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NRCS This Week

June 13, 2003


“The indissoluble link between man and soil is manifest in the very name Adam, derived from Adamiss – a Hebrew noun of feminine gender meaning earth or soil. Adamiss’ name encapsulated ‘maniss,’ meaning origin and destiny: his existence and livelihood derive from the soil to which he is tethered throughout his life and to which he is fated to return at the end of his days. Likewise, the name of Adam’s mate, Hava (rendered ‘Eve’ in translation) literally means ‘living’. Together, therefore, Adam and Eve signify 'Soil and Life.”

– from “Out of the Earth: Civilization and the Life of the Soil" by Dr. Daniel Hillel, professor emeritus of plant, soil, and environmental sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

In This Issue

Status of Farm Bill Rules

NRCS Drought News
Holistic Irrigation Technology Provides Drought Answers

Accolades
NRCS Employees Receive USDA Honor Awards
Co-Winners for Excellence in Conservation Award Named
National Cooperative Sol Survey (NCSS) Honors NRCS Soil Scientists

Focus on the Field
Alaska: Growing Pains
Illinois: Aging Dams Get New Publication
New York: Venison Donation Coalition Recognition Event

Word from Washington
American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Conference

Tech Tip
Soil Geochemistry Workshop
 

Status of Farm Bill Rules

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
The EQIP final rule was published in the Federal Register on May 30, 2003.
Contact: Tony Esser, Program Manager, at 202-720-1840, or anthony.esser@usda.gov.

Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program
State Conservationists are currently ranking and evaluating proposals. Awards are expected to be announced in July 2003. The Request for Proposals was published in the Federal Register on April 3, 2003, the deadline for proposals was May 19, 2003. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on May 16.
Contact: Denise Coleman, Program Manager, at 202-720-9476, or denise.coleman@usda.gov.

Grassland Reserve Program
The Notice of Funding Availability for a national program was published in the Federal Register on June 13, 2003.
Contact: Leslie Deavers, Natural Resource Manager, at 202-720-1067, or leslie.deavers@usda.gov.

Income Limits
The Adjusted Gross Income final rule was published in the Federal Register on June 4, 2003.
Contact: Anne Dubey, Acting Director, Resource Conservation & Community Development Division, at 202-720-2847, or anne.dubey@usda.gov.

Technical Service Provider Assistance
An amendment to the TSP interim final rule is in the clearance process. This amendment establishes an approval process for public agencies to be TSPs separate from the certification process. The amendment to the TSP interim final rule was published on March 24, 2003. Comments on that amendment must be received by June 30, 2003.

The TSP policy, handbook, and amendment to the rule are available on the NRCS website at http://techreg.usda.gov/WhatsNew.aspx.
Contact: Melissa Hammond, TSP Group Leader, at 202-720-6731, or melissa.hammond@usda.gov

As of June 11, 2003, over 1,300 individuals have registered through the TechReg web site at http://techreg.usda.gov, and 661 of those individuals have been certified as Technical Service Providers. A total of 170 businesses and agencies have registered, of which 62 have been certified.

NRCS Drought News

NRCS Drought News

Holistic Irrigation Technology Provides Drought Answers
At a time when New Mexico faces extreme water shortages and the press warns of water wars, calmer heads in agriculture prevail. Quietly advancing solutions, Mike Sporcic, NRCS New Mexico agronomist, sees the Holistic Irrigation Technology (HIT) program as the remedy for drought beleaguered New Mexico. HIT encompasses 22 points that can guide irrigation districts and producers toward the benefits of irrigation water management. HIT advocates known technology including installation of high flow structures, water metering, measurement of soil moisture, installation of pipelines where appropriate, drain maintenance, and nutrient budgets. The program includes an on-line spreadsheet developed by NRCS New Mexico that can be used to determine the amount of water needed for any field. "If you want to know what you can do in drought, it’s HIT," said Sporcic. "It calls for some tough decisions, but it could reduce water usage in this State by 30 percent."
Your contact is Mike Sporcic, NRCS New Mexico agronomist, at (505)761-4424, or mike.sporcic@nm.usda.gov.

