Animal Feeding Operation (AFO) National Listening Sessions - The October 16 edition of NRCS This Week contained incorrect information on the Animal Feeding Operation (AFO) National Listening Sessions schedule. Please disregard the information contained in that article. We will provide schedule information when listening session dates and locations are finalized.

Accountability System Update - The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has met its target goal of implementing its new accountability system by October 1.

• Performance and Results Measurement. This week, the primary activity is at the State level, where training at 300 selected sites took place. These will be the first-quarter pilot sites. Fort Collins has just finished developing the requirements for the national output measures to come on line in November, including flexibility for State and local options. The output measures will then be translated into outcomes, in compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act. Oversight for this new activity will reside with the Strategic and Performance Planning Division.
• Workload Analysis. State workload data were compiled and submitted to Chief Pearlie S. Reed. At the upcoming NRCS State Conservationists' Meeting, States will discuss ways to communicate and use the workload analysis data. The Operations Management and Oversight Division has scheduled a "train-the-trainer" workshop for January, so that workload analysis data will continue to be gathered.
• Cost Accounting. The Financial Management Division announced that the Full-Cost Accounting Program is also now up and running. Minor problems with the system were quickly resolved and employees are now entering their time by program. PC-TARE will continue to be used for a third week while employees are testing the new system.
• Workforce Planning. Data have been requested and are being compiled by the Human Resources Management Division on what worked during the data-gathering initiative and what needs to be modified before next year's workforce plan revisions are requested.

Science and Technology Consortium To Meet in November - The NRCS Science and Technology Consortium is scheduled to meet at the Ballston Holiday Inn in Arlington, VA, November 2-5. The meeting will focus on high priority-issues and program priorities for 1999. Chief Pearlie S. Reed and Jeff Zinn of the Congressional Research Service have been invited to speak. Program priorities for the science and technology consortium budget, training, research needs, workforce planning, and improvement of communications will be discussed and an action register for these programs will be created.

LAN/WAN/Voice Project Update - The following is the LAN/WAN/Voice installation status as of October 13, 1998:

Target USDA Service Centers	2,562
USDA Service Centers in Compliance	2,376
Compliant Service Centers that are certified to meet the economic payback	2,141
Compliant and Certified Service Centers completed	1,758

EQIP Roundtable Summary Update - The last two of the eight Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) roundtable sessions have been held in Columbia, Missouri, and West Friendship, Maryland. The attendance for the two sessions totaled about 160 with 23 speakers. NRCS Regional and State staffs are preparing final reports for each completed session. The findings from these roundtables have been quite positive, in similar fashion to those sessions previously held. A brief synopsis of the input is as follows:

Major Supportive Statements

EQIP is a successful program that should continue:

The emphasis on water quality; the voluntary approach; offering low-cost alternatives; providing financial assistance; complementing other conservation assistance programs; offering flexibility for landowners; using a conservation systems approach; and encouraging NRCS and FSA to work closer together and with other partners.

Major Recommendations for Improvement

• EQIP needs more funding to meet the serious conservation needs of farmers and ranchers;
• Allow the carry-over of funds from one fiscal year to another to improve the ability to fund applications throughout the year.

Amend current Commodity Credit Corporation accounting procedures to better address the requirements of long-term conservation plans and EQIP contracts;

• Improve applicant ranking criteria to ensure that both small- and large-scale farms have access to the program;
• Need to strengthen efforts in education and enhance public knowledge of the benefits of the program.
• Increase NRCS technical assistance capabilities;
• Reduce application processing time; and
• Speed the payment process and make it more flexible.

NRCS Reaches Out to Underserved Customers in North Dakota - NRCS recently held a landuse workshop on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. Obstacles to rangeland development and getting the most use from available land resources were discussed. Land users from the tribe told NRCS about obstacles they face as they establish conservation systems. NRCS reports that the meeting was a positive step toward building a coalition to address the health of natural resources on the reservation.

