June 7, 2002

"If the environment can't support beavers, ducks, or moose, how long will it be able to support people?"

The Commemorative Stamp Bulletin, Canada Post Corporation.

Focus on the Field

Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) at a Graveyard and Crime Scene
NRCS soil scientists recently teamed up with Connecticut's Office of State Archeology and local police to locate a graveyard and a suspected crime scene. NRCS staff, using GPR, first located a graveyard, thus helping developers avoid disturbing the grave sites. The project attracted local media coverage, as well as the Norwalk Police Department which then asked NRCS for help searching a site where the body of a murder victim might be buried. NRCS GPR radar however, revealed shallow bedrock at the scene, convincing detectives that the victim could not possibly have been buried there.  Your contact is Shawn McVey, NRCS soil scientist, at 860-871-4044, or shawn.mcvey@ct.usda.gov.

Buffers at Work
Four years ago, a group of Grant County, Minnesota, citizens and public officials put their heads together to come up with a way to address runoff from agricultural land. Something needed to be done to protect water quality in this west central Minnesota County by making a concerted effort to stop sediment before it entered waterways. Joe Montonye, manager of the Grant Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), and Greg Lillemon, of the county's Land Management Department, developed a proposal and plan for implementing a buffer strip initiative. Grant county commissioners, the county planning commission, and the Grant SWCD board of supervisors signed off on the proposal and work began in earnest. Landowners with potential buffer sites received letters from the township supervisors, county commissioners, and SWCD supervisors. A challenge grant from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources provided funding for additional staff support for buffer outreach, application processing, and planning, and for conducting site visits. Besides touting the water quality and wildlife habitat benefits, the program also promoted the financial incentives available through the Wetlands Reserve Program, Conservation Reserve Enhanced Program (CREP), and Reinvest in Minnesota Reserve. The program also struck a chord with farmers concerned about water quality. Farmers recognized that runoff from agricultural lands is a critical issue and that installing buffers is something they can do to help protect and improve water quality.

(NACD Communications Director's note: Minnesota was third in the Nation with 227,239 total acres enrolled in the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program as of the end of April. It was second in CREP acreage, with 44,259 acres enrolled as of the end of April.)

Your contact is Peter Raeker, Communications Director, Minnesota Board of Soil and Water at peter.raeker@bwsr.state.mn.us.

Ceremonial Grounds Preserved
Through the NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program, severe streambank erosion was brought under control along Red Rock Creek in Noble County, Oklahoma. The erosion, the result of recent rainstorms in the north central part of the State, was washing away the 119-year old Otoe-Missouria historical Indian ceremonial grounds. This significant area is where, for many decades, the Otoe-Missouria have educated their youth in traditional values by conducting social and cultural ceremonies in honor of their elders and ancestors. Through EWP, more than 1,000 feet of rock bedding and riprap were placed on the eroding stream bank to protect a Tribal road and the ceremonial ground. A recent letter from the Otoe-Missouria Tribe expressed the Tribe’s appreciation for the assistance provided by NRCS, "The stream bank and rock placed along the Red Rock Creek looks very attractive and I am confident that our Tribal Membership will also be pleased with the results of the completed project. The Tribe sincerely appreciates the funding of the Watershed Project for the protective measures to relieve hazards and damages created by the rainstorms.”
Your contact is Ed Kephart, acting NRCS public affairs specialist, at 405-742-1203 or ed.kephart@ok.usda.gov.

Word from Washington

New Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) Report Available
WRP accomplishments in 10 States, the lower Mississippi Valley, and Puerto Rico are featured in a colorful, informative, new, 8-page report titled, “Restoring America’s Wetlands – The Wetlands Reserve Program.” The report also outlines the benefits of WRP such as recovery of threatened and endangered species, flood protection, recreation and education, economics, and water and air quality improvement. The report has been distributed to State and Regional Conservationists and will soon be available from the WRP website at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/wrp/.  Your contact is Leslie Deavers, NRCS National WRP Coordinator, at 202-720-1067.


Farmland Protection Program (FPP) Request for Proposals (RFP) Published
NRCS published a FPP RFP in the May 30 Federal Register on how to become eligible to participate in the FPP. Details on the RFP can be found at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2002/fpprfp.html. An FPP fact sheet, talking points, Q&A’s, and a program description can be found at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2002/products.html.
Your contact is Douglas J. Lawrence, Staff Leader, NRCS Farmland Protection and Community Planning Staff, at 202-720-0745 or doug.lawrence@usda.gov.

