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"There is but one earth, one biota, and our actions in the developed and
developing world alike are destroying that which is irreplaceable. There are no
quick solutions…nor is there a second chance."
US National Science Board, 1989 (The National Science Board is the
governing board of the National Science Foundation.)
Focus on the Field
Poarch Creek Indian Tribe and NRCS Sign Agreement
NRCS recently signed a cultural resources protection agreement with
Alabama’s only Federally recognized tribe, the Poarch Creek Indian Tribe. The
agreement provides protection coordination and serves as a vehicle to implement
policies and procedures on a government-to-government basis to ensure that
cultural resources, traditional cultural properties, sacred sites, and
properties of cultural interest are mutually considered throughout all stages of
NRCS conservation planning activities. This is the first agreement between NRCS
in Alabama and a tribe. In April 1985, the Bureau of Indian Affairs officially
acknowledged the Poarch Creek Indians as a Federally recognized Native American
Indian tribe. The tribe has used its resources to develop a viable community –
including housing and health care – with economic opportunities for its members.
The tribe’s reservation is located near Atmore, Alabama, in rural Escambia
County. Your contact is Teresa Paglione, NRCS cultural resources
specialist, at 334-887-4561, or
teresa.paglione@al.usda.gov.
State Soils Monolith Featured at Fair
The Ecological Farming Association recently held its third annual Heartland
Conference and Fair in Modesto, California, where NRCS displayed its San Joaquin
series soils monolith. NRCS district conservationist Michael McElhiney also
presented "The Great Soil Demonstration," hands-on exercises in soil quality,
land judging, story index, and prime farmland classification systems. The
Heartland Conference and Fair included over 100 workshops and demonstrations for
all ages. Your contact is Michael McElhiney, NRCS district
conservationist, at 209-437-9320, or
michael.mcelhiney@ca.usda.gov.
ESPN “Outdoors” Shoot in Minnesota
Several news spots were filmed earlier this month at John Otten’s farm in
Foreston, Minnesota, for ESPN’s “Outdoors” program, showcasing the Conservation
Reserve Program’s impact in improving wildlife and fish habitat. Otten is being
used as a “case study” for ESPN Outdoors’ analysis of the 2002 Farm Bill. The
Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts named Otten its
2001 Outstanding Conservation Farmer. The spots will aired next week on ESPN.
ESPN Spot Broadcast Times (all time are EDT)
Saturday, June 8 7:55 a.m.
9:25 a.m.
10:28 a.m.
Sunday, June 9 7:00 a.m.
8:25 a.m.
9:55 a.m.
10:55 a.m.
Your contact is Sylvia Rainford, NRCS public affairs specialist, at
651-602-7859, or str@mn.nrcs.usda.gov.
Historic Homestead Protected by Conservation Reserve
Enhancement Program (CREP)
John and Kathy Lane are the first landowners in Wisconsin to sign a
perpetual easement under CREP. Their homestead t dates to 1867. CREP Federal and
State partnerships allow landowners to receive incentive payments for installing
specific conservation practices such as conservation buffers, wetland
restorations, and restoration or establishment of prairie grasslands and oak
savannas. State officials, including Governor Scott McCallum, recently traveled
to rural Chippewa County to celebrate the signing of the easement on the farm
owned by the Lanes. "This landowner is the truest land steward I have ever met,"
said Mike Dahlby, private lands conservation specialist in northwest Wisconsin’s
Chippewa County Land Conservation Department. The State's CREP was announced in
October 2001. The $243 million Federal/State partnership targets water quality
issues on 100,000 acres. About 70 Chippewa County landowners have already
applied to enroll a total of 1,030 acres in CREP. More than 80 percent of nearly
400 acres that have been contracted will be planted in native trees, shrubs, or
grasses which will be protected indefinitely by CRP. (from a May 2002 NACD
BufferNotes article)
Word from Washington
Additional Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
Funds for Drought-Stricken Montana
Secretary Ann Veneman announced this week that USDA will provide $750,000 in
expedited EQIP funds to assist dryland farmers in 11 Montana counties that are
experiencing the worst drought conditions in the Nation. “Montana has been hit
hard by these drought conditions and we continue to examine every effort to
provide additional relief to farmers and ranchers in the State,” said Secretary
Veneman. NRCS will use the EQIP funds to help producers in Blaine, Cascade,
Chouteau, Fergus, Hill, Judith Basin, Liberty, Phillips, Pondera, Teton, and
Toole counties to rapidly establish or maintain ground cover to protect the soil
and lessen or prevent dust storms. In order to maximize public health and safety
benefits, first priority will be given to fields that have highly erosive soils,
are near population centers or adjacent to roads, and which currently have
little residue on the soil surface. Producers will be offered two options for
controlling wind erosion: cover crops and no-till farming for residue
management. NRCS has developed a simplified EQIP application jointly with the
Farm Service Agency to expedite the process. This will allow producers to
immediately begin to install the conservation practices.
