NRCS This Week - 01/10/03

News

February 14, 2003

"Leadership has a harder job to do than just choose sides. It must bring sides together."

Jesse Jackson, American Civil Rights Leader

In This Issue

Accolades; Chief Knight Recognizes Earth Team Volunteers; Focus on the Field; Texas: USDA Partners in Space Shuttle Debris Recovery Effort
Alabama: NRCS at 100th Annual Meeting of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists
California: Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program in Napa
Oklahoma: Oklahoma NRCS Cosponsors Conference for Small Farms; Word from Washington
USDA Requests Public Comments on New Conservation Security Program (CSP)
Celebrate National Black History Month!; Tech Tip; Conservation Buffers Economic Worksheet

Accolades

Chief Knight Recognizes NRCS Earth Team Volunteers
Earth Team volunteerism was recognized by Chief Bruce Knight this week with national awards for volunteers and employees at the National Association of Conservation District’s 57th annual conference. “My personal thanks to those dedicated volunteers and employees for their tremendous efforts in conservation,” said Knight. “Volunteers bring their time and talent to various activities, including conservation planning and implementation and conservation education.

During an awards luncheon, Knight presented the Fremont Conservation District in Canon City, Colorado, with the national Earth Team Award for demonstrated, shared leadership among conservation district officials, NRCS employees and Earth Team volunteers. In addition, he presented Wisconsin NRCS State Conservationist Pat Leavenworth with the Earth Team National Volunteer Service Award, or Chief’s Cup, for creative use of volunteers to meet the agency’s mission.

Fremont Conservation District Earth Team volunteers logged 975 hours during fiscal year 2002. Seventy-seven of those volunteers worked on fire rehabilitation efforts at the Iron Mountain Fire Site near Canon City, where more than 4,000 acres of land burned. They also completed several conservation education and information activities, including a weed identification tour and an alfalfa workshop.

In Wisconsin, NRCS employees used creative methods to recruit and retain youth and minority volunteers. Under Leavenworth’s leadership, the State worked with other organizations to develop a scholarship program where college students volunteered with the Earth Team Program and, in turn, became eligible to apply for a scholarship. The program allows a college student to apply for tuition reimbursement through the Earth Team program if the student, college and local NRCS field office cooperated on a project.

Charles Adams, NRCS regional conservationist, Southeast Region, Atlanta, Georgia, received special recognition for his long-standing commitment to the Earth Team program since its inception in 1982. He served on the first volunteer steering committee and continues to support Earth Team volunteers in offices in his region.

Additional information on the Earth Team Volunteer Program is available online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/volunteers or by calling (toll-free) 888-LANDCARE. Information on the President’s USA Freedom Corps initiative can be found at http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/.
Your contact is Sylvia Rainford, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 202-720-3876, or Sylvia.rainford@usda.gov.

Focus on the Field

USDA Partners in Space Shuttle Debris Recovery Effort
NRCS has teamed up with its two other USDA Service Center partner agencies, Farm Service Agency (FSA) , and Rural Development, to help with the Columbia Shuttle tragedy debris recovery assistance. Pitching-in with their human, technological, and administrative resources, the three USDA partners have been doing their best to aid in the recovery efforts. "The rural and somewhat isolated geography of East Texas will provide its own challenges to emergency search teams," said John Fuston, FSA State Executive Director. "USDA personnel in the area have invaluable knowledge of even the most remote locations as well as a good rapport with landowners and operators, which will be helpful to emergency recovery teams." Additionally the three agencies are prepared to provide emergency teams with global positioning system units, laptop computers, all terrain vehicles, pick-up trucks, human resources, office space, and related assistance within the 33 Texas counties directly impacted by the event.
Your contact is Harold Bryant, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 254-742-9811, or harold.bryant@tx.usda.gov.

NRCS at 100th Annual Meeting of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists
NRCS agronomist Ben Moore and district conservationist Steve Yelverton recently spoke at the 100th Annual Meeting of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists held in Mobile, Alabama. Their presentation focused on the use of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to install conservation tillage systems in south Alabama. Residue management has increased in that area from 10 percent in 1989 to 40 percent in 2002 with positive results observed by both conservationists and landowners. The valuable EQIP program information decision makers have gained in southern Alabama, will hopefully serve to increase the use of high residue management systems to improve the environmental and economic sustainability in other areas of the State. Since 1899, the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists has strived to promote the exchange of knowledge by bringing together Southern agricultural leaders in the fields of education and industry.
Your contacts are Bennie Moore, NRCS agronomist, at 334-335-3613, or bennie.moore@al.usda.gov and Steve Yelverton, NRCS district conservationist, at 334-222-3517, or steve.yelverton@al.usda.gov.

Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program in Napa
EWP came to the rescue in Napa, California where heavy rains caused the Napa River to erode its riverbank and threaten the Milliken Creek Inn. The NRCS district staff in the Napa Service Center designed a repair for 130 feet of riverbank with 3,000 tons of rock within hours after EWP assistance with the City of Napa was authorized. Thanks to their speedy work, the inn was able to maintain 100 percent occupancy despite the flood emergency and later placed an ad in the local paper thanking NRCS for its quick response to the emergency.

