Bringing Conservation Back to the Bayou:
Unique Opportunities in Unique Landscapes
 

Remarks delivered by Dana D. York , Associate Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service, at The National Organization of Professional Black Natural Resources Conservation Service Employees annual training conference.

New Orleans, Louisiana
December 11, 2007

Introduction
Thank you. I’m delighted to be here in the Crescent City. I was afraid activity on Capitol Hill might keep Chief Lancaster in D.C. and that is exactly what happened. He was very sorry not to be able to join you, although we are all certainly anxious to get a farm bill passed and to the President’s desk for signature.

I will go into more depth on that topic later in today’s program, but I want to assure you we remain fully engaged—within NRCS and at the Department—in the fight for farm bill proposals we think are reform minded, merit based and market oriented, that will prepare us to meet future challenges, make conservation easier and be more transparent in our business practices.

The Bayou’s Unique Concerns
Your conference theme, “Bring Conservation Back to the Bayou,” captures so much in just six words. It reminds us that this part of the country has long had a special place in our national consciousness, due to its unique physical and cultural landscapes.

Without doubt, the 2005 hurricanes only added to the list of the region’s pressing natural resource concerns, placing even greater demands upon those interested in protecting, restoring and conserving its rich ecosystems. But long before Katrina and Rita ever darkened Gulf Coast skies, Bayou resource managers and conservationists already had their hands full. And no wonder, as countless users rely on the area’s varied land, water and mineral resources for their livelihoods and enjoyment—for everything from commodity and specialty crop production, fur trapping, commercial fishing, port facilities, and oil and natural gas extraction, to tourism and recreational boating.

The Bayou also provides habitat for approximately 4.4 million migratory waterfowl, along with alligators, black bears, and other diverse wildlife. But these populations and the area’s historic bounty have been under stress for some time. Nearly 90 percent of all coastal land loss in the lower 48 states today is occurring within Louisiana. Wetland loss in the Pelican State averaged about 24 square miles per year between 1990 and 2000. This is roughly equivalent to losing a football field-sized area every 38 minutes.

And then there is the periodic havoc wreaked by storms. For example, hurricanes Katrina and Rita transformed an additional 217 square miles of marsh to open water along the coast, and also produced what the Washington Post described as “the largest single forestry disaster on record in the nation,” killing or destroying about 320 million trees in Mississippi and Louisiana.

In other years, like this one, drought conditions plague the region. Although episodes of drought are becoming more frequent and acute, they are not always readily recognized or actively mitigated for. Louisiana farmers are even now trying to decide when and how much corn and cotton to plant, wondering whether enough rain will arrive in time to make plowing the sun-baked fields with limited seed supplies worthwhile.

Some Progress
But not all the agricultural and conservation news here is bad news. Let me give you a few examples from the other side of the ledger.
The rice and citrus industries are rebounding and experiencing record yields.

The work of the Black Bear Conservation Committee to promote the restoration of the Louisiana black bear in its historic range has been a genuine success. USDA and NRCS people and programs have played a major role in what is widely considered to be one of the most progressive endangered species programs in the country.

Release of the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Study and the related plan earlier this year was also a significant milestone in gaining federal and state commitment to a large-scale restoration program to address comprehensively the devastating loss of wetlands I spoke of earlier.

Some Leadership Principles for Moving Forward
So, it is within this complex and layered context that we take up the charge to “bring conservation back.” As you can see, there are plenty of problems facing Bayou producers and conservationists, but that shouldn’t dissuade us as individuals or as a conservation community from the tasks at hand. As Colin Powell reminds us, “leadership is about solving problems.” But I believe there are also many opportunities here for us to “help people help the land.”

And, although the Bayou is in some ways like nowhere else on Earth, it is also a microcosm of many of the concerns we face nationally in striving to achieve our vision of “productive lands and a healthy environment.” Among those concerns is development of a leadership cadre prepared to meet both traditional and emerging conservation challenges. It is that responsibility I would like to talk to you about during my remaining time this morning, to suggest a few principles to serve as guideposts as we move forward locally to help Bayou conservation efforts, and as we prepare nationally to take NRCS into the second decade of the 21st Century.

