Arkansas Conservation News -- Summer 2006
Conservation Corner
Kalven L. Trice
State Conservationist
Dear Arkansas NRCS Staff,
With summer more than half over and the end of our fiscal year fast approaching,
I want to pause and reflect on the past few months. First and foremost, I want
to thank all of you for your dedication through this year of tight budgets. I
know it is stressful to forgo or delay travel, and purchasing supplies and
equipment. Unfortunately, based on National Headquarters projections I do not
see an increased budget for fiscal year 2007. This year, as in prior years, we
will work together to balance the budget and continue to service the needs of
farmers and ranchers in Arkansas.
With all the budgetary and workload challenges, we must be able to adjust to
changing circumstances. Change will continue to occur at all levels of the
organization. As you know Chief Bruce Knight is going through confirmation
hearings for a new position. I was excited to announce the reorganization of the
Management Team. It represents a shift in responsibilities and staff to meet the
demands of the Farm Bill and ongoing workload. The reorganization places a
firewall between programs and technology. NRCS is a technical agency and we need
to refocus our efforts. I look forward to selecting the person to fill the
position of State Resource Conservationist as Jim Caudle moves to Assistant
State Conservationist for Programs. A new member on the team always stimulates
discussion and brings a fresh perspective to the table.
We will also see additional changes as Ray Linder retires. Ray has done an
outstanding job and we will miss his thoughtful approach. Doris Washington was
recently selected for the Corps of Engineer, NRCS Liaison position at the
National Water Management Center. Doris too has done an outstanding job and has
acted as glue in holding the Management Team together to make sure work got
done. I want to say thank you in advance to each member of the Management Team
for stepping in and doing whatever is necessary to get the job done.
The impact of all our efforts has been tremendous. Arkansas NRCS has received
a lot of recognition for what we accomplished during 2006. The first recognition
was a national award from the Tree Farmers of America for our efforts and
partnerships working on non-industrial forest. Next, we received a national
award from Ducks Unlimited for our efforts in implementation of the Wetlands
Reserve Program (WRP). Through Jim Caudle’s leadership and all the NRCS staff
that works on WRP, Arkansas is one of the nations WRP leaders. Arkansas is
ranked number two with over 200,000 acres enrolled in WRP.
It was my honor to accept the Rural Advocate of the Year Award at the recent
Rural Development Conference. I accepted the award on behalf of you, the
Arkansas NRCS employees. I dedicated the award to my mother, who in her own
right, was a rural leader and advocate. Only through your commitment,
creativity, and enthusiasm have we done so much. I am proud of Arkansas NRCS and
what we have accomplished in conservation and in rural Arkansas. Keep up the
great work.
I look forward to seeing many of you and the members of the district boards
at the AACD meetings in August.
Wetlands project connects fragmented bottomland forest
The Natural Resources Conservation Service through the Wetlands Reserve
Program is partnering with The Nature Conservancy to restore thousands of acres
in the Big Woods of Arkansas – a 550,000-acre corridor of floodplain forest
along the Mississippi River.
Of the 550,000 acres of bottomland forest still standing, about 300,000 acres
is contiguous. The remainder exists as islands among agricultural fields -- less
than 10 percent of Arkansas’ original 8 million acres of forested wetlands
remain.
A 404-acre WRP project in Woodruff County is designed to tie some of the
fragmented areas together by converting the agricultural fields back to
wetlands.
“This practice is a win-win situation for everyone involved -- especially for
the wildlife that inhabit these areas,” said Jerry Hogan, a Field Representative
for The Nature Conservancy.
“We have installed four levies and planted approximately 70,000 trees,” said
David Fowlkes, Conservation Agronomist at the Jonesboro Technical Service
Center.
“By incorporating five water control structures into the plan, we can control
the water level with flashboard risers to flood fields for waterfowl and
shorebirds,” Fowlkes said. “By dropping the water slowly we can create several
different ages of forage for the birds.”
