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| Friday, November 2, 2001 Washington, DC. |
"We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can't speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees."
–- Qwatsinas (Hereditary Chief Edward Moody), Nuxalk Nation
ACCOLADES
Extraordinary AccomplishmentsExtraordinary efforts by NRCS State and district offices have resulted in some extraordinary accomplishments with 99.8 percent of Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) being obligated through 541 contracts and 99.6 percent of the Soil and Water Conservation Assistance (SWCA) financial assistance funds being obligated through 2,064 contracts. Rolling out the programs; obtaining, ranking, and selecting applications for funding; developing conservation plans; and then developing 5 to10 year contracts for each participant has all been accomplished since June 21, when Secretary Veneman first announced the programs. Both programs provide financial assistance to agricultural producers to install conservation practices. AMA funds totaled $8.3 million for 15 states. SWCA provided $20 million nationwide for areas outside of Environmental Quality Incentives Program priority areas and outside of national Conservation Reserve Program priority areas. Public interest in both programs is very high.
Your contact is Gary Gross, NRCS AMA National Program Manager, at 202-720-7730.
Regional Tourism Awards PresentedThe Northeast Nebraska Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Council, was recently presented with the Outstanding Regional Organization award by Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Dave Heineman for a number of marketing and development projects in the area. The presentation took place at the 2001 Nebraska Travel & Tourism Conference awards banquet in North Platte, where the Northeast Nebraska RC&D was recognized for its work in building the new Corps of Discovery Welcome Center near Crofton and helping develop a corridor management and marketing plan for the Byway 12 group involved in improving the Outlaw Trail, recently named Outstanding Nebraska Byway. Additionally, the group has organized bus tours to promote the area and educate the public on the history and beauty of northeast Nebraska. The last two bus tours focused on Lewis & Clark Trail sites in the region in anticipation of the upcoming bicentennial. Jan Jorgensen, Northeast Nebraska RC&D Council Coordinator, at 402-582-4866.
NRCS Helps Reindeer HerdersStarting early next year, NRCS Earth Team volunteers will partner with other groups like AmericaCorps and VISTA, to work with the St. Paul, St. George, and Nunivak Island herders of the Island Herders Association in the Aleutian Island and Bering Sea region of Alaska. The partners will be collecting resource information and teaching resource management technologies to those hurt by declines in the reindeer populations due to overgrazing. NRCS Earth Team volunteers and their partners hope to help the Tanadgusix, Tanaq, Nima, and Chaluka Alaska native corporations develop a more productive and economical reindeer industry while conserving the natural resources of the region and considering the resource needs of all landowners in the region. Your contact is Dave Swanson, NRCS range conservationist, at 907-271-2424.
Collegiate Soil JudgingNRCS and the University of Connecticut (U of C) teamed up to host this year’s Northeast Regional Collegiate Soil Judging Contest held at U of C. Over 40 college students from across the New England competed both individually and in teams in timed events to properly identify drumlins, floodplains, and kame terraces and other soils and describe five soils commonly found in Connecticut. Students judged soil morphology, profile and site characteristics, soil classification, and soil interpretations related to urban development. The top scoring teams @ the University of Maryland, Ohio State University, and the University of Rhode Island @ will advance to the National Soil Judging contest in Minnesota. Your contact is Shawn McVey, NRCS soil scientist, at 860-871-4044.
Putting Soil Survey on the MapWhen NRCS Soil Survey Project Leader Greg Hammer started soil mapping the city of Chesapeake, Virginia, he faced a challenge of how to inform local residents about why he was digging holes everywhere. With nearly 200,000 people living in the 341 square mile area, Greg decided he needed help from of the local news media. He was successful in getting a two-page spread with photos of him mapping soils around the city run in the local newspaper. Greg designed large posters to hang in public buildings explaining the value of the survey to local residents. During October, he appeared on "Horizons," a local cable program that showed Greg mapping different types of soil and a city planner and an engineer using soils information in a GIS system and for planning developments. A taped copy of the broadcast serves as a valuable tool for schools and others who want to know more about the survey. Your contact is Pat Paul, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 804-287-1681.
