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"Recent measurements have shown that under continued
corn growing over large areas in the Middle West, one inch of topsoil is lost by
erosion every seven years. To build this precious inch of soil, nature took not
less than 300 years."
from a radio talk by Hugh Hammond Bennett, September 3, 1930.
In This Issue
- Accolades
Colorado Kudos for NRCS Public Affairs Specialist
-
Focus on the Field
Alaska: NRCS Teams with University of Alaska Scientists
California: Farm Bill Forums
Connecticut: Third Graders Trim a Tree for Wildlife
Tennessee: Urban Farm Tour a Big Success
-
Word From Washington
USDA to Hold Briefings on 2002 Farm Bill Programs
Tech Tip
NRCS Soil Data On the “Fore-front” of Golf Course Design
Sites to See
Find out what conservation
events and activities are occurring this month and in the upcoming months with
the Events and Activities page on our NRCS website
-
Visit the
National Agricultural Library’s new super resource center, DIGITOP
USDA’s Farm Bill 2002 Website
Special NRCS
Klamath Basin Reports
NRCS
Legislative Summaries
AGRICOLA: USDA's AGRICultural OnLine
Access
National Association of Conservation
Districts e-Notes
-
Accolades
Colorado Kudos for NRCS Public
Affairs Specialist
The Colorado Association of Conservancy Districts (CACD) recently awarded
NRCS public affairs specialist Mary Miller with its Statewide Distinguished
Service Award for her support of Colorado's conservation districts. As an NRCS
public affairs specialist in La Junta, Colorado, Mary has provided support to
various activities and projects for the State's conservation districts. "I was
tickled - I had no idea that it was going to be me," Miller said. "Photography
and being out in the field are my two favorite parts of the job. I love to meet
the farmers and the ranchers and take pictures of their conservation practices,
so it feels nice to receive an award and to be recognized for doing something I
love to do," she added. Like many of her counterparts in the 50 State and 6
NRCS Region offices, Mary functions as photographer, news writer, and tour guide
for the media. Miller has assisted a number of conservation districts by
conducting NRCS program workshops and tours. Last summer, she conducted a CACD
legislative and media tour of drought-impacted areas in southern Colorado that
received coverage by all the major newspapers and TV stations in the area. A
native of Minnesota, Mary has been with NRCS since 1989, working in the
Minnesota and Colorado State offices. (from a Pueblo Chieftain story by Anthony
A. Mestas – see the complete text of the story at
http://www.chieftain.com/display/archive/2002/nov/29/ni11.htm).
Your contact is Mary Miller at 719-384-5408, or
mary.miller@co.usda.gov.
Focus on the Field
NRCS Teams with University of Alaska
Scientists
NRCS and University of Alaska scientists at Fairbanks recently joined forces
to conduct northern latitude plant data research in order to upgrade
agricultural production and conservation practices in the State. This data will
benefit land resource managers by producing accurate data on plant growth curves
and plant residue production and decomposition in order to accurately estimate
soil loss from wind and water erosion. NRCS Alaska is working with farmers,
public land managers, and contractors on erosion control in farmland and other
disturbed lands. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation and the Wind Erosion
Prediction System are models for estimating erosion rates for all types of land
treatment; but to be effective tools, they require extensive and accurate data.
The Alaska NRCS partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks is providing
the data essential for running erosion prediction models under sub-arctic
conditions. This will greatly improve the reliability of the models that will
then be more useful tools for selecting conservation practices for farms, timber
harvest areas, construction and mine sites, and village and urban public works
projects.
Your contact is Ann Rippy, NRCS agronomist, and Mary Gleason, NRCS soil
scientist, at
907-479-3159.
Farm Bill Forums
NRCS State Conservationist Chuck Bell, Assistant State Conservationist Helen
Flach, and Executive Director for the California Association of Resource
Conservation Districts Tom Wehri, will conduct 2002 Farm Bill meetings next week
in Escondido, California, on December 9; El Centro on December 10; and Ventura,
on December 11. The Farm Bill meetings are intended to raise awareness of NRCS
and resource conservation district missions as they relate to conservation
planning, and Farm Bill programs. Successful forums have been held in Lincoln,
Colusa, Anderson, Salinas, Barstow, Susanville, Clovis, and Stockton,
California, to date, and more are scheduled for January 2003.