Shallow water areas with mounds also provide semi-permanent to permanent water
on the site for a variety of birds, amphibians and other animals.
“Our goal with each WRP project is to return the land to its natural state,”
Fowlkes said.
To accomplish this, a mixture of bottomland hardwood species was planted to
provide cover and a food source for the wildlife.
The NRCS and The Nature Conservancy are working on five other WRP projects in
the Big Woods area to restore nearly 6,000 acres.
State Forester assists Afghans with natural resource planning
State Forester Nancy Young spent three months in Afghanistan as a forestry
consultant through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to
assist the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Animal
Husbandry, and Food’s Forest and Range Department with natural resource planning
and project proposal writing as well as forestry technical assistance.
By Nancy Young
State forester
Living conditions/security
I lived in a 10 by 16 foot half of a shipping container “hooch” at the U.S.
Embassy compound in Kabul. Meals were at the cafeteria on the compound (I was
not allowed to go to restaurants in the city). The compound also had a small
convenience store and a nurse’s office (no doctor). Medical emergencies were
taken care of at the military base. I was allowed to go to the PX at Camp Eggers
to shop for personal items and the bazaar there on Fridays.
600 State Department, USAID, Marines, Blackwater Security, and local Afghan
personnel work inside the Embassy grounds. This is the largest U.S. Embassy
contingent in the world.
I lived under guard on the Embassy compound so I traveled from the guarded
compound in an armored vehicle every day to the guarded compound at the Afghan
Ministry of Agriculture. I was not allowed to stop anywhere along the way or to
shop at the city bazaars. A female international worker was kidnapped in 2005 at
one of the bazaars, and security no longer allows U.S. personnel to go there. I
was told to vary my arrival and departure times every day so that terrorists
could not easily plan an attack against me.
If I had to work in the city, I was guarded by private Blackwater Security
guys provided by USAID. When I went outside of Kabul, I was required to have
military escort. It was interesting being escorted by four humvees and 15 to 16
soldiers whenever I traveled. They would search a room before I entered it for a
meeting and some of them would stay in the room with me throughout the meeting.
Others would stand outside the window where they could see me, and some would be
stationed all around the building. They did not like guarding me while I was in
the forest, though. They were wary of ambushes.
Twice the military camps where I stayed came under rocket attacks from
Taliban forces. Apparently, the Taliban are not very good shots with the
rockets, and no damage was done to the camps. It was an interesting experience
being hustled into the bunker in the dark with my flak jacket and helmet on and
waiting for the attack to stop.
I had to wear a scarf while I was in public.
Work
Afghanistan is a beautiful, mountainous country. The forests consist of large
deodar cedar, pine, and oak in the mountains and natural pistachio woodlands in
the high steppe rangelands in a large part of the rest of the country.
Many of the forests have been destroyed during the last 25 years of fighting,
and the remaining forests in the mountains are being cut by illegal timber
smugglers who sell the logs in Pakistan. The Afghans depend almost solely on
wood for heat and cooking as well as for ceiling timbers for their mud brick
houses.
I was treated as an honored guest by the Afghans at the Ministry of
Agriculture. I worked at the Forest and Range Department where I supervised and
shared an office with four young foresters. Our primary job was to plan and
write project proposals for 11 primary focal areas identified in the Ministry’s
Master Plan. These included reforestation, tree nursery establishment, wildlife
management, rangeland management, forest protection, watershed management,
decertification, and others. We also wrote two anti-poppy project proposals that
were funded through some European donors.
My four trainees spoke broken English so we could communicate, but we had to
try very hard. Their English skills improved considerably during my stay, and I
also learned some Dari Persian from them. One of my students gave me a Dari word
or phrase to learn at the end of every day.
The office environment was a blend of modern and traditional working methods.
We had computers but no paper for the printers. The internet only worked
sometimes. The electricity went off for some part of almost every day. The guys
all worked in their coats during the winter, but they relented and brought me a
propane heater because I was always cold. Otherwise, they worked without heat.