First, conservation planning and technical assistance are our bread and butter. Farm bill programs and other financial incentives are useful tools and have their place, but they aren’t what sets us apart or where our strength lies. Given the number of priorities here and elsewhere, we must focus people and money on work that gets conservation on the ground, the true measure of our success as an agency.

We must be able and ready to advise producers in wide-ranging disciplines: from how to deal with invasive species—especially here along the Gulf Coast, where non-native species are having devastating impacts following the death of so many native trees and shrubs—to efficient water use, to which cover crops will be most effective in reducing erosion.

You may not previously have thought of providing technical assistance as exercising leadership, but it most definitely is. It is through CTA that we influence farmers’ decisions to implement practices that yield broad public benefits we all enjoy, such as improved soil, air and water quality and expanded wildlife habitat. When making land management decisions, private landowners look to your knowledge and expertise to help them make conservation easier.

That is a significant responsibility to shoulder. As Larry Clark, our Deputy Chief for Science and Technology, put it: “The diversity and richness of resource concerns in a place like the Bayou call out our employees to be ‘top guns’ in their fields and to be continually focused on professional development.” As usual, I agree with Larry and would add that I believe these are requirements for leaders throughout the agency.

That is what makes professional organizations and conferences like this of real value to the agency. I do want to mention the Chief’s desire to see a joint employee organization meeting. We believe in this time of tight resources and a looming departure of so many employees that training is essential. By combining your efforts we will be able to reach many within our tight budgets. You have the Chief’s and my commitment to make this joint meeting a reality and a success.

Accountability and Stewardship
Any of you who have been with NRCS longer than a handful of years know that the 2002 Farm Bill increased our funding for programs pretty substantially. And while that is exciting and allows us to accomplish more each year, there are strings attached. With increased funding comes increased scrutiny, and not just from congressional and other government overseers. Our national, state, county and local partners, including the general public, all want to know that we are above reproach in executing our budgets and our mission and that we have our priorities straight.


Everything from how we establish performance goals, to when and where we spend taxpayer money and staff time, to our scientific basis for conservation actions, is fair game for review and examination. I don’t consider this a bad thing and I expect all of us, at every level, to exemplify what it means to be good stewards—not just of the land, but of all the resources entrusted to us to help people help the land.

The 1890 Colleges and Universities and Centers of Excellence
The additional rigor in our partnerships with the 1890 Colleges and Universities, the five related Centers of Excellence and the engineering programs we sponsor, is a really great example of increasing our accountability, and one we can all take pride in. The technical liaisons assigned to each of the centers and our deputy chiefs have been visiting with the deans and directors to develop defensible annual work plans. These plans are key to ensuring yearly activities are relevant, add meaningfully to our conservation knowledge and enhance technology transfer, especially to the limited and socially disadvantaged farmers these institutions serve. Their body of work will help us address unique needs in unique landscapes, like those here along the Gulf Coast.

Partnerships
…Which brings me to the importance of locally led conservation. When Hugh Hammond Bennett founded NRCS’ forerunner, the Soil Conservation Service, in 1935 he was convinced that our efforts would only succeed with private landowners if local leadership was a key component of conservation delivery. He convinced President Roosevelt of the inherent wisdom of that structure, and we have worked in close partnership with the nation’s now nearly 3,000 soil and water conservation districts more or less since that time.

We have gotten really good at partnering and that stands us in good stead for the future. The problems and opportunities confronting conservationists, producers and communities today—some of which we’ve touched on this morning already—are too complex and often too large for one agency to either resolve or take advantage of. As we train ourselves to think across ecosystems and watersheds, local insights grow increasingly critical.

