"We seem ultimately always thrown back on individual ethics as the basis of conservation policy.  It is hard to make a man, by pressure of law or money, do a thing which does not spring naturally from his own personal sense of right and wrong." from March 1937, American Forests article, "Conservationist in Mexico," by Aldo Leopold, (1887-1948), American author and conservationist

NRCS NewsLinks

NRCS people, projects, and programs appeared this week in the following newspapers:

Colorado: Water Situation Getting Worse (The Alamosa Valley Courier), Fires Whip Out of Control (The Daily Camera, Boulder)
Connecticut: A Little Bit of Wilderness (The New Milford Times)
Tennessee: Volunteers Collect 7,000 Pounds of Litter from Holley Creek Here (Greene County Online)
Texas: Survey Changes Expected (The Amarillo Globe-News)
Utah: Low Snowpack Called 'Scary' (The Deseret News)
Wyoming: Top Stories--Ski Report (The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne)

(NOTE: Links are tested at the time NRCS This Week is cleared.  However, by the time readers try the link, the story may be off the server.  In most cases readers can go to the paper's homepage where they will be able to access the story through the paper's archives).

Focus on the Field

Indiana Counties Offer Soil Survey on CD-ROM -- Elkhart and Fountain are the first counties in Indiana to put soil survey information on CD-ROM.  This is an improvement over the traditional hardcopy version in terms of both convenience and cost.  CDs are produced for $1.75 per copy, versus $35 to $75 for a paper copy.  Furthermore, the Geographic Information System (GIS) application allows the user to explore soils data interactively, which is very difficult to do with hardcopies.  To suit the needs of a variety of soil survey data users, the manuscript, tables, and maps are accessible in both PDF and GIS formats.  The CD comes with all the software (Acrobat and ArcView) needed to access soil survey information and graphics.  Your contact is Henry Ferguson, NRCS soil scientist, at 317-290-3200 ext. 377 or henry.ferguson@in.usda.gov.

Club Conservation -- NRCS in Platte and Colfax counties, Nebraska, has formed a Residue Management Club to help area farmers learn how to better care for their soil.  When the club was started 7 years ago, the objective was to simply get the word out about crop residue management practices through informal "coffee shop" meetings.  But after a number of farmers in the area began using these management practices, the club's membership grew as other producers wanted to learn more about how they could adopt crop residue management and how their neighbors were benefiting from the practice.  To accommodate the club's "growing membership," NRCS soil conservationist Steve Huber organized monthly meetings during this past winter at various locations in Platte and Colfax counties.  “My objective was to bring together all the experiences of area no-till producers so they could learn from each other.  I also wanted to bring in professionals to provide information to this progressive group of producers,” Huber said.  Recent club meetings heard presentations from farmer panels and NRCS and Cooperative State, Research, Education and Extension Service specialists in the areas of nutrient management, pest management, carbon sequestration, bio-genetic (crop) engineering, and water quality.  Additionally, field tours of no-till operations are now scheduled every June.  Your contact is Joanna Pope, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 402-443-3463.

Checking Out Libraries for Agriculture -- The NRCS Hudson-Mohawk RC&D Council, in partnership with the Mohawk Valley Library Association (MVLA), will work with six member libraries and two community based organizations to manage the "Safe Farms, Safe Food, Safe Futures" project through the rest of the fiscal year.  Supported by a grant of Federal Library Services and Technology Act funds, the year-long project will provide quality information about farm safety, food safety, and marketing and business practices.  The information is intended to enhance the longevity of ecologically, economically, and socially viable agricultural systems to farmers, next generation farmers, agricultural administrators, and concerned consumers.  In order to accomplish this, MVLA will sponsor five "Community Dialogs," a 3-day "Safe Farms, Safe Food, Safe Futures" Conference, four "Youth Farm Safety Workshops" for children 6 to 12 years of age, and a traveling table-top "Farm Hazards Display."  Books, videos, CD-ROM products, newsletters, periodicals, and other materials will be purchased for general circulation in participating libraries.  A web site for the project is located at http://www.mvla.org/SFSFSF/index.html.  To be added to the MVLA mailing list and receive notification about upcoming events, please call 518-355-2010.  Your contact is Rebekah Tanner, Project Director, at 518-355-2010 or rtanner@sals.edu.