Water was turned off to the building in the winter to keep the pipes from
freezing, and the toilets were “squat” toilets that you had to put water in by
hand.
I gave a seven-day formal forestry training course to 70 Forestry and Range
Department provincial specialist from all over the country. I taught classes on
project planning, forest inventory, nursery establishment, poplar management,
tree planting and forest management. Teaching through an interpreter is a
difficult experience, and all my teaching materials and handouts had to be
translated. But it was a lot of fun.
I wrote a forestry technical manual for the country based on the materials
from the training plus other topics. The manual will be published for all
Ministry personnel.
I also assisted the Afghan Conservation Corps with a large tree planting
project in the eastern provinces. The ACC is patterned after our Civilian
Conservation Corps and is a program to provide work for local residents. The
local village leaders choose who works for the ACC based on need. A tree
planting crew might consist of 13-year-old boys, handicapped men, or elderly men
because they were the sole support of their extended families. All the labor for
tree planting is hand labor: the mountainsides are terraced, planting pits are
dug, the trees are planted, and then they are watered for three years or more. A
lot of effort is involved in getting the trees to survive. Most of the trees
planted are bareroot trees, but pistachios are planted from seed. Just like
here, I had to fuss at the tree planters about proper tree handling and planting
technique.
The Afghans
Contrary to what you hear from the news media, the Afghans seem to be truly
glad that the Americans are helping them get control of their country back from
the Taliban. Living conditions under the Russians and then the Taliban were very
tough. All the Afghans that I met were very friendly to me. Even many people on
the streets would smile and wave to me as I traveled about the city. The
children especially would wave and give the thumbs up signal to my military
escorts.
People followed me around when I was outside working. They all loved to have
their pictures taken, and I was surprised and amused when my training students
would move from group to group to try to be in every photo that I took of the
forestry course in progress. The children that I met sang for me or played games
so that I would take their pictures.
95 percent of Afghans are Sunni Muslims, and the young men I worked with were
very religious. After they were accustomed to me, they would spread their prayer
rugs in our office and say their noon and 3 p.m. prayers.
Occasionally one of them would honor me with a home cooked meal for lunch.
Their wife (or wives!) would cook the food, and the men would go home to get it.
A typical meal would consist of qaboli palau (a rice and mutton dish with
raisins and carrot slivers), nan (an unleavened flat bread), mantu (a ground
beef stuffed noodle), and an orange for dessert. Hot chai (tea) would accompany
the meal. I liked the food, but I did get tired of eating so much mutton. It was
a matter of honor for the men to provide a meal for me since I could not go to
their homes for a meal. I had to eat everything so that I would not insult my
host.
It was a wonderful experience.
Arkansas Rural Development Commission names Trice Rural Advocate of the Year for
leadership, service
State Conservationist Kalven L. Trice was named the 2005-2006 Rural Advocate
of the Year by the Arkansas Rural Development Commission May 26.
Trice graciously accepted the honor on behalf of all Arkansas Natural
Resources Conservation Service employees then dedicated the award to the memory
of his mother, who, in her own right, was an advocate for rural Arkansas.
The Rural Advocate of the Year award is one of the most prestigious awards in
the state and recognizes Arkansans who provide outstanding leadership and
dedicated service to rural areas.
The Rural Development Commission selects an honoree each year, and past
recipients of the award include U.S. senators and state legislators.
Small Farms Task Force discusses modifying, combining programs
The Small Farms Task Force met in June to discuss modifying the Small
Scale/Small Farmer Initiative and the Alternative Crop Option.
The task force includes NRCS personnel, landowners, community based
organizations and educational institution officials.
The meeting was to provide input on how to combine the two programs and to
more effectively address some of Arkansas’ natural resources.
In July, the group visited small farms to see how NRCS can more effectively
address some of the resource needs of small landowners and farmers.