Tribes Work with NRCS on Watershed Assessments in Minnesota - In Minnesota, all of the State's American Indian Tribes worked with the agency and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to conduct unified watershed assessments called for in the President's Clean Water Action Plan. Representatives from the State's 11 Tribes and from 7 State agencies and 7 Federal agencies are working together to make the plan successful in Minnesota.

NRCS American Indian Liaison to Assist Mississippi Choctaw - During the first week in November, the NRCS National American Indian liaison, Allan Epps, will be in Mississippi working with the Mississippi Choctaw on opportunities to form a conservation district under State or tribal law. He will also provide a training session in Jackson, Mississippi, on environmental justice for NRCS Southeast Regional Staff.

NRCS Social Sciences Institute to Hold Planning Meeting - On October 27-30, the NRCS Social Sciences Institute (SSI) staff will hold a planning meeting in Madison, Wisconsin. The goal of the meeting is to help ensure that the SSI is in alignment with fiscal year 1999 Science and Technology priorities and policies. Issues such as the current and future roles of the social sciences in conservation; training and technical materials development for fiscal year 1999; and institutionalizing SSI products in the NRCS manual and directives system will be addressed. A professor from Purdue and several faculty members from the University of Wisconsin will make presentations about the changing nature of agriculture. They will help SSI staff anticipate the kinds of products it needs to produce to assist NRCS field staff in providing effective customer service in the future.

Kansas Buffer Initiative Underway - Governor Bill Graves of Kansas recently proposed the creation of the Kansas Water Quality Buffer Initiative. The initiative will support the installation of filter strips and riparian forest buffers in critical areas of northeast Kansas as part of his ongoing Governor's Water Quality Initiative. The Kansas Legislature supported this proposal and the Governor's Water Quality Buffer Initiative was formed. Initially funded as a pilot project, two watersheds were designated for the initiative due to increased levels of certain pathogens and fecal coliform.

The initiative, in its infancy, has received a broad base of support from various private, local, State and Federal agencies. An NRCS employee has been assigned to the Kansas State Conservation Commission office to assist with the coordination of the project.

The Kansas Buffer Initiative will supplement the continuous sign-up provisions of the Conservation Reserve Program by using State funds to provide the incentive to producers to enroll in the program. An incentive of 30 percent of the soil rental rate on top of the Federal incentive and 50 percent for riparian forest buffers is offered by the State.

The Kansas Legislature also provided for a tax reduction of riparian buffers during the last session. The bill authorized local county appraisers to reduce assessed values from cropland to either native grass, tame grass, or wasteland values for the period of time the land remains in the cover. This legislation applies Statewide and not just in the initiative area.

The Kansas Buffer Initiative first signup is scheduled for November 15 through December 16, 1998. To kick-off this signup, leadership and producer informational meetings will be held November 5 and 10. For more information about the Buffer Initiative, contact Tom Badger at 785-296-3600.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Success Stories: Mississippi - About 2 years ago, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality announced that burial pits for disposal of dead poultry would no longer be permitted as of October 1, 1998. At that time, the EQIP program was just beginning. Two priority areas - East Central Animal Waste and South Animal Waste - were developed to address this need by poultry producers. Since that time, nearly 1,000 poultry composters have been contracted; 585 have been constructed and permitted through EQIP. The composters are an environmentally safe alternative to burial pits.

As the landowners' burial pit permits expire, more landowners will need the composters to dispose of dead animals. Because there are nearly 3,800 poultry operations in the State, producers will require a large amount of additional funding over the next two years.

In addition, poultry producers have also received EQIP funds for dry stack facilities to store litter grazing systems management (on land where litter is spread), and erosion control on critically eroding land. This assists producers to install complete systems.

During the last two years, an estimated $2.5 million has been spent assisting poultry producers to comply with State law.