Check out …
the National Drought Monitor website at http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
the NRCS drought website at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/highlights/drought.html
and NRCS State drought pages at
Colorado http://www.co.nrcs.usda.gov/features/focus-events-drought.htm.
Montana http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov/pas/drought/drought.html
Wyoming http://www.wy.nrcs.usda.gov/wydrought/drought.html

Accolades

NRCS Employees Receive USDA Honor Awards
Secretary Ann M. Veneman honored Department of Agriculture employees this week from across the Nation for exemplary service and achievements at the 57th Annual USDA Honor Awards Ceremony.

The Honor Awards, presented each year, are the most prestigious awards given by USDA. This year’s award winners represent outstanding service in many fields, including stewardship of natural resources, scientific research, disease control, environmental innovations, educational outreach, emergency response to disasters, food safety, farm and food program delivery, trade and export development, and rural economic development. USDA also honored employees who had performed individual acts of heroism and courage.

The following lists the NRCS award winners.

NRCS National Civil Rights Awards
Group Winner: South Central Regional Office, Fort Worth, Texas
Group Leader: Humberto Hernandez
Group Members: J. Keith Laird, Sally A. Mills, Carolyn S. Williams, Donna G. Blanton, Barbara L. Holland, Jane L. Kahanek, Terri L. Muse, Minnea J. Petty, Rachel W. Nolen, James E. Stautzenberger, Jacqueline D. Thibodeaux, Rafael J. Guerrero, Barbara L. Higgins, James Bunch, Danny M. Caudle, Michael P. Gonzales, Wayne E. Griffin, Dorlene J. Hicks, Carl A. Hutcherson, Javier E. Ruiz – For their outstanding innovative strategies and techniques that have strengthened program delivery and technology transfer, and have addressed key workforce diversity and civil rights objectives within the region.

Individual Winner: Washoua S. Vang, Fresno, California – For outstanding outreach and partnering efforts while conducting the Southeast Asian Specialty Crop Experimental Project, which entails the growth and demonstration of numerous management practices for a variety of crops, and resulted in publications being translated in the Hmong language and shared throughout California, Australia, and Thailand.

NRCS Chief’s Workforce Diversity Awards
Manager: Charles R. Adams, Atlanta, Georgia – For outstanding efforts in the recruitment and retention of new employees, career development for staff, and the implementation of a Wellness Room Program to improve employee health and increase productivity.

Non-Manager: Rose M. Webb, Little Rock, Arkansas – For helping to recruit a diverse employees by coordinating outreach efforts with community-based organizations in order to attract women and minorities to the workforce, and for assessing and responding to the needs of NRCS employees with disabilities in the state of Arkansas.

NRCS Excellence in Conservation Award
Robert Boettcher, Big Sandy, Montana – For extraordinary efforts and accomplishments in the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices.

Bernard W. Sweeney, West Grove, Pennsylvania – For outstanding leadership in research of the ecology of streams, rivers, and their watersheds.

Category: Maintaining and Enhancing the Nation’s Natural Resources and Environment
Individual Winner (Plow): Daniel A. Kaffer, Carson City, Nevada – For outstanding leadership and partnering abilities, contributing to the environmental restoration of the Carson River, and improving the quality of life for residents in western Nevada.

Individual Winner: Leroy Brown Jr., Des Moines, Iowa – For providing exemplary leadership and commitment in coalition building, and helping to implement conservation programs in Iowa that resulted in accelerated conservation being applied on the land.

Individual Winner: Richard L. Crane, Houghton, Michigan -- For outstanding leadership in construction inspection, resulting in successful completion of over $5,000,000 in remediation work for three sites of the Torch Lake Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Project.