If the overall changes and combining of these programs are accepted by the
state conservationist and the state technical committee, a new name will be
created for the 2007 program.
Federal Employee’s of the Year honors
Terry Franks, contracting specialist, and Kim Foster, purchasing agent, were
named Federal Employee’s of the Year by the Federal Executive Association of
Arkansas. The award was for significant and outstanding contribution in the
professional, administrative, technical or legal field.
Greetings from the Earth Team!
The Third Quarter Area Earth Team Award went to Burthel Thomas’ Northwest
Area for reporting 1,957 volunteers. The South area reported 1,923 hours and the
northeast area reported 1,288 hours.
This revolving award will be presented again at the October Management Team
meeting.
Arkansas has recorded 5,188 volunteer hours through the third quarter of this
fiscal year, with an average of more than 55 hours per volunteer.
Arkansas has three NEW volunteer recognition items for volunteers and
supervisors of volunteers. We award one recognition item to volunteers twice
each year—in April and November. This November, volunteers with
- 4 (or more) hours of service will be awarded an NRCS pen.
- 8 (or more) hours of service will be awarded their choice of an NRCS pen
or an insulated mug.
- 16 (or more) hours of service will be awarded their choice of an NRCS
pen, insulated mug or duffle bag.
- Immediate supervisors of volunteers get their choice of a pen or an
insulated mug.
Recognition items can also be presented to a person who makes a major
contribution to the Earth Team.
If there is no statewide award ceremony, awards and recognition items will be
presented during area and state office award ceremonies.
Earth Team award nominations are due to the State Volunteer Coordinator by
October 15. We have new simplified forms.
There are four categories of volunteer awards:
- Earth Team Individual and Group Volunteer Award Nomination
(NRCS-PER-036) recognizes one:
Individual; one group; and four area awards (Area awards
include the state office.)
- Earth Team Chief’s Recognition Award Nomination (NRCS-PER-037)
recognizes one:
Field Award (The Chief’s Cup Award is a national award only.
It recognizes one state.)
- Earth Team Employee Award Nomination (NRCS-PER-038) recognizes one
outstanding:
NRCS employee and
State or area coordinator (Arkansas has six coordinators.)
- Earth Team Partnership Award Nomination (NRCS-PER-039) recognizes one:
NACD/NRCS winner for the most effective E.T. volunteer
program in a Conservation District and
RC&D/NRCS winner for the most effective RC&D Council
Earth Team’s Bluebird Trail expands throughout Arkansas
By Pat Hoeffken
State volunteer coordinator
Are you interested in getting Earth Team eastern bluebird nesting boxes in
your county?
Sid Lowrance, district conservationist, is expanding his Earth Team’s Eastern
Bluebird Trail throughout Arkansas in January 2007. He and volunteers plan to
build more than 200 eastern bluebird nesting boxes and provide 40 of the boxes
throughout the state at no charge. The requesting office must arrange for
transporting or pick up the boxes.
This is the Earth Team Bluebird Trail’s fourth year of operation in Arkansas.
In 2003, volunteers built and placed 160 bluebird nesting boxes in Miller
County. In 2004, the trail extended throughout Arkansas with 100 more boxes.
In 2005, Lowrance and Earth Team volunteers built 150 Eastern Bluebird boxes
and placed them in Searcy, Fulton, Stone and Boone counties. Twelve of the
nesting kits made it to Pulaski County where they were assembled during a
national NRCS video production.
Placement of thousands of nest boxes by concerned individuals has contributed
significantly to ensuring a future for the eastern bluebird. The ongoing
recovery is an example of how sound wildlife management practices are used to
increase the survival of an individual wildlife species.