Nebraska Buffer Initiative - Thanks to the efforts of the Nebraska Buffer Initiative Partnership - a group of about 20 organizations - earlier this year, the Nebraska legislature passed a bill which will raise about $450,000 annually for the next 5 years for cost-share assistance for filter strips. Program rules are being developed that will include a close link to using CRP criteria. Funding for this program is coming from a fee put on the nearly 8,000 chemical labels registered in the State annually.

NRCS, Cooperators Put WRP To Work - NRCS reports that in the Mississippi Delta more than 70,000 acres of wetlands have been restored under the agency's Wetland Reserve Program. Restoration was accomplished in cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Wildlife Foundation, and concerned landowners.

Team Efforts Receive White House Hammer Awards - Congratulations to two groups for receiving this award initiated by Vice President Gore to recognize team efforts successful in reinventing government.

NRCS employees Ronnie Clark and Linda Garabedian and their team members from Stillwater, Oklahoma, will receive the award on November 14. They participated on the "Shared Neutrals Program Team," coordinated by the Oklahoma Federal Executive Board (FEB). This team partnership of NRCS, the Oklahoma FEB, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Transportation, Department of the Interior, Department of Defense, Department of the Treasury, U.S. Postal Service, and the Oklahoma State Supreme Court created a unique workplace mediation program as an alternative to individual agency dispute resolution programs. Forty-four employees from 13 Federal agencies in five areas of Oklahoma were trained as mediators and are available to mediate workplace disputes in any Federal agency in the area. This interagency mediation program improves employee perception of objectivity. Administrative savings are estimated to be over $778,000.

NRCS employees and Oregon's Association of Conservation Districts and the Oregon Department of Agriculture team will be recognized for reorganizing the traditional line-and-staff structure into eight watershed basin groups, thereby streamlining business processes. Joan Perry, West Region Conservationist, will present the 200-member team the Hammer Award in Klamath Falls, Oregon. More than 50 invited dignitaries, including many local, State, and national public and private conservation leaders, are expected to attend the award ceremony. The team saved taxpayers' time, money, and reduced their frustration with bureaucratic red tape. Specific taxpayer benefits include: maximizing local input and decisionmaking on resource concerns addressed on private lands; providing more immediate technical assistance through faster access to an interdisciplinary staff; and empowering and making local staffs more accountable for quicker and more effective decision-making.

CONSTITUENCY AND PARTNERSHIP NEWS

Centralized National Soil Survey Database Established - NRCS and the National Cooperative Soil Survey - (NCSS a nationwide partnership of Federal, regional, State, and local agencies and institutions lead by NRCS) - recently established a centralized National Soil Survey database. The new centralized national soil survey database will provide NCSS with a single site to provide and disseminate quality soils information. The new database was made possible by the recent implementation of the NRCS National Soil Information System (NASIS 4.0). NASIS 4.0 links the soil databases from the 17 MLRA Soil Survey Regional Offices to a centralized database housed at Iowa State University in Ames. The NCSS partnership works together to investigate, inventory, document, classify, and interpret soils, and to disseminate, publish, and promote the use of information about the soils of the United States and its trust territories.

USDA Service Center Named Project Pilot Site - NRCS in Kansas reports that the Department of Agriculture's Paola Service Center will be one of nine offices in the Nation to test an integrated service center concept that focuses on improving mission performance, reducing costs, and increasing the quality, speed, and flexibility of customer service. Six major business areas will be addressed: conservation application, farm and community programs, program eligibility and compliance, resource inventory and assessment, outreach to customers, and administration.

NRCS Urban Cleanup in New Jersey Brings Boy Scouts, High School and College Students, Business, County and Town Together - New Jersey's Urban Conservation Action Partnership (UCAP) did it right when they planned a cleanup at Dover Greenway along the Rockaway River this month with the assistance of a local Boy Scout troop. UCAP sent the story of the upcoming cleanup to a local paper and distributed flyers in both English and Spanish to invite additional volunteers. The prospect of the event attracted the attention of another Boy Scout troop, a group of high school students, workers from AT&T, and a band of local college students. By this time the volunteer force had grown to 45.