Scott Russell Sanders speaks to this idea in an essay in The Story Handbook, published by the Trust for Public Land. He explains in only a few sentences why local leadership matters so much in our effort to make every acre count for conservation. Here’s what Sanders says:

"If we aim to nurture a practice of conservation, we need to cultivate this intimacy with land in ourselves and we need to foster it in others. Every community, every watershed, needs people who feel responsible for that place, who know its human and natural history, and who speak resolutely on its behalf."

I want to take just a moment to recognize the loss of one of our national conservation leaders. Olin Sims, president of NACD, was involved in a farm-related accident this week. We will miss his dynamic leadership and I ask you to keep his family in your thoughts and prayers, and to assist NACD to move forward through this tragedy.

The idea that we should consider both the human and natural histories of a place, as Sanders suggests, really resonates with me, and again brings to mind the unique landscapes and cultures along the Bayou…Cajun, Native American, Spanish, African and Caribbean, to name just a few of the groups which have influenced this region’s collective story.

We must seek out the unique needs of farmers and ranchers in all the places where we live and serve, and ensure we are developing forward-looking practices, policies and programs to meet them. This is an area where The Organization—all of you—has contributed immensely, recognizing the special place of small producers through the annual Lloyd Wright Black Small Farmers Awards Luncheon and conducting training on civil rights and program delivery, among other initiatives.

NRCS leadership at NHQ looks to you and relies on you to help us understand the world outside D.C., to enable us to build bridges and implement conservation in communities all across the land.

Reviewing the Guideposts
Before I move on to one additional but related topic, let me quickly recap the principles I have suggested we must consider in preparing ourselves and NRCS to lead our traditional and emerging missions. I talked about the necessity to remain focused on our core work of conservation planning and technical assistance. I also made a case for good stewardship of agency resources, being sensitive to the increased scrutiny generated by the good fortune of increased funding. I mentioned the important role of the 1890 schools and centers in helping us stay relevant, which led to a discussion of the value of local involvement and partnerships, including those this organization has helped us strengthen over the years.

Larry Clark
Finally, I would be truly remiss if, on this special occasion, I didn’t dedicate a few minutes of my time to acknowledging one of your members for his selfless and extraordinary contributions to your organization, to our agency and to global conservation, as he prepares to retire at the beginning of next year.

I’m talking about Larry Clark, of course, who personifies so many of the leadership traits I’ve been describing today. Originally, Larry planned to retire last January, but he kindly agreed to stay on to help our then-still-new chief get his feet wet and wrap up some vital initiatives. Because he is always forward-looking, these included development of an Information Systems Plan for the Science and Technology Deputy Area, as well as a five-year investment strategy. Both plans reflect the sort of accountability and transparency I suggested are fundamental to our daily operations.

When I just described his contributions to conservation as “global” in scope, I was not exaggerating. In addition to various assignments in a half-dozen states and as Deputy Chief for both our Science and Technology and Programs areas, Larry served on the U.S./South African Bi-national Commission and U.S./Ghana Consultative Committee on Agricultural and Rural Development. He has also been a proud ambassador for NRCS during visits to many other nations and regions.

As a charter and life member of The Organization, he has championed diversity and made a personal commitment to identifying and mentoring future NRCS leaders. I won’t ask for a show of hands from those of you whose lives he has touched and whose careers he has helped shape, because I suspect every one of us would have to raise our arms high.

I will certainly miss Larry personally and as an advisor and sounding board. I don’t know how to begin thanking him or anyone for an entire lifetime of service, except perhaps to say that we are more prepared and more able to help people help the land as a result of his unflagging vision, leadership and dedication. There is no question but that he will continue as a role model for many of us for years to come.
Please join me in wishing him every future success.

In Closing
Because we are an agency that has responsibilities around the country and around the world, we will always have a need for leaders with the flexibility and strength to solve old and new problems and to seize opportunities in support of productive lands and a healthy environment. Every one of you can and should set your sights on becoming one of those leaders, with the authority and knowledge to work and “speak resolutely” on behalf of all the producers and communities who add so much to our quality of life as Americans.
I’m glad I had the opportunity to be with you today.

[END]