Get to Know ... Soils Staff
The Arkansas soil survey staff helps NRCS staffs, private industry,
landowners, and academia with soils support, Geographical Information System,
Natural Resources Inventory, and Computer Security. Soils information helps
landowners and communities select the best sites for homes, schools, airfields,
roads, landfills, and agriculture. Soil surveys provide a scientific inventory
of soil resources for making maps, identifying physical and chemical properties
of soils, as well as supplying current information on potential uses and
limitations of each soil. Do you know when Soil Surveys were authorized by
Congress? 1896
Get to Know ... Engineering
“Cowboy” Roy Crutchfield – Geologist Extraordinaire.
Roy has 32 years of experience working all over the country with the Corps of
Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation and, of course, NRCS. He has worked on
several interesting projects like a tunnel under San Antonio to divert
floodwater under the city instead of flooding the Riverwalk area. He also worked
on the two bridges across Lake Norfork east of Mountain Home, Arkansas, and on
irrigation projects near Mesa Verde in southwest Colorado.
We were lucky enough to snag Roy in 1991 from the Corps. Since then, Roy has
primarily worked on geologic investigations for watershed dams, irrigation
projects, and animal waste structures. Roy also gets several calls each year
from people with strange holes in their yards, footprints in rock, and water
bubbling out of the ground.
Roy draws some great cartoon characters, likes horses and writes some pretty
good western poetry. So, if you have any strange “underground” discoveries, need
a little laugh, or want to hear a little western ditty, give Roy a call.
Rick “Killer” Miller – AutoCAD Expert.
Rick has 35 years experience, mostly with NRCS, making drawings and preparing
plans and specifications for watershed dams, channels, irrigation projects and
other structures. Rick started out scratching his drawings on a stone tablet.
Later he moved to pencil and paper. Now he zips around in AutoCAD at the speed
of light. Rick always complains when he has to move to the next level of
technology but he sure does not want to go back to that stone tablet.
Rick is a “World Class” speed skater. He got his “Killer” title after a bad
skating crash when he looked like he had been in a fight. Rick is a good
carpenter, electrician, and I’ve heard he has even laid some blocks. He is
always ready to help when someone needs something.
Todd Stringer – Design Engineer.
Todd is the latest addition to the engineering staff. Todd has 11 years
working on conservation practices. Seven years of that experience was as a
District Technician which gave Todd an excellence background when he decided to
go back to school to get his engineering degree. After graduation, Todd worked
for 2.5 years on the Irrigation Team before landing the Design Engineer
position. Todd has excellent technical skills and is really good in AutoCAD. You
might say NRCS is in his genes, since his dad is Fred Stringer, Engineer/RC&D
Coordinator in Ft. Smith.
Todd likes to “bird” hunt, play golf, and fish when he is not designing some
big structure or calculating the flow through a pipe. He likes a challenge so if
you need help on some complex project, give him a call.
Wavey Austin – Environmental Engineer.
Wavey has almost 30 years experience with NRCS. He started as a student
trainee and has been on board ever since. Wavey has worked at Hope and
Monticello as Area Engineer before coming to Little Rock as the Environmental
Engineer. He even helped train a young engineer who later became the State
Conservation Engineer.
Wavey likes to garden, watch his boys play ball, and maybe play a little
basketball. Wavey is always ready to help someone, so if you have a blazing
question about animal waste, the Phosphorous Index, or any other environmental
issue, give him a call.
Bob Fooks – Water Management Engineer.
Bob has about a hundred years experience (maybe closer to 30) working for
NRCS, as Area Engineer, Agricultural Engineer serving on the Irrigation Team,
Water Management Engineer, Acting Project Manager on the Irrigation Team, and
Acting Assistant State Conservationist for Natural Resources Planning. It is
amazing what can happen when you are an Area Engineer in Searcy, Arkansas,
minding your own business and you start getting phone calls.
Bob is our “guru” when it comes to irrigation. He has more field irrigation
experience than anyone in the state and you can always count on him to give good
solid advice.
Bob is a “pretty” good trout and smallmouth bass fisherman, but if you ever
go smallmouth fishing with him, be sure and carry your own boat cushion. He has
the hardest canoe seats in the world!