Final Presentation of “The Leader in You” Spring 2002 Series
The final presentation of “The Leader in You” spring 2002 series will air Wednesday, June 12, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT. "Strategy in the New Competitive Landscape" provides a new view of strategy for achieving goals that focus on value creation and the influence of a changing competitive landscape. C.K. Prahalad, professor of Corporate Strategy and International Business, at the University of Michigan Business School, addresses the skills needed to continue to successfully compete in a new environment. A PDF-formatted course handout is available on the NRCS Social Sciences Institute web site, at http://www.ssi.nrcs.usda.gov/.

Broadcast Times
Signal test time
10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. EDT Program time
11:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. EDT
Satellite Information
C-Band
Satellite: AMC 2 (formerly GE 2)
Transponder: 11 c-band
Orbital slot: 85 degrees west longitude
Uplink freq: 6145 MHz
Downlink freq: 3920 MHz
Receive Pol: "Vertical" Ku-Band
Satellite: Telstar 5
Orbital slot: 97 degrees west longitude
Transponder: 25 ku-band
Downlink Frequency: 12144 MHz
Receive Pol: "Vertical"

Satellite Technical Assistance/Trouble Number Videocom: (781) 329-4089 or (781) 326-8078

“The Leader in You” satellite training program is sponsored by: NRCS Social Sciences Institute and the NRCS National Employee Development Center, in cooperation with the National Conservation District Employees Association, the National Association of Conservation Districts, the National Association of State Conservation Agencies, and the Federal Training Network. Web-based products and a training course catalogue are available at http://www.ssi.nrcs.usda.gov/. Print copies can be requested from ssinter2@po.nrcs.usda.gov.  Your contact is Barbara Wallace, NRCS community planner, at 616-942-1503 or barbara.wallace@usda.gov.

Tech Tip

International Collaboration Establishes the Global Biodiversity Information Facility
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international mechanism designed to make biological data and information accessible worldwide to decision makers and the public. Nations around the world collaborated through the Convention on Biological Diversity to develop GBIF, which can be used for economic, environmental, and social benefits. Users will be able to navigate the world's vast quantities of biodiversity information through an interoperable network of biodiversity databases and information technology tools. NRCS PLANTS at http://plants.usda.gov/ and the Integrated Taxonomic Information System at http://www.itis.usda.gov/ will function within the GBIF network. Scott Peterson, National Plant Data Center Director, participated in a recent meeting in Australia of a GBIF subcommittee that is working on the Electronic Catalogue of Names of Known Organisms, also known as the Catalogue of Life. Visit the GBIF Web site, at http://www.gbif.org/.
Your contact is J. Scott Peterson, Director NRCS National Plant Data Center, at 225-775-6280 or scott.peterson@usda.gov.

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

Colorado: Outdoors Briefs: 2002 Farm Bill Increases Conservation Funding (Denver)

Colorado: Extra! Extra! Rain in Durango! (the Durango Herald)

Florida: Farm Bill is Compassionate Legislation, A Letter to the Editor by Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman (The Miami Herald)

Hawaii: Midler’s Kaua’i Land Offered as Bird Refuge (The Honolulu Advertiser)

Illinois: Villa Grove’s Curse: When It Rains It Floods (The News-Gazette, Champaign)

Iowa: New Farm Bill Gives Big Boost for Soil Conservation (Wallaces Farmer)

Kansas: Grassland Program Pays Those Who Graze (Wichita Eagle)

Michigan: Grass Fire North of Mahnomen Destroys Thousands of Acres (The Detroit Lakes Tribune)

Mississippi: USDA Looking to Third-party Vendors (Delta Farm Press)

Montana: Yellowstone Basin Flood Watches Continue (Billings Gazette)

National: Farmers Welcome Conservation Security Program (Successful Farming)

National: Can't Separate Conservation Incentives from Rest of Farm Bill, Says Economist (Successful Farming)

National: New USDA Conservation Security Program Months Away (Reuters News Service)

National: Conservation Tillage and EQIP Funds (Successful Farming)

National: Harkin Proud of Conservation Emphasis in Farm Bill (Successful Farming)

Nebraska: Ag Community Anxious for Farm Bill Details (Aurora News Register)

Ohio: The Cleaning of Huff Run: New Life Being Put into ‘Dead’ Waterway (Dover, Ohio)

Oklahoma: Creek, Bridge Clean-up to Begin (Poteau Daily News)

Colorado: Feds: Colorado Snowpack Nearly Gone (Aurora Sentinel)

Colorado: Snowpack is Gone in Most River Basins (The Denver Post)

Montana: Rehberg Hails Action for Drought Assistance as 'Good First Step' (Sidney Herald-Leader)

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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).

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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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