November is American Indian Heritage Month!In 1986, President Reagan designated November 23-30 as "American Indian Week." President Bush proclaimed the first National American Indian Heritage Month four years later. Since then, each U.S. President has proclaimed each November as "American Indian Heritage Month." Listed below are some websites that deal with American Indian history, knowledge, lifestyles, current events and tradition.
http://www.aianea.com/ American Indian/Alaskan Native Employees Association for the NRCS. Visit this website to become a member or view projects (NOTE: this site is temporarily out of service. Check back in a week or two).
http://www.aihec.org American Indian Higher Education Consortium. This educational organization represents 32 colleges in the U.S.A. and Canada.
http://www.aises.org American Indian Science and Engineering Society. This professional organization nurtures building of community by bridging science and technology with traditional Native values.
http://www.americanindian.net Look up dates in North American Indian history. Links to numerous other web sites dealing with Tribal Peoples.
http://www.americanindiantribe.com Gives you a head start in research on the historical background of many American Indian Tribes.
http://www.ammsa.com/windspeaker/ Canada's national aboriginal news source.
http://www.cherokee.org Official website for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
http://www.doi.gov/bia/oirm/faq.htm Answers to frequently asked questions about American Indians.
http://www.indiancountry.com Website of "Indian Country" magazine. Current news articles about tribes, laws and lifeways.
http://www.indiantrust.com Website on the Cobell verse Norton (DOI) lawsuit. <http://www.indianz.com> Headline news of current events affecting American Indians and mainstream USA.
http://www.iaiancad.org Institute of American Indian Arts. Established by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1962. In 1975 it became a 2-year college in Santa Fe, NM.
http://www.nativeamericanheritage.com A good way to begin to learn about Indian heritage.
http://www.nativepeoples.com The forum is packed with interesting topics.
http://www.nativeweb.org Resources for indigenous cultures around the world. 3,505 web listings available.
http://www.tribalfires.com Promotes the publishing of Native American creative writers.
Emergency Evacuations: Assisting Co-workers with DisabilitiesDuring this uncertain period, here are some tips on helping yourself and your co-workers wit disabilities. Always evacuate the building immediately when an alarm sounds or when you’re told to evacuate. If you ignore the alert and elect to stay in your office, you’re putting yourself, and emergency rescue people, in danger.
Some additional tips for all employees include the following. Never take an elevator during an emergency evacuation. Know where the nearest exit, fire alarm manual station, and fire extinguisher are located. Don’t panic. If you have a cell phone or pager, keep it with you.
For those employees with disabilities or for those assisting employees with disabilities, here are some additional tips. Meet with your supervisor to find out what people with disabilities should do to get out of the building during an emergency. In addition, learn where there is an alternate route out of the building if the primary exit is blocked. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, strobe lights and vibrating pagers can warn you of an emergency requiring you to leave the building. If you use a wheelchair or have mobility disabilities, you should have access to a special telephone to use to call for instructions. Evacu-Track chairs can be used to take people down stairs. Emergency teams are trained to use these chairs. If you use a service animal, never let it go. The animal is your lifeline. Additionally, if you have a service animal, when the alarm sounds always leave the building or the animal will learn to disregard the alarm. Use a "buddy" system by training two co-workers (one as a back up) to be responsible for helping you get out of the building safely. Your service animal should become familiar with your buddy as soon as possible so that they don’t waste valuable time trying to form a working relationship during the emergency. Practice using one of your emergency exit routes every six months so that both you and your service animal become accustomed to the route. If you are going to be working in a different location for an extended period of time, train a buddy or two there.
Your contact is Denise Decker, NRCS management analyst, at 202-690-0648.
New Information on "Aging Watersheds" WebsiteSeveral new documents are now available on the Aging Watershed Infrastructure webpage that can be accessed at http://www.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/pl566/agingwater/infra.html. Some of the new products include a new USA map index which allows users to click on any State for a series of three graphs of numbers of project dams constructed by year, by program, and by age in that State; eleven case studies titled, "Keeping Dams Safe: Protecting People, Property, and Natural Resources" concerning pilot rehabilitation projects in Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin (see NRCS This week 10/26/01). The website also features three new fact sheets on implementation of the rehabilitation program: Overview of Implementation Rehabilitation Procedures, Questions and Answers - Rehabilitation Implementation, and Checklist for Implementation and a virtual tour of aging dams in southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Two new documents from the Agricultural Research Service: ARS/NRCS Joint Technology Needs for Rehabilitation of Aging Watershed Dams and Characterizing Sediment Impounded by USDA/NRCS Flood Control Dams in Oklahoma, Research Report No. 20 (January 2001) are also included. Coming soon to the Aging Watershed Infrastructure webpage will be a computer-based training course on rehabilitation of aging watershed dams. Your contact is Larry Caldwell, NRCS National Policy Coordinator for Aging Watershed Infrastructure, at 405-742-1254.
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