June 30 EEO Satellite Broadcast - Tune in to the NRCS satellite broadcast, "It's Your Responsibility: An Overview of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Legislation," on June 30, 1997, from 3-4 p.m. (EDT). The program is targeted to NRCS and Conservation Partnership supervisors and managers. All employees are welcome to view the broadcast. The coordinates for the broadcast are: Galaxy 3, C-Band, 95 degrees west Transponder/Channel 18, 4060 megahertz, vertical polarity. National Headquarters employees can view the broadcast in Room 1605-S or on USDA LAN Channel 6.

National WRP Easement Management Conference Scheduled - The Watersheds and Wetlands Division is sponsoring a national Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) Easement Management Conference in Des Moines, IA, July 29-31, 1997. Issues regarding easement management, monitoring, and budgeting will be discussed. For more information, call Bob Misso, WRP Program Manager, at 202-690-0848 or Jim Ayen, Wetland Restoration Specialist, Des Moines, IA, at 515-284-4370, or send e-mail to jayen@ia.nrcs.usda.gov.

Senate Briefing on NRCS Strategic Plan - On Tuesday, June 17, the NRCS Draft Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 1996-2002 was presented to staff of the Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees. The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requires that all Federal agencies begin a new process of 'performance based budgeting' in developing the FY 1998 budget. As part of this process, agencies are required to develop strategic plans prior to September 30, 1997, in consultation with Congress.

Radio Interviews with Chief Paul Johnson - On June 19, Chief Paul Johnson gave five radio interviews from his office in Washington, DC. The radio stations were WMT, Cedar Rapids, IA; WZBB in Virginia; KRES in Missouri; Metro News, Morgantown, WV; and the Tribune Radio Network, Chicago, IL. The Tribune Radio Network covers 100 stations in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The interviews focused on the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Reserve Program, and conservation buffers.

IN THE FIELD

NRCS Enters WRP Easement with South Carolina High School - NRCS in South Carolina has entered into a Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easement with Crestwood High School in Sumter, SC. Under the easement, a wetland area at the school is being developed into a unique outdoor learning laboratory under the leadership of Agricultural Teacher and FFA Advisor Billy Keels and other science teachers. NRCS District Conservationist Louis Jackson, who helped coordinate the effort, serves as an advisor.

Georgia Consortium Publishes Agriculture Directory as Part of Outreach - Team Ag Georgia (TAG)--a State, Federal, local, and private consortium working to improve customer service to limited resource and beginning farmers in Georgia--has published a directory for landowners to use as a ready reference for contacting agriculture-related groups. The 60-page directory, which will be updated annually, lists State and county offices of Federal and State agricultural agencies, State agricultural educational institutions, and nongovernmental agricultural organizations in Georgia.

NRCS Recognized for Water Quality Improvements in Pennsylvania - NRCS received the 1997 Three Rivers Environmental Award from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for improving water quality in five western Pennsylvania streams being polluted by abandoned mine drainage. The award program, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Duquesne Light Company, seeks to reward individuals, agencies and groups that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence, leadership, and accomplishment, and made significant environmental contributions in western Pennsylvania.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

House and Senate Appropriations Committees Set Allocations - On June 18, the House Appropriations Committee set the funding totals that each of its 13 subcommittees will work from when writing fiscal 1998 spending bills. The Agriculture Subcommittee's discretionary allocation was set at $13.65 billion. The fiscal 1997 allocation enacted by Congress was $13.01 billion. On Thursday the Senate set their allocation level at $13.75 billion.

House and Senate Briefings on Air Quality - USDA accompanied EPA representatives this week at House and Senate briefings focusing on the proposed PM2.5 air quality standards. EPA outlined the reasons for their belief that the more stringent standards would have only a minimal impact on the agriculture community. They explained that dust particles associated with agricultural production tend to be larger in size, and therefore, become a decreasing percentage of the smaller categories of measured particulate matter. EPA stated that in those communities that are out of attainment under the current standards, agricultural activities would not likely be the focus of compliance strategies. However, EPA was not able to provide the guarantees that the committees sought. The committees did favor the development of the MOU with the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force (Chaired by Chief Paul Johnson) to ensure that agriculture has a strong voice in the formulation of air quality standards.

Legislation of Note - The following bills of significance to NRCS and conservation were recently introduced:

S.781, Hatch (UT): To set standards and procedures for Federal "taking" of private property, including guidelines for compensation, taking impact analysis, and adjudication procedures.

S. 782, Lugar (IN): To amend the USDA Reorganization Act to allow funds to be revoked that are disbursed as a result of an erroneous decision made by a State, county, or area committee.

S. 749, Dorgan/Conrad (ND): National Grasslands Management Act to remove National Grasslands from the National Forest System and provide for permitted grazing administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.

S. 805, Lugar (IN): To reform the information technology systems of the Department of Agriculture.

S. 849, Faircloth (NC): Exempts farms and small businesses from estate taxes.

S. 845, Lugar (IN) et al.: Would transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to conduct the census of agriculture.

H.R. 1763, Gilchrest, (MD): Exempts farmland from estate taxes that is subject to a qualified conservation easement.

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 16-19 - Best Management Practices for Irrigated Agriculture and the Environment, Holiday Inn, Fargo, ND. For information call the U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage at 303-628-5430 or send e-mail to stephens@uscid.org.

July 17-19 - Land Improvement Contractors of America Summer Meeting, Providence, RI. Contact Wayne F. Maresch at 301-248-9313 or e-mail to: Wayne F86@aol.com.

July 22-25 - The 52nd Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference, "Interactions, Managing Ecosystems on a Watershed Basis," Toronto, Canada. Contact: Jennifer Pemble, 800-843-7645. Conference information can also be found at: http://www.swcs.org/AnnCon.htm.

July 26-30 - Annual Meeting of the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA), Toronto, Canada, immediately following the Soil & Water Conservation Society meeting (listed above). For more information visit the AAEA on the Internet at the following address: http://www.aaea.org/M97Sess.html.

July 29 - 31 - Wetlands Reserve Program Easement Management Conference, Des Moines, IA. For conference information, contact Bob Misso, WRP Program Manager, at 202-690-0848 or Jim Ayen, Wetland Restoration Specialist, Des Moines, IA, at 515-284-4370, or send e-mail to jayen@ia.nrcs.usda.gov.

August 3-6 - Fifth Conference on Agroforestry in North America, "Exploring the Opportunities for Agroforestry in Changing Rural Landscapes," Ithaca, NY. Contact Cornell University Conference Services at 607-255-6290 or visit the Association for Temperate Agroforestry Web site at: www.missouri.edu/~afta/afta_home.html.

August 10-14 - American Society of Agricultural Engineers National Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.

September 1-6 - The 9th World Water Congress, International Water Resources Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Contact Aly M. Shady at 819-994-4098 or e-mail aly_shady@ACDI-CIDS.gc.ca.

September 22-26 - National Watershed Water Quality Project Symposium, Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. For more information contact the Conservation Technology Information Center at 765-494-9555 or send e-mail to ctic@ctic.purdue.edu. The agenda is available on the Internet at http://www.ctic.purdue.edu.

November 2-4 - International Irrigation Exposition & Technical Conference, Nashville, TN. For conference information visit the Irrigation Association's Web site at <http://www.irrigation.org/ia/main.html>.

QUOTE

"Today more than one billion of the Earth's citizens live in abject poverty and more than two billion lack access to sanitation. In too many places, poverty breeds environmental degradation, and environmental degradation, in turn, breeds poverty. We have learned that there are no easy answers or quick fixes. The road to sustainable development requires a sustained commitment and