Your contact is Jolene Lau, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 831-754-1595, or
jolene.lau@ca.usda.gov.
Third Graders Trim a Tree for
Wildlife
When the Windham Textile and History Museum in Willimantic, Connecticut,
wanted local agencies to help decorate their 25 indoor trees for the holidays,
NRCS State Conservationist Margo Wallace thought it would be a great opportunity
to team up with the community and promote conservation. Using the Backyard
Conservation campaign as a theme, students from the North Windham Elementary
School constructed milk carton birdhouses, dried apple wreaths, birdseed
pinecones, and garlands of peanuts, cranberries, orange peels and popcorn. The
students had an enjoyable time, and also learned about the wildlife in their
backyards.
Your contact is Carol Donzella, NRCS community planner, at 203-922-9350.
Urban Farm Tour a Big Success
NRCS, the Hamilton County Soil Conservation district, and others recently
sponsored an interesting and unique urban farm tour on Possum Creek Herb Farm
and Crabtree Farm in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Over 100 farmers and other
landowners toured Possum Creek Herb farm – a unique operation with two
greenhouses, twenty-four gardens, and their own catalog/web site mail-order
program. Crabtree Farm is a research and educational project promoting
sustainable agriculture. The project includes an on-site community garden and
an urban farm. Various tour stops included a fire ant control project and a
test of three different control products, demonstration of ways to deal with
beaver dams in undesirable locations, discussion of the benefits of warm season
grasses, and a wetland water manipulation demonstration.
Your contact is Kathy Daugherty, NRCS district conservationist, at 423-894-1687
ext. 3, or
kdaugherty@tn.nrcs.usda.gov.
Word from Washington
NRCS to Host USDA Briefing on 2002
Farm Bill Programs
NRCS will host the second in its series of USDA informational briefings on
December 12, in Itta Bena, Mississippi. The briefings are intended to acquaint
farmers, ranchers and other constituents with a wide array of agency services
and to highlight changes and new provisions in the 2002 Farm Bill. “These
meetings are an important part of our ongoing implementation of the 2002 Farm
Bill and commitment to reach as many people as possible about USDA programs,”
said Secretary Ann M. Veneman. “Stakeholders will have the opportunity to hear
from USDA experts on the many programs available to them,” she added. Follow-up
sessions are planned for January 15, in Victoria, Texas, and on February 19, in
Fort Valley, Georgia.
For information about the briefings, please visit the USDA’s Farm Bill website
at http://www.usda.gov, or call
202-720-6350, or toll free 1-800-880-4183.
Tech Tip
NRCS Soil Data On the “Fore-front” of
Golf Course Design
The NRCS National Soil Survey Center, in cooperation with the University of
Nebraska, has been looking at ways soil data can be applied to golf course
design, construction, and maintenance. Using interpretive maps and geographic
information system (GIS) analytical tools, their study provides an initial
assessment of a golf course site’s soil resources by showing areas with soil
characteristics beneficial to golf course design, construction, and management.
With the NRCS GIS maps, golf course developers are able to plan for irrigation
and pesticide management; locate topsoil and sand; predict erosion during
construction, and identify suitable landscaping forbs, shrubs, and trees.
Developers can now find sites that can be developed economically, and golf
course architects and builders can analyze soil characteristics to create a golf
course that is economical to build and compatible with its surrounding
environment. For golf course greens keepers, NRCS soil data are essential not
only for developing golf course management plans but for maximizing the soil’s
potential to support play and enhance the course’s contribution to the
surrounding environment.
Your contact is Bob Nielsen, NRCS soil scientist, at 402-437-4149, or
bob.nielsen@nssc.nrcs.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.
You can receive NRCSTW via e-mail by sending an e-mail to: listproc@nrcs.usda.gov (NHQ personnel should send their e-mail to: GW:"listproc@nrcs.usda.gov@i"). Do not use a subject line and put the following in the body of the message: subscribe NRCS-THIS-WEEK Firstname Lastname (example: subscribe NRCS-THIS-WEEK Rachel Carson). To get help with other commands that are available at the "listproc@nrcs.usda.gov" address, send a message with no subject and the word HELP on a line by itself in the body of the message. "NRCS This Week" is posted on the NRCS Homepage.
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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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