Group Winner: Nutrient and Pest Management Training Development Team, Colchester, Vermont
Group Leader: James C. Wood
Group Members: Stefanie G. Aschmann, Joseph K. Bagdon, Sam H. Davis, William H. Donham, Harold D. Drennan, Wildon J. Fontenot, Eric S. Hesketh, William F. Kuenstler, Jerrell L. Lemunyon, Kendall L. Pfeiffer, Iris L. Porta, Brett L. Roberts, Margaret L. Sears, Edward J. Bechinski, Douglas B. Beegle, Jeffrey J. Jenkins, Robert G. Stevens – For outstanding performance in the design, development, and delivery of the “Nutrient & Pest Management Considerations in Conservation Planning” training program for agricultural non-point source pollution reduction.

Category: Enhancing the Capacity of All Rural Residents, Communities, and Businesses to Prosper
Individual Winner (Plow): Reggie G. Skains, Downsville, Louisiana -- For working tirelessly to help increase the number of Resource Conservation and Development program areas from 289 to 368 and enhance funding, thus assisting all of rural America.

Individual Winner: James A. Maetzold, Washington, D.C. -- For developing a comprehensive reference publication entitled “Alternative Enterprises and Agritourism – Farming for Profit and Sustainability Tool Kit,” which has had highly beneficial effects on producer and rural community incomes, as well as natural resource sustainability.

Category: Operating an Efficient, Effective, and Discrimination-Free Organization
Group Winner (Plow): Human Capital Management Team, Washington, D.C.
Group Leader: Karen W. Karlinchak
Group Members: Diane L. Anderson, Amelia S. Brooks, Gene E. Carter, Denise M. Decker, S. Timothy Dorman, Kathryn A. Huey, Mary J. Fleming, Luis C. Gamboa, Michael P. Gonzales, Valerie L. Smith -- For designing and implementing Human Resources policies and programs that will meet the workforce needs of the Natural Resource Conservation Service in the 21st Century and beyond.

Individual Winner: Kalven L. Trice, Little Rock, Arkansas – For notable achievements in building and retaining a diverse workforce, while ensuring efficient and effective program delivery and exceptional management of limited resources.

NRCS Employees Receiving USDA Honor Awards As Part of an Interagency Group

Category: Maintaining and Enhancing the Nation’s Natural Resources and Environment
Group Winner: Phosphorus Indexing Research Group, University Park, Pennsylvania
NRCS Group Members: Charles H. Lander, Jerrell L. Lemunyon -- For leading the development and implementation of a Phosphorus Indexing procedure to target remedial measures for nutrient management strategies that maintain productivity and protect water quality.

Category: Operating an Efficient, Effective, and Discrimination-Free Organization
Group Winner (Plow): Office of the Chief Financial Officer Management Team, Washington, D.C.
NRCS Group Member: Jack L. Crews -- For implementing the United States Department of Agriculture’s detailed accounting operation processes and strong internal controls that resulted in an unqualified (“clean”) financial audit opinion from the Office of Inspector General in Fiscal Year 2002.
Group Winner: USDA Human Capital Team, Washington, D.C.
NRCS Group Member: S. Timothy Dorman -- For successfully implementing the United States Department of Agriculture Human Capital Plan that built a solid supporting infrastructure of planning, communication, collaboration and accountability, that will help the Department to build and sustain its human capital plan.

Secretary’s Special Award
Group Winner: Farm Bill Working Group, Washington, D.C.
NRCS Group Members: R. Mack Gray, Bruce I. Knight, Carole E. Jett, Gary A. Margheim, Anne M. Dubey -- For providing exceptional service to overall Departmental coordination in implementing the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 in a timely and efficient manner.
Your contact is Brian Wedding, NRCS Human Resource Specialist, at 202-720-2900, or brian.wedding@usda.gov.

Co-winners For Excellence in Conservation Award Named
NRCS presented its second annual National Excellence in Conservation Award this week in Washington, D.C. to Dr. Bernard Sweeney, President, and senior research scientist at the Stroud Water Research Center in Pennsylvania, and Robert Boettcher, a Montana farmer. “We received nominations from across the country. These individuals were selected for their outstanding efforts to conserve, maintain, and improve natural resources and environment on America’s private lands,” said NRCS Chief Bruce Knight.

Dr. Sweeney directs a staff of 65 scientists, technicians, and college interns at the Stroud Water Research Center, which is conducting one of the largest and longest term (30-plus years) research efforts in the world on how riparian forest buffers can improve habitat and water quality of streams and rivers.

