NRCS This Week - 09/29/00

News

Friday, September 29, 2000 Washington, DC.

"Grandfather never went to school and spoke only a few words of English, a quiet man; when he talked, he talked about simple things: planting corn or about the weather sometimes about herding sheep as a child. One day he pointed to the four directions and taught me their names El Norte. . . Poniente . . . Oriente . . . El Sur. He spoke their names as if they were one of only a handful of things a man needed to know. Now I look back only two generations removed and realize I am nothing but a poor fool who went to college trying to find my way back to the center of the world where Grandfather stood that day."

-- Leroy V. Quintana, Mexican American author, from Legacy II

Focus on the Field

Alaska: Southeast Conference RC&D Creates Outdoor Classroom

California: Watershed Project Boosts American Indian Students' Science, Math Scores

Connecticut: NRCS Co-Sponsors National Nonpoint Source Monitoring Conference

Oklahoma: National Watershed Operation Workshop

Tennessee: Carbon Sequestration Project Funded for Tennessee Demonstration Farm

Vermont: Women in Agriculture Network Assists Underserved Constituents

What's Up In Washington

USDA Inducts Four Members into A Newly Established Hall of Heroes

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!

New Conservation Buffer Brochure and Poster Shipped This Week

USDA/NRCS 'NetNewsLinks:

Farm Disaster Resource Net

CBS News Disaster Links now links to the NRCS home page (under "Drought") and to the National Drought Mitigation Center.
NRCS National Water and Climate Center Snow-Precipitation Update for the West

NRCS Legislative Summaries

Also on the 'Net:

NEW! Learn more about Hispanic contributions to historic areas in the U.S.

NEW! Crop Residue Survey application - CropRes - allows users to upload survey transect data, enter county profile data (county crop acres), and adjust tillage percentages. CropRes is now available at http://calais.itc.nrcs.usda.gov/ctic/ (A PMRS user ID and logon are required to enter this site).

NEW! Computer Tools Now Available to Field Offices! Field office personnel now have access to better tools to reduce redundant paperwork, improve efficiency, and allow more time to work in the field with customers. Computer tools are available at http://www.info.usda.gov/NRCS/FOWR/

AGRICOLA: USDA's AGRICultural Online Access

e-Notes from NACD: Weekly news briefs from the National Association of Conservation Districts

Ag Day - Nationally syndicated daily program at http://www.agday.com/.

Conference & Training Connection!

See the alphabetical-by-subject list of upcoming events. See NEW! additions under AFO/CAFO.

FOCUS ON THE FIELD

Southeast Conference RC&D Creates Outdoor Classroom - To improve water quality, wetland habitat, public safety, and provide educational opportunities for students in the Southeast Conference Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) membership area, the Duck Creek Advisory Group, Mendenhall Watershed Partnership, and Southeast RC&D members in Juneau, have combined efforts to create an outdoor classroom at the Floyd Dryden Middle School. Participants have provided landscape designs, heavy equipment, fill materials, plants, and funding for the project. The Southeast Conference RC&D area serves a membership that extends more than 400 miles along the coastal rainforest of the mountainous inland passageway of islands to the foot of some of Alaska's largest glaciers and icefields. Your contact is Robert Tribelhorn, Southeast Conference RC&D Coordinator, at 907-463-3445.

Watershed Project Boosts American Indian Students' Science, Math Scores - Until recently, 100 percent of American Indian students at Greenville High School in California's Lassen County failed science and math. Today, all of these students are making passing grades. Contributing to the turnaround is the American Indian Watershed Project coordinated by California NRCS American Indian Liaison, Reina Rogers. The project relates science and math to natural resources in watersheds. Seven schools in Lassen and Plumas counties participate in the project. Partners include Lassen County Office of Education, Plumas National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, Round House Council, Feather River Resource Conservation District, and California Conservation Outreach Funds. Your contact is Reina Rogers, NRCS California American Indian Liaison, at 530-284-7126.

NRCS Co-Sponsors National Nonpoint Source Monitoring Conference - More than 150 scientists, regulators, and consultants from throughout the Nation attended the 8th National Nonpoint Source Monitoring Conference, in Hartford, Connecticut, September 11-15. The theme of the conference was "Monitoring and Modeling Nonpoint Source Pollution in the Rural/Urban Interface." NRCS State Conservationist Margo L. Wallace opened the conference, along with the Dean of the University of Connecticut's College of Agriculture, the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and a representative from the regional office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Five NRCS State staff members made presentations.

