Burgess, RD
Les Flandermeyer, FSA	Keith Laird, NRCS
Loretta Burns, FSA	Mildred Watkins, NRCS
Glen Pfeffer, FSA	Edna B. Goode, RD
Gloria Brown, FSA	Vicki Sult, NRCS
Bill Davis, FSA	Larry K. Scott, NRCS
Vicki Bateman, RD	Bob Ray, FSA
Gary Arness, RD	Pam Jackson, FSA
	Christina Thomas, RD

Bureau Funding FM Subteam:
Vicki Bateman, RD - Deputy Team Leader	Dave Hall, FSA
Dennis Kaplan, OBPA	Keith Laird, NRCS
Allan Johnson, OCFO	Ed Rall, FSA
Jim Newby, RD

Management Advisory Board:
Homer Wilkes, NRCS	Frank Riley, FSA
Karen Karlinchak, NRCS	Loren Nelson, RD
Tom Grau, FSA	Tim Ryan, RD

Human Resources Functional Team:
Judy Baker, NRCS - Team Leader	Patricia Miller, FSA
Vicki Braun, RD - Deputy Team Leader	Salomon Ramirez, FSA
Barbara Smith, NRCS	Debra Petree, RD
Martha Marbury, NRCS	Jim Vollmer, RD
Al Wolfe, NRCS	Tom Kostel, RD
Marilyn Pate, FSA	Betty Vaughn, RD
Mary Winters, FSA

Staff Support:
Mary Fleming, NRCS	Gary Hilding, FSA
Cheryl Brock, NRCS	Anna Conner, FSA
Matt Spann, NRCS	Brenda Marcus, RD
Noreen Joice, FSA	Michael Tolle, RD

Civil Rights Functional Team:
Mae Massey, FAS - Team Leader	Anthony Harrison, FSA
Jo Williams, NRCS - Deputy Team Leader	Barbara Nelson, FSA
Patricia Bernal, FSA	Regina, Clairborne, RD
Bea Jackson, NRCS	Alan Epps, NRCS
David Little, RD	Lue Walters, NRCS
Clarence Williams, RD	Sonya Slack, FSA

Management Services Functional Team:
Chris Gomez, RD - Team Leader	Mark Christians, NRCS
Waymon Ponds, FSA - Deputy Team Leader	Terry Muse, NRCS
Sheila Palmer, RD	Chris Reagan, FSA
Richard Perryman, RD	Steve Cyriacks, FSA
Carol Stevens, RD	Edna Harrell-Davis, RD
Edward Biggers, NRCS	Steve Jorgenson, RD
Sheila Leonard, NRCS

Earth Day Updates - Individuals who want to keep up with current "Agriculture and the Environment: A Growing Partnership" Earth Day events and developments, can visit the website at: http://www.nasda-hq.org/nasda/earth/index.htm.

Personnel Changes - From June 15, 1998 to August 15, 1998, Larry Yamamoto, Resource Conservationist, Hawaii, will be the Acting Director of the Pacific Basin Area.

Effective June 8, James Culver, Supervisory Soil Scientist, will be the Acting Director of the National Soil Survey Center until further notice.

 

Effective June 14, 1998, Rick Swenson will be detailed as the Acting Director, Operations Management and Oversight Division, for 3 months.

IN THE FIELD

Celebration to Mark Site of First Upstream Flood Control Dam - On July 3, there will be a celebration in Cordell, Oklahoma, to mark the 50th anniversary of the first upstream flood control dam built in the Nation. NRCS Chief Pearlie Reed is scheduled to speak this year, along with Congressman Frank Lucas and Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating. On July 8, 1948, Hugh Hammond Bennett, Chief of the Soil Conservation Service gave the dedication speech at the newly constructed Cloud Creek Site One dam.

Volunteer Effort Helps to Save Beach Along Gulf of Mexico - More than 50 NRCS Earth Team volunteers recently constructed almost a mile of sand-trapping fence along the Louisiana coast. This effort is the second such project; it has resulted in nearly 10,000 feet of fence being built to help trap sand and sediment along the beach to help rebuild sand dunes. Partners included NRCS, Louisiana Service Commission of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Louisiana Department of Agriculture - Office of Soil and Water Conservation, Lafourche-Terrebonne Soil and Water Conservation District, and Lafourche Parish Coastal Zone Management.

NRCS Participates in Center of Excellence Opening - The NRCS Director, Soil Survey Division, participated last week in the opening ceremony of the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Center of Excellence at Cloquet, Minnesota. The Soil Survey Division is providing a portion of the funds for the center, as it will provide map compilation support for the soil survey program.

CONSTITUENCY AND PARTNERSHIP NEWS

Customer Comment Cards to Be Tested In Six Pilot States - USDA is testing a new process to make it easier for local customers to comment about the service they receive at USDA Service Centers. Early in July, six pilot states - Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Rhode Island, and South Carolina - will test self-addressed, postage-paid customer comment cards. They will be available to USDA customers for mailing to the State Food and Agriculture Council (FAC) where they will be processed by FAC partner agency staff in NRCS, Rural Development, or Farm Service Agency. Complaints will be acknowledged within 10 days and a status report on complaint resolution issued to the customer within 2 weeks of the acknowledgment.