Robert Boettcher has been instrumental in using sustainable agriculture practices and is well known throughout Montana for his conservation accomplishments. He serves on the State Technical Committee and is an active member of several agricultural and conservation organizations.

NRCS initiated the Excellence in Conservation Award last year to recognize the voluntary contributions of nongovernmental individuals and groups to the conservation effort in such areas as technical assistance and other types of program delivery, technology transfer, outreach or communications. Any nongovernmental individual group, tribe or organization is eligible.
Your contact is Ted Kupelian, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 202-720-5776, or ted.kupelian@usda.gov.

National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS) Honors NRCS Soil Scientists
The NCSS will honor two NRCS soil scientists for exemplary performance in soil survey production. Thomas P. D’Vaello from Champaign, Illinois, will receive this year’s NCSS Soil Scientist of the Year award and Kerry Arroues of Hanford, California will receive this year’s NCSS Soil Scientist Achievement Award.

NCSS cited D’Avello for his “exceptional achievement” in soil survey production. He has worked on the Soil Science staff in Illinois for 15 years, specializing in geographic information systems (GIS). He has published several papers on the use of GIS in the soil survey program and has led several projects that advanced the development of new techniques for making digital soil surveys. Under D’Avello’s leadership, NRCS in Illinois has secured more than 60 cost-share agreements with State and local governments to deliver digitized soil surveys valued at more than $ 1million annually.

Kerry Arroues was also selected by NCSS for his “exceptional achievement” in soil survey production. Arroues has been mapping soils in California’s San Joaquin Valley for more than 27 years and has authored or participated in five soil surveys. As a major land resource area (MLRA) project leader, he is responsible for two MLRAs covering the Central and San Joaquin Valleys and Sierra Nevada in that State. He has authored more than 15 publications on soil survey practices and initiated a movement that led to legislation that ratified the California State Soil – the San Joaquin Series.

D’Avello will receive his award at the NCSS Conference in Plymouth, Massachusetts, next week. Arroues will receive his award at the 2003 Soil Science Society of America National meeting in Denver, Colorado, in November 2003.
Your contact is Maxine Levin, NRCS soil scientist at 202-720-1809, or Maxine.levin@usda.gov.

Focus on the Field

Growing Pains
The NRCS Southeast Conference Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) office in Craig, Alaska has been working closely with the Alaska Native Klawock Watershed Council to implement restoration efforts on a critical watershed impacted by development. The Klawock Watershed is located on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. The two driving forces behind the formation of the Council were the concerns over potential impacts to the Klawock municipal water supply and the need to maintain high quality habitat for the Klawock River run of Sockeye Salmon – an anadromous fish that spawns in the Klawock watershed and has historically been a significant component of the Klawock cash-and-subsistence economy. Development within the watershed has generated sediment, jeopardizing planned improvements to the municipal water supply. Recent declines in the salmon population most likely may be attributed to sedimentation of the spawning gravel, residential development adjacent to historic spawning channels, and road development within the watershed.

Though a partnership with NRCS, the Klawock Watershed Council has been successful in acquiring more than $700,000 to assess the different influences on the watershed through field data collection and to develop a plan for restoration. Funds generated will also finance the restoration work, which could include culvert and bridge replacement, vegetative and/or mechanical bank stabilization, revegetation of exposed soil, and large woody debris placement in streams to create spawning habitat. The efforts and dedication of the Klawock Watershed Council have been instrumental in the development of an agreement between the State of Alaska and the Southeast Conference (an Alaska regional economic development organization and RC&D Council) to use $700,000 of the Sustainable Salmon Fund to establish four additional Watershed Councils in Southeast Alaska.
Paul Coffey, NRCS Southeast Conference RC&D Coordinator, at 907-826-5690, or pcoffey@ak.usda.gov.

