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West Virginia Pasture in Spring -- photo by Johnathan Jessup. All Jonathan Jessup photgraphs on this web site and all other web sites are copyrighted by Jonathan Jessup. Any use of the photos without Jonathan Jessup's permission in writing is prohibited. All Rights Reserved. Jonathan Jessup photos can be viewed at http://www.jonathanjessup.com/index.phpNRCS This Week mast head

NRCS provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.

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(from left) the Honorable Sandra Day O'Connor swears in Maria Parisi Vickers, Esq. and (right) Kathy Gugulis as outgoing president Lori Santamorena looks onGugulis Named President-Elect of Executive Women in Government
Kathy Gugulis, NRCS Deputy Chief for Strategic Planning and Accountability has been elected President-Elect of Executive Women in Government (EWG). She was sworn in at a June 14 ceremony presided by founding member Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
 

NRCS National Water Management Engineer Tom SpoffordAward Derby Trifecta
NRCS National Water Management Engineer Tom Spofford feels that he has scored his career and professional trifecta through his service and activities in the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), United States Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, and the Irrigation Association.
 

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district conservationist Rick Aguayo (left) and Duane Turner admire the recycled/clean water mixing system that is used to irrigate adjacent alfalfa fieldsFirst EQIP-Funded Digester in California
Milking 2,000 Holsteins twice a day is not easy. Complying with air and water quality guidelines while trying to generate a profit is difficult too, but thanks to financial assistance from the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program that’s exactly what Eddie Imsand is now able to do after installing an anaerobic digester on his El Mirage dairy in the High Desert of Southern California.

University of Minnesota wildlife management student Nathaniel Emery collects data on Glacial Ridge birdsStrictly for the Birds
Nearly 12,000 acres within the Glacial Ridge Project east of Crookston, Minnesota, have been enrolled in the NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). Now NRCS and wildlife management student Nathaniel Emery from the University of Minnesota are involved with secretive marsh bird monitoring, upland breeding bird surveys, and duck nest searching as a measure of the restoration project’s success on one of the nation’s largest tall grass prairie/wetland restoration projects.

Sandy Patton displays some of the products produced by local vendors and artisansRural Storefront Project
For the past year, Project Manager for the Resource Conservation & Development program (RC&D) Rural Storefront Project Sandy Patton has been working with local Nebraska businesses to see if storefronts and an on-line store would be an effective means for selling products produced by local vendors and artisans. The study has concluded and the findings summarized by students from the College of St. Mary’s and by staff at the Nebraska Business Development Center in Wayne.

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cowsNRCS Signs Agreement with American Forage and Grassland Council
NRCS has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the American Forage and Grassland Council (AFGC), giving conservation program participants the option to obtain technical assistance for their privately-owned grazing and tribal lands from certified technical service providers who also are certified grassland professionals.

the diverse faces of NRCSOutreach to Our Constituents
We are committed to ensuring that our programs and services are accessible to all our customers, fairly and equitably, with emphasis on reaching underserved farmers and ranchers.
 

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New Stream Restoration Design Handbook and Training
Thanks to the help from over 120 contributors, a new Stream Restoration Design Handbook is being developed by NRCS. The new handbook, currently undergoing external peer review, will be available August 2005 for wide review. It will incorporate a variety of new tools and approaches, ecological and engineering principals for design achievement, and will be supplemented by new and emerging tools available on a companion web site under development.

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). 

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.