Further downstream where Napa Creek flows into the Napa River, flooding destroyed a creek bank revetment eroding back the now vertical bank to within 10 feet of a three-family dwelling and downing trees creating a hazardous condition. Creek bank revetment design work is now completed and NRCS is working with the County of Napa and the Napa County Flood Control District as construction gets underway.
Your contact is Phillip Blake, NRCS district conservationist, at 847-681-7437, or phillip.blake@ca.usda.gov.

Oklahoma NRCS Co-sponsors Conference for Small Farms
NRCS, in its efforts to build statewide outreach to small limited resource producers, tribes, and historically underserved producers, recently helped sponsor the 3rd Annual Small Farmers Conference in Oklahoma City. Attendance was so large that a second conference was held to accommodate the overflow. NRCS displayed information on the 2002 Farm Bill to more than 1,500 participants the two conferences.
Your contact is Jasper Parker, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 405-742-1243, or jasper.parker@ok.usda.gov.

Word from Washington

USDA Requests Public Comments on New Conservation Security Program (CSP)
NRCS Chief Bruce Knight announced this week that the advance notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments on the CSP has been released for publication to the Federal Register. This is a new program authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill. The advance notice gives the public the opportunity to comment on key issues that have been raised regarding implementation of the program. The issues are presented in the advance notice. “Comments gathered during the 30-day comment period will help us develop a proposed rule,” Knight said. “Then, the public will have another opportunity to provide input during the comment period for the proposed rule before a final rule is published. We want this to be the best program possible.”

CSP is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to conserve and improve soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life on tribal and private working lands – cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pasture and rangeland, as well as certain forested land that is an incidental part of an agriculture operation.

CSP has a unique role among USDA conservation programs. It identifies and rewards those farmers and ranchers who meet the highest standards of conservation and environmental management on their operations, creates powerful incentives for other producers to meet those same standards of conservation performance on their operations, and provides public benefits for generations to come.

Comments must be received in writing within 30 days of the date the advance notice is published in the Federal Register. The advance notice and additional information on CSP can be found at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2002/products.html. Additional information about the Farm Bill can be found at http://www.usda.gov/farmbill/index.html.
Your contact is Mary Cressel, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 202-690-0547, or mary.cressel@usda.gov.

Celebrate National Black History Month!
National Black History Month is celebrated during February to salute and honor the contributions African-Americans have made to this Nation. This year's theme is "The Souls of Black Folk: Centennial Reflections." In 1926, Harvard-educated Dr. Carter G. Woodson began the observance to instill a sense of pride, heritage, and honor in African-Americans and to encourage other racial groups to learn more about the African-American culture. In 1976, the weeklong event was expanded to the entire month of February to allow more time for observances. Dr. Woodson's choice of February honors two well-known civil rights leaders born during the month: Frederick Douglas (February 14) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12).
Your contact is Thaddeus Hamilton, Acting NRCS National Black Emphasis Program Manager, at 954-792-1984, or thaddeus.hamilton@fl.usda.gov.

Tech Tip

Conservation Buffers Economic Worksheet
Conservation buffers on agriculture landscapes, in the minds of most conservationists, represent a greatly underused set of technologies with high environmental and economic payback potential. Buffer types range from time-tested applications, such as grassed waterways and field windbreaks, to relatively new configurations, such as alley cropping, vegetative barriers, and herbaceous wind barriers. Other buffer types include riparian forest buffers, riparian herbaceous cover, filter strips, contour buffer strips, field borders, cross-wind trap strips, and living snow fences. If properly designed, installed, and maintained, conservation buffers offer producers an array of environmental benefits, including soil erosion control, air and water quality improvements, fish and wildlife habitat, conservation of biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. Use of public programs, such as the continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP), to install buffers also holds the promise of increased economic returns.

A Microsoft Excel “economic worksheet” was perfected last year that helps producers participating in the CCRP calculate the impacts of incentive payments, rental rates, and expenses on their operating income. The worksheet, BuffersEconWorksheet-2003.xls, can be downloaded at: ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/watershed/buffers/BuffersOtherMaterials/. The worksheet allows for a variety of inputs, can be tailored to local soils and buffer installation expenses (labor, equipment, planting stock, weed control and so on), and produces a one-page analysis of the net income per acre of the buffer application in the first year of program participation and for the life of the contract. Many producers are favorably impressed by the inputs and results that are “penciled out” for their situation.

Unlike individual farms or ranches, overall environmental cost-return estimates of conservation buffers is difficult to determine. However, ecological and economic researchers, strategists, and field practitioners are continuing to fill the gaps in our knowledge of conservation buffer effects – economic and otherwise. As information continues to accumulate, the variety of assessments and tools will further strengthen our analytic capability.
Your contacts are Lyn Townsend, NRCS forest ecologist, at 503-414-3028, or ltownsend@wcc.nrcs.usda.gov, and Max Schnepf, USDA National Conservation Buffer Initiative Coordinator, at 515-289-2331 x15, or maxs@swcs.org.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or 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 and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

The NRCS Mission: The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.

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