NRCS Conservationist Makes a Difference -- CORE 4 Conservation Award winners, Curt, Dan, and Greg Swartzmiller of Attica, Ohio, started farming on a shoestring in 1980 on 180 acres, adopting conservation practices because they were the most economical way to get their operation going.  Their dedication to conservation and soil health has paid off with 200 bushel-per-acre corn yields on 2,300 acres, under the Swartzmiller's Diamond S Farms flag.  The brothers don't claim the credit single-handedly, however.  "It's all part of a 20-year association with NRCS district conservationist John Crumwine," say the Swartzmillers, who credit their "DC" as being an integral part of their success.  John Crumwine's good conservation work hasn't exactly gone unnoticed in the Seneca Soil and Water Conservation District, where he was selected as one of 10 people in the county who really make a difference.  As part of the honor, John was featured in a three-page photo story in the Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune, where staff writer Vicki Hunter described his outstanding conservation work in the county over the past two decades.  Your contact is Fred Jacobs, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 202-720-6790.

Helping Trailblazers -- The Trails and Greenways spring workshop, sponsored by the NRCS New River Highlands RC&D Council, will provide answers for those interested in learning how to create a trail or greenway in Virginia.  Over the past decade, migration from the city to the countryside has many communities interested in establishing trails and greenways to provide open space and recreational opportunities for local residents.  As trail blazing can seem formidable and complicated to those with no experience, the spring workshop on April 25-27, in Wytheville, Virginia, will help by providing information on planning, constructing, and maintaining a trail; funding sources; trail etiquette; and forming trail advocacy groups.  In addition to the instruction, participants will receive a "Trails" toolkit resource, first distributed at last year's Governor's Conference on Trails.  Your contact is Gary Boring, NRCS RC&D coordinator, at 276-228-2879.

Word from Washington

Public Service Recognition Week 2002 -- NRCS will exhibit at the upcoming 2002 Public Service Recognition Week Mall Event.  The event will occur May 9-12, on the National Mall between the National Air and Space Museum and the National Gallery of Art.  The event, sponsored by Public Employees Roundtable and the President's Interagency Council on Administrative Management, will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 9.  The opening ceremony will feature the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and the U.S. Armed Services Color Guard, along with welcoming remarks from Congressional and other distinguished guests.  Nearly 100 civilian and military agencies, non-profit organizations, and private corporations will participate in this celebration.  The Mall event is visited by both civilians and government workers and demonstrates to the public the value of services provided by government employees.  Your contact is Ted Kupelian, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 202-720-5776.

Tech Tip

Silvopasture Grows Across the Southeast

Silvopasture, the practice of intentionally combining the production of trees and/or shrubs, forage crops, and livestock through intensive management, strives to simultaneously produce forest products, high quality forage, and livestock on the same land area.  The USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) has initiated a cooperative effort with NRCS State staff and State universities to conduct eight silvopasture-training workshops for natural resource professionals in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina from April through June of this year.  Those participating in the training will include field staff from NRCS, State divisions of forestry, extension, conservation districts and others.  The training will enable the resource professionals to provide technically sound silvopasture recommendations to landowners in their local areas.

One of the major benefits of silvopasture that organizers hope trainees will share with landowners is that many cool and warm season grasses and legumes yield high levels of quality forage when grown under as much as 50 percent shade.  This concept is being applied to design integrated timber/grazing systems in conifer stands, especially loblolly pine in the Southeast.  Silvopasture opportunities are also being explored in the Pacific Northwest, intermountain west, and the northern Great Plains, with Douglas fir and ponderosa pine.Your contact is Jim Robinson, NRCS agroforester, at 817-509-3215.

Global Biodiversity Information Facility Established - The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is the outcome of a collaboration of nations around the world through the Convention on Biological Diversity to make biological information globally accessible to decision-makers and the public. The GBIF is an interoperable network of biodiversity databases and information technology tools that are in various phases of development. Users will be able to navigate the world’s vast quantities of biodiversity information, which can be used for national economic, environmental, and social benefits. A GBIF subcommittee for the Electronic Catalogue of Names of Known Organisms (also known as the Catalogue of Life) has formed a Scientific and Technical Advisory Group (STAG). The STAG recently met in Sydney, Australia, to work on the Catalogue. Scott Peterson, National Plant Data Center Director, was a STAG participant. NRCS PLANTS http://plants.usda.gov and the Integrated Taxonomic Information System http://www.itis.usda.gov will function within this network. For more information, visit the GBIF Web site, at http://www.gbif.org/.
Your contact is Scott Peterson, Director, NRCS National Plant Data Center, at 225-775-6280 or scott.peterson@usda.gov.

Please send correspondence and material for "NRCS This Week" to the editor by: e-mail to: fred.jacobs@usda.gov or by fax to: Editor, "NRCS This Week," 202-720-1564; or by mail to: Editor, "NRCS This Week," NRCS, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013.

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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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