In addition, the Morris County Shade Tree Commission donated wood chips for the greenway. Members of the Sheriff department's mandatory Community Service program removed overgrown vegetation along the greenway before the cleanup. The Hispanic Credit Union in Dover and the local Pathmark grocery donated refreshments. Cleanup gloves were donated by a county organization and a county utility employee created and donated Boy Scout Clean Communities patches for the scouts. NRCS's urban conservationists had a perfect public-private service event in hand. The day was so productive and so enjoyable that the high school and college students begged for an opportunity to do it again.

Receive "NRCS This Week" by E-mail - You can receive "NRCS This Week" by e-mail the minute it's cleared. To get on the NRCS THIS WEEK mailing list, send an e-mail to: listproc@nrcs.usda.gov. Do not use a subject line and put the following in the body of the message: subscribe NRCS-THIS-WEEK Firstname Lastname (example: subscribe NRCS-THIS-WEEK Fred Jacobs). To get help with other commands that are available at the "listproc@nrcs.usda.gov" address, send a message with no subject and the word HELP on a line by itself in the body of the message. "NRCS This Week" will continue to be posted on the NRCS Homepage.

October 1-31 - National Disability Employment Awareness month.

October 24-28 - (Minnesota) NACD Fall Executive Board Members Meeting to be held at the Radisson Inn in Bloomington, MN. For more information, contact Robert Raschke at 303-988-1810; fax: 303-988-1896.

October 27-28 - (New Mexico) The New Mexico Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts is hosting their 52nd annual conference, "Local Vision - Locally-Led - Global Hope," at the Sheraton Uptown in Albuquerque, NM. For more information, please contact Debbie Hughes at 505-981-2400.

October 28-31 - (Utah) The U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage will hold a conference on Shared Rivers, "River Basin Management to Meet Competing Needs," at the Yarrow Resort Hotel in Park City, Utah. For more information call 303-628-5430, e-mail: stephens@uscid.org, or visit the U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage website at www.uscid.org/~uscid.

November 4-5 - (Missouri) The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) will host its 1998 Conference, "Animal Feeding Operations and Ground Water: Issues, Impacts, and Solutions - A Conference for the Future" at the Holiday Inn Westport in St. Louis, MO. For more information, contact a NGWA representative at 800 551-7379, or visit the NGWA Web site at: www.ngwa.org.

November 6-8 - (South Carolina) The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA) will host the 13th Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference, "New Directions for Sustaining Agriculture," at the Clemson University Madren Center, Clemson, SC. For more information, call 919-542-2404; fax: 919-542-7401; e-mail: cfsa@intrex.net; or visit CFSA's website at: http://sunsite.unc.edu/cfsa/index.htm.

November 8-10 - (California) California Association of Resource Conservation Districts will host its annual business meeting and conference, "Bridging the Gap," at the Doubletree Hotel in Palm Springs, CA. For more information, contact Aleta Zak at 916-447-7237; e-mail: carcd@ns.net.

November 10-13 - (China) 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.

November 15-20 - (Nevada) The NRCS American Indian/Alaska Native Employees Association's 2nd Annual Training Conference will be held at the Reno Hilton, Reno, NV. Poster and technical papers are being solicited. Deadline to submit topic and general outline is October 30. For more information on poster papers, contact Jane Wilmes at 402-373-4914; e-mail: jane.wilmes@ne.usda.gov. For general information, contact Stevanie Running Hawk at 505-761-4434; e-mail: srunning@nm.nrcs.usda.gov, or Thedis Crowe at 406-587-6970; e-mail: tcrowe@mt.nrcs.usda.gov.