National Watershed Operation Workshop - Over 65 participants from a dozen States attended a pilot National Watershed Operation and Maintenance Responsibility Workshop last week in Duncan, Oklahoma. Sponsors were the National Watershed Coalition and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. Participants, who included project sponsors, and NRCS, conservation district and State employees, learned about the roles and responsibilities of project sponsors, as well as hands on training with equipment, materials, and techniques used in Operation and Maintenance (O&M). They also shared experiences and challenges that sponsors in the different States face in O&M. Rehabilitation of aging watershed dams was also a key topic on the agenda. Your contact is Terri Daniel, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist, at 405-742-1244.

Carbon Sequestration Project Funded for Tennessee Demonstration Farm - The Tennessee Association of Conservation Districts received a $65,000 grant from the State's Department of Agriculture to carry out a 3-year carbon sequestration project on the Robertson County Soil Conservation District Demonstration Farm located in Cedar. Soil quality testing for the project will begin on October 19. NRCS technical specialists and local volunteers, and conservation agencies, and organizations will participate in the project. Sequestering, or storing, carbon in soil as organic matter and in trees helps reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Your contact is Lavonne Winters, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist, at 615-277-2535.

Vermont's Women in Agriculture Network Assists Underserved Constituents - Vermont's "2501" model of USDA's Small Farmer Outreach Training and Technical Assistance Program is an effective network for sustaining agriculture. The Department's Office of Outreach, along with representatives of the State's Food and Agriculture Committee Outreach Council, recently conducted an on-site review of Vermont's Women in Agriculture Network (WAgN). Established to reach out to underserved constituents, the University of Vermont's Extension program, funded by NRCS, seeks to increase the number of women owning and operating profitable farms and agriculture-related businesses.

WAgN has increased the number of women in agriculture by providing the necessary information and education for participants to assess their personal level of commitment to the enterprise and evaluate the agricultural alternatives available to them. Comprehensive educational programs, such as Growing Places, a six-part seminar on evaluating possibilities and realities, and Start Up, an intensive program on running a business conducted by the Women in Small Business Program, afford potential farmers the groundwork to get them started. Follow up includes discussion groups located throughout the State, where participants learn from and mentor each other. There are no budgetary constraints for those who wish to participate in the program. The primary objective is improving the quality of life of the participants. Currently, there are 1,200 participants on the mailing list, with the rolls increasing by about 150 persons annually.

Vermont's WAgN is working with Extension and NRCS to implement the Vermont program in Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. Future targeted participants will include conventional farm wives to help them avoid "the granny factor," a dilemma a woman can face when her husband dies and she is left on her own to operate the farm. Your contact is Anne Hilliard, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist, at 802-951-6796, ext. 234.

WHAT'S UP (AND COMING) IN WASHINGTON

USDA Inducts Four Members into A Newly Established Hall of Heroes - Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman this week inducted four champions of American agriculture in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's newly established Hall of Heroes. The four honorees are long-time leaders in children's food and nutrition legislation former U.S. Senator Robert Dole, the international symbol for forest fire prevention Smokey Bear, world renowned agricultural chemist George Washington Carver, and eminent soil scientist Hugh Hammond Bennett.

"The USDA Hall of Heroes will be a living, permanent tribute to the contributions of distinguished pioneers of agriculture, past and present," said Secretary Glickman. "Today's charter inductees will be joined by other honorees in future years. All will be honored by plaques in the entry hall of USDA's Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building."

The following vignettes and notable quotes are etched on a plaque for each honoree:

Senator Robert Dole, National Leader of Nutrition and Farming Programs,

"Senator Robert Dole improved the lives of millions of American children and families through the creation of the federal nutrition safety net. His bipartisan work resulted in landmark legislation creating the National School Lunch, WIC and TEFAP programs, which provide vital nutrition assistance to those most at risk. His work helped give those most in need a better chance at dignity and success. Senator Dole now actively supports global school meals and education initiatives that will give children in developing countries a better chance at a healthy life. Senator Dole was an important link between America's farmers and improved nutrition around the world." Notable quote: "What greater right is there than the right to eat."