In addition to using the Customer Service Card, USDA customers may also provide comments by calling a national toll-free number and speaking to a customer service representative.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

House Appropriations Full Committee Markup on Agriculture Spending - On Tuesday, June 16, the Full House Appropriations Committee (Chairman Bob Livingston - Louisiana) marked-up the appropriations legislation for agriculture programs. The Committee considered the Subcommittee funding levels for conservation, including $641 million for Conservation Operations and $176 million for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. After Tuesday's markup by the House Appropriations Committee, each spending bill for agriculture will be ready for consideration and passage by both the Senate and House of Representatives. NRCS Legislative Affairs Office has indicated that members of Congress will attempt to bring the Agriculture Appropriations bills to the floor before adjourning for the July 4 recess.

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UPCOMING

June 28-July 2 - The President's Interagency Council on Women will host the "Second International Conference on Women in Agriculture" in Washington, D.C. The conference will be chaired by USDA Under Secretary Jill Long Thompson and will focus on the business of agriculture, the agricultural economy, and the agricultural community. SF-182 training forms are being accepted for the $250 conference registration fee. For more information, contact Robin Bailey at 301-585-1030 or visit the conference web site at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/icwa/.

July 3 - 50th Anniversary Ceremony, Cordell, OK. The ceremony will mark the 50th anniversary of the construction of Cloud Creek Site 1, the first small watershed dam built in the United States.

July 5-9 - Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) Annual Conference, "Balancing Resource Issues," San Diego, CA. For more information, contact Pat Mulligan at 515-289-2331, ext. 17, or visit the SWCS website at: http://www.swcs.org/AnnConf98/ACWelcome.htm.

July 11- 16 - American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) Annual International Meeting, "The Imaginative World of Engineering," Orlando, FL. For more information call the ASAE Meeting and Conference Department at 616-429-0300.

July 12-14 - National Association of Conservation Districts, North Central Regional Meeting, Holiday Inn, Worthington, OH. For more information, contact Brad Ross, 614-265-6614; fax: 614-262-2064.

July 13-15 - Idaho Resource Conservation & Development Association, Summer Meeting and Retreat, University of Idaho Field Campus, McCall, ID. For more information, contact Harry Lee, President, Idaho RC&D Association at 208-885-6900.

July 19-21 - National Association of Conservation Districts, Southeastern Region Meeting, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, San Juan, PR. For more information, contact Robert Raschke at 303-988-1810; fax: 303-988-1896.

July 19-22 - The Iowa State University College of Agriculture and University Extension will host the "Animal Production Systems and the Environment: An International Conference on Odor, Water Quality, Nutrient Management, and Socioeconomic Issues" at the Convention Center in Des Moines, IA. For more information, contact Deb Schmidt, 515-294-5961; e-mail: x1schmid@exnet.iastate.edu.

July 20-21 - Federal Women's Program Managers Training Conference, Washington Hilton and Towers Hotel, Washington, D. C. For more information, contact Sheila Greene at 202-690-0697.

July 22-24 - Federally Employed Women, Inc. will host the 29th National Training Program, Washington Hilton and Towers Hotel, Washington, D. C. For more information, contact Sheila Greene at 202-690-0697.

July 27-August 1 - 11th National Envirothon, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI. For more information, contact Brenda Weiser at 800-825-5547, ext. 27; or e-mail: envirothon@nacdnet.org.

August 9-14 - Ninth North American Forest Soils Conference, "Forest Soils and Ecosystem Sustainability." Granlibakken Conference Center, Tahoe City, CA. Information and registration form available at http://weber.u.washington.edu/~robh/S-7/NAFSC, or e-mail: jdjoslin@tva.gov; or fax: 423-632-1493.

August 13 - 6th Annual Sustainable Agriculture and Integrated Pest Management Field Day - Manure and Nutrient Management, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland. For more information, contact Judy Holliday at 301 504-6537; fax: 301 504-6491; or e-mail: holliday@asrr.arsusda.gov.

September 27-30 - Thorne Ecological Institute host's "Peaks to Prairies: A Conference On Watershed Stewardship," Sustaining Communities and the Environment" at the Rushmore Plaza, Holiday Inn, Rapid City, South Dakota. For more information call 303-499-3647; fax: 303-499-8340; or e-mail: dir@thorneecoinst.org.

October 5-9 - Joint meeting of the State Resource Conservationists and State Conservation Engineers, Reno, Nevada. For more information, contact David Thackeray at 202-720-0134; or email: david.thackeray@usda.gov.

October 11-14 - The Association of Dam Safety Officials will host "Dam Safety '98," Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, NV. For more information, call 606-257-5140; fax: 606-323-1958; or e-mail: damsafety@aol.com.

November 10-13 - ETC/Environmental Technology China will present "The 4th International Exhibition on Environmental Protection, Pollution Control and Green Production Technology," China International Exhibition Centre, Beijing, P.R., China. For more information, contact Rebecca Fung at 852-25163346; fax: 852-25165024; or e-mail: aes@adsaleexh.com.

QUOTE(s) from the giants of cyberspace...

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

-- Thomas Watson (1874-1956), Chairman of IBM, 1943.

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."

-- Ken Olson, President, Chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment

Corporation, 1977.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody. "

-- Bill Gates, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Corporation, 1981.

NRCS This Week is issued weekly by the Conservation Communications Staff, NRCS headquarters, Washington, D.C., and posted in the SCS:SCS shared folder on FTS2000Mail. Please send correspondence and material via FTS2000Mail to !A16SCSOPA and type "This Week" on the subject line or e-mail: fred.jacobs2@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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