November 15-19 - (Alabama) The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) is sponsoring its annual Conference at the Marriott Grande Hotel in Point Clear, AL. For more information, call the AWRA at 703-904-1225.

November 17-20 - (Nevada) The National Organization of Professional Asian Pacific American NRCS Employees is sponsoring its first annual training conference in Sparks, NV. Poster and technical papers are being solicited. Deadline to submit topic and general outline is October 30. Poster papers cannot exceed an area of a 4' x 8' board or table top display. For more information on poster papers, contact Kent Matsutani at 308-254-4507; or e-mail: wmatsuta@ne.nrcs.usda.gov. For general information on the conference, contact Mon Yee at 503-414-3264; e-mail: myee@or.nrcs.usda.gov; or Virginia C. Lewis at 505-761-4408; e-mail: vlewis@nm.nrcs.usda.gov.

December 7-9 - (Florida) The Methyl Bromide Alternatives Outreach, in cooperation with The Crop Protection Coalition, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Agriculture will host the 1998 Annual International Research Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Reductions at the Omni Rosen Hotel in Orlando, Florida . For more information, contact Gary Obenauf at 209-447-2127; fax: 209-436-0692; or e-mail: gobenauf@concentric.net.

December 8-12 - (Arkansas) 7th Annual Training Conference of the National Organization of Professional Black Natural Resources Conservation Service Employees, "Bridging the Gap to the New Millennium," will be held at the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock, AR. For more information, contact Jackie Roscoe at 202-720-5235; fax: 202-720-5548.

January 19-21, 1999 - (Illinois) Soil and Water Conservation Society will host a National conference, "The State of North America's Private Land," at the Holiday Inn O'Hare in Chicago, IL. For more information, contact Charlie Persinger at 515-289-2331; fax: 515-289-1227; or e-mail: swcs@swcs.org.

January 24-27, 1999 - (Colorado) Colorado State University will host "Tailings and Mine Waste '99" in Ft. Collins, CO. The conference will provide a forum for presenting information on mill tailings, mine waste, and current and future issues facing the mining and environmental communities. Contact Linda L. Hinshaw at 970-491-6081; fax: 970-491-3584; or e-mail: lhinshaw@engr.colostate.edu.

January 31-February 4, 1999 - (California) 53rd NACD Annual Meeting to be held at the Town and Country Resort and Conference Center (1-800-772-8528) in San Diego, CA. For more information, contact Robert Raschke at 303-988-1810; fax: 303-988-1896.

February 17-20, 1999 - (Texas) Land Improvement Contractors of America Winter Convention, Adams Mark Hotel, San Antonio, TX. Contact Wayne F. Maresch at 301-248-5749; fax: 301/248-0847; or e-mail: WayneF86@aol.com.

February 21-26, 1999 - (Nebraska) The Society for Range Management and the American Forage and Grasslands Council will hold their annual meeting, "Building on Our Heritage," at the at the Holiday Convention Center, 3321 South 72nd Street in Omaha, NE. For more information, visit the Society for Range Management web site at: http://srm.org/meetings.html.

May 16-19, 1999 - (Texas) The National Watershed Coalition is presenting its Sixth National Watershed Conference, "Getting the Job Done at Ground Level," at the Doubletree Hotel in North Austin, TX. For more information, contact John W. Peterson at 703-455-6886 or 4387; fax: 703455-6888; or e-mail: jwpeterson@erols.com.

May 23-28, 1999 - (Indiana) The International Soil Conservation Organization will host the 10th International Soil Conservation Conference, "Sustaining the Global Farm," at Purdue University in West LaFayette, IN. For more information, call 765-494-8683; fax: 765-494-5948 c/o ISCO99; e-mail: isco99@ecn.purdue.edu; or visit the conference website at: http://spc3.ecn.purdue.edu/isco99/isco99.htm.

"It gives me a deep, comforting sense that things seen are temporal and things unseen are eternal."

- Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) American Lecturer and Author.

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.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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