PS: If you want something from Bob, you better get with him soon. He plans to
retire in November.
Randy Busbea – Construction Engineer.
Randy has almost 30 years experience working for NRCS. He worked in the
Searcy and Harrison Area Offices before going to Walnut Ridge as Project
Engineer. In 1988, he moved to Little Rock as the Construction Engineer. Randy
wears a lot of hats in addition to his construction duties. He is our
engineering wetland and WRP “expert”. Randy teaches several construction classes
with NEDS out of Ft. Worth and is well respected throughout the country.
Randy likes to play golf, fish and ride his dual sport motorcycle. He is a
great trip planner and is always ready for an adventure, which usually ends up
with a good story. If you have any construction questions, wetland issues, WRP
problems, or just want to hear a good story, give Randy a call.
Kay Graves - Administrative Assistant.
Kay has more years experience than she likes to admit. She worked for several
years for Rural Development before coming over to the “other” side of USDA. She
has been trying to keep the SRC and Engineering staffs in line since 1896 or was
it 1996. Kay works fast. She can keep up with two staffs and still fill in up
front. Kay keeps Jim and Tony on schedule with all the deadlines, snowflakes,
and reports. If you have a question or need to run someone down, give Kay a
call.
Kay likes hummingbirds, butterflies, and has recently rescued a couple of
dogs. She is a kind-hearted person and is always ready to help some else.
Judy Petty - Administrative Assistant.
Judy has 5 years experience working with the Federal government. She worked
for about 3 years with the Federal Home Loan Bank Board before coming to work
for NRCS in 2004. She is officially on the Engineering Staff but has been
detailed to Lonoke to assist the Irrigation Team since coming on board. Judy
does her best to keep things running smoothly for the Irrigation Team.
Judy is active in her church and loves to spend time with her grandchildren.
Tony Stevenson – State Conservation Engineer.
Tony has 29 years experience with NRCS. He started as a student trainee in
Waldron in 1977. He worked in the Hope and Jonesboro area offices before moving
to Little Rock in 1988 to work on the planning staff. He later became Water
Management Engineer, worked with the Irrigation Team in Lonoke, and became State
Conservation Engineer in 2001. If you have an engineering question, give Tony a
call.
When his girls don’t have him watching a softball game, Tony likes to duck
hunt, fish, and ride his motorcycles.
Calendar
August
8 -- NE Area AACD Meeting, Village Creek State Park, Wynne
15 -- East Central Area AACD Meeting, UofA Experiment Station, Batesville
16 -- Management Team Meeting
17 -- Centeral Area AACD Meeting, USDA Service Center, Conway
21 -- Northwest Area Program Appraisal
23 -- Northwest Area AACD Meeting, Comfort Inn, Harrison
28-31 -- MO Leaders Summer Meeting, Denver, Colo.
September
4 -- Labor Day Holiday
12-13 -- Arkansas Rural Development Fall Conference, Mt. Magazine Lodge
13-14 -- Management Team Meeting
20 -- Arkansas Natural Resources Commission Meeting
October
9 -- Columbus Day Holiday
17-19 -- AWRBIAC Meeting, Eureka Springs
Comings & Goings
Alvin Peer is the district conservationist at Lonoke.
Debra Jenkins is the office automation specialist at the Jonesboro Area
Office.
Bob Forrest is the Resource Conservationist in Jonesboro.
Russell Fleharty is the district conservationist at Malvern.
Rich Joslin is the Conservation Agronomist at the state office.
Ron Hayes, district conservationist at Monticello, retired in June.
Pitfalls of Power Points
Five things to do in a Power Point presentation:
- Use no more than 3 points and 25 words on a slide, use no more than 20
slides in one show.
- Look at the audience not the screen or computer.
- Show more picture slides than text slides.
- Avoid moving animated text images – they are distracting at best.
- Be ready to give the presentation without your power point slides.
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