Secretary Veneman designated Montana as a drought disaster area in March during
a visit to the State. Last week, the Secretary also announced the authorization
of emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program acres in Montana in an
effort to provide drought relief in areas hardest hit by drought conditions
during the past year. For additional information on local drought conditions in
the 11 Montana counties, visit the NRCS Montana website at
http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov/.
Your contact is Fred Jacobs, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 202-720-6794.
Accolades
NRCS Engineer Reappointed to State Engineering Board
Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura has reappointed NRCS hydraulic engineer
Sonia Maassel Jacobsen to another 4-year term on the Minnesota Board of
Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience
and Interior Design. Jacobsen currently serves as Board Secretary and has been
instrumental in fine tuning the Professional Engineer experience evaluation
process for the board. She was selected as NRCS Engineer of the Year in 2000 and
recognized as one of 10 candidates for “Federal Engineer of the Year” that same
year. Jacobson has been with NRCS in Minnesota for the past 16 of her nearly 25
years with the agency.
Your contact is Sylvia Rainford, NRCS public affairs specialist, at
651-602-7859, or str@mn.nrcs.usda.gov.
Tech Tip
Farm Bill Contributions to Wildlife Conservation Summarized
"A Comprehensive Review of Farm Bill Contributions to Wildlife Conservation
1985-2000" summarizes a review of the scientific literature that documents
wildlife responses to programs established under the conservation title of the
1985 Food Security Act, as amended in 1990 and 1996 (Farm Bill). This report
finds that positive wildlife response was evident when the needs of wildlife
were considered in conservation planning and implementation. Literature was
annotated and summaries of wildlife responses were provided for the Conservation
Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program,
and Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The report, edited by Wildlife
Habitat Management Institute, was developed collaboratively by NRCS and its
partners. The document can be downloaded at
http://www.ms.nrcs.usda.gov/whmi/crfb.htm.
Your contact is Ed Hackett, NRCS wildlife biologist, at 601-607-3131 or
ehackett@ms.nrcs.usda.gov.
NRCS NewsLinks
NRCS people, projects, and programs appeared this week in the
following newspapers:
Alabama:
Farm Bill Could Generate New Interest in Conservation Programs (The Times
Daily)
Alabama:
Group Hands Out Money to Help Community (The Times Daily)
REGIONAL ONLY: Alabama: (The Daily Mountain Eagle)
Arizona: 2002
Farm Bill Web Site (The Yuma Sun)
California: Hearings Held on Third-party NRCS Conservation Planning (The
Western Farm Press)
Kentucky: Farmers, Government Join the Protect Green River (The Louisville
Courier-Journal)
Maine: Orchards to be Preserved (Kennebec Journal)
Michigan: Farm Bill Expected to Help Northern Michigan Farmers (Cadillac
News)
Minnesota: Farm Bill Will Help Families and Communities--Commentary by Sen. Paul
Wellstone (The Savage Pacer)
Mississippi: Cochran: Farm Bill Will Bring Stability to Agriculture (Delta
Farm Press)
Montana: USDA Provides Montana $750,000 in Drought Assistance (AgWeb News)
National: Harkin Proud of Conservation Emphasis in Farm Bill (Successful
Farming)
National:
Congress Authorizes Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment
Control (Environmental News Network)
New
Mexico: Government Helping Pay for Habitat Projects (The Silver City Daily
Press)
Oklahoma: Ag Spotlight: No-till Lands Save Topsoil, Slow Erosion (NewsOk.com)
South
Dakota: S.D. Native Leads Natural Resources Agency (The Midwest News)
Tennessee: 2002 Farm Bill Doubles County’s Conservation Funding
Texas: Goat Island Restoration to Protect City Park (The Baytown Sun, Texas)
Texas:
Hidden Motives? Farm Bill a Boon for Texas, a Source of Tension Abroad (The
Times Record News, Wichita Falls)
(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 its 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).
NRCS Drought & Snowpack News
Colorado: State Drought Panel Has No Good News to Report (The Rocky Mountain
News, Denver)
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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