Aging Dams Get New Publication
In response to requests for assistance from field offices and partners who are dealing with aging dams in northeastern Illinois, Understanding Community Attitudes about Aging Dams: A Guidebook for Assessing Local Community Interest, was prepared by NRCS on how to better understand and interpret public opinion on these aging flood control structures. The guidebook is designed for dam management projects requiring understanding of local public opinion for use in the planning process. Understanding… provides a practical methodology for achieving a general understanding of community attitudes, considerations for when to go beyond basic attitude assessment methodology, and insight about how to involve the public in the planning. To request a copy, call Kathy McFall, at 217-377-6623. Beginning in July, the guidebook will also be available at http://www.il.nrcs.usda.gov.
Your contact is Jody Rendziak, NRCS community planner, at 217-377-8965, or jody.rendziak@il.usda.gov.


Venison Donation Coalition Recognition Event
The Venison Donation Coalition recently recognized the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Albany, the New York Federation of Resource Conservation & Development Councils, and the many partners that helped make New York’s Venison Donation Program a success. Last year, over a half-ton – or more than 400,000 servings of ground venison – was distributed to needy residents in 44 counties throughout the State.

Special awards were presented to Joseph DelVecchio, NRCS State Conservationist; Sharon Ruggi, President, New York Federation of RC&D Councils; and others who helped make the program a success. Howard Cushing, President of New York State Conservation Council described the Venison Donation program as “…volunteerism at its best...the public doesn’t realize the true importance of the sportsmen in the historic, social, and economic benefit they bring to the State. Venison is one of the most nutritious meats there is. After heart surgery, some doctors will tell their patients that venison is the only red meat they are allowed,” he added.

The New York Federation of RC&D councils provided financial support to the Venison Donation program, by generating funding to pay the venison processors.
For further information on the program, visit the Venison Donation Program website, at http://www.VenisonDonation.com.
Your contact is Kathy Balbierer, at 585-388-1801, or kbalbier@rochester.rr.com.

Word from Washington

American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Conference
Water resources professionals concerned with agricultural hydrology and water quality may want to attend the AWRA's International Congress on Watershed Management for Water Supply Systems, June 29-July 2, 2003, at the Millennium Hotel Broadway in New York City. This conference will bring together leaders in the agricultural hydrology community – researchers, engineers, policy makers, modelers, State and Federal agency program managers, and producers to discuss/debate issues related to agricultural hydrology and the impact on water quality by nutrients, pesticides, bacteria, and sediment discharged from agricultural systems. The preliminary program is posted and available for viewing, at http://www.awra.org/meetings/NewYork2003/nycpp.pdf.
For general information about AWRA, go to http://www.awra.org.

Tech Tip

Soil Geochemistry Workshop
NRCS and the U.S. Geological Survey recently co-sponsored a Soil Geochemistry workshop to examine trace elements in soils. More than 100 persons from a variety of Federal and State agencies, universities, foreign nations, and private environmental consulting companies gathered in Denver, Colorado, recently to establish the need for a continental scale geochemical survey of soils and surficial sediments and discuss protocols that could be used for pilot research studies, sampling, laboratory analysis, data delivery, and products. The NRCS National Soil Survey Center has been producing soil trace element data for several years and recognizes the need for geochemistry information as a part of the soil survey program in the future. The need to link these data to soil surveys was emphasized by the many positive comments from potential data users at the meeting. For the next 2-3 years, NRCS hopes to cooperate with scientists from USGS to develop several limited cooperative pilots to establish protocols and to assure that the actual national survey – if implemented – will be 3-4 years in the future.

Currently, the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL) is analyzing selected pedons from requests through the National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS) as part of a systemic program to evaluate background trace element concentrations in benchmark soils. NRCS hopes to have these data available to cooperators of the National Soil Survey Program, as well as to the general public in 2003 on the web. Linking geochemistry data to mapping units of soil series can be achieved by the use of representative or typifying pedons, the conceptual basis of sampling soils for characterization by the NCSS. The goal of the current project is to develop a dataset of soil geochemistry from all major soil series in the U.S.
Your contact is Michael Wilson, NRCS research soil scientist, at 402-437-4134, or mike.wilson@nssc.nrcs.usda.gov.
 

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