Smokey Bear, America's Fire Prevention Bear (1944 - present). Two Forest Service artists, Rudolph Wendelin and Harry Rossoll, were largely responsible for Smokey Bear's look and character. Wendelin directed the many artists who drew Smokey, including Rossoll, one of the main artists. Their commitment to Smokey Bear, whose campaign has taught generations of children that preventing forest fires is each individual's responsibility, has helped save thousands of acres of our nation's forests. Notable quote: "Remember, Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires."

George Washington Carver - Father of Chemurgy (1861 - 1943), World renowned for his scientific achievements, George Washington Carver was an educator, scientist, teacher, and agriculturist. He specialized in developing industrial applications from farm products (chemurgy). For many years, he served as the director of agriculture at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and as a collaborator with USDA. Carver's most honored achievements in creative scientific research led to improved health and living conditions for the southern farmer. Among his many accomplishments were outreach efforts using the Jesup Wagon. George Washington Carver was, and remains, an inspiration to others. Notable quote: "It's simply service that measures success."

Hugh Hammond Bennett - Father of Soil Conservation (1881 - 1960). Hugh Hammond Bennett combined science, passion, and political astuteness to make soil conservation a national priority and spark a worldwide conservation movement. In 1903, after graduation from the University of North Carolina, Bennett joined USDA's Bureau of Soils, where he soon determined that soil erosion was the biggest threat facing the American farmer. He became a tireless crusader for soil conservation, triggering the establishment of the Soil Erosion Service in 1933 and the passage of the act of April 27, 1935, creating the Soil Conservation Service in USDA. Bennett led the organization until 1951. Notable quote: "Out of the long list of nature's gifts to man, none is perhaps so utterly essential to human life as soil."

The Hall of Heroes website is available at http://www.usda.gov/da/hallofheroes

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! - Hispanic Heritage Month 2000 has arrived! Latino communities nationwide welcome this yearly event, which begins in one month and ends in the next. The month of celebration began September 15 and will last through October 15. El Dia de la Raza, will be celebrated on October 12.

The observance was initiated by the U. S. Congress as Hispanic Heritage Week more than 20 years ago. The month-long celebration has grown. The intent of Hispanic Heritage Week was to encourage Hispanic awareness among all U. S. citizens. The longer Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated, the more people learn and want to know more. Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by participating in events in a Latino community near you!

New Conservation Buffer Brochure and Poster Shipped This Week - A new conservation buffer brochure and educational poster are scheduled to be shipped this week to regional and State NRCS offices. The brochure incorporates details about the added financial incentives that are available to farmers and ranchers for the installation of conservation buffers through the continuous Conservation Reserve Program sign-up. The poster is an educational tool that highlights the financial incentives available to help landowners use buffers, as well as the environmental benefits of buffers. Both pieces are built around the theme of "conservation buffers work...economically and environmentally."

Additional copies of both the brochure and poster (flat, or folded to fit a 9x12-inch envelope) can be ordered from 1-888-LANDCARE. Your contact is Mary Cressel, NRCS Communications Staff, at 202-690-0547 or mary.cressel@usda.gov.

CONFERENCE & TRAINING CONNECTION

September 29, 2000

As a service to NRCS personnel and the agency's partners, "NRCS This Week" offers the following by-subject list of conferences and training sessions. To add an event, please send an e-mail message to fred.jacobs@usda.gov

AFO/CAFO

Agricultural Economics

Agroforestry/Forestry

Agronomy

Air Quality

Animal Residuals Management

Carbon Sequestration

Coastal Zone Management

Environmental Education

Farmland Preservation

GIS

Grazing Land & Grassland

Irrigation

Mining & the Environment

Partnerships

Resource Conservation & Development

Rivers

Water Quality

Watersheds

Wetlands

AFO/CAFO

The Innovative Technology for Planning Animal Feeding Operations

December 4-6

Denver, Colorado, Renaissance Denver Hotel

Attendees will be producers, government agencies, businesses, and consultants writing comprehensive nutrient management plans. Topics include land application technologies, alternative manure uses, air quality control strategies, mitigation of impacted sites, filter strips, etc. Exhibitors: $400.00 with two free registrations. Posters: Individuals presenting posters should be registered for the conference. Contact Ron Schierer, at 970-330-0380 or ron.schierer@co.usda.gov or Mike Collins at 307-682-8843, ext. 113, or mike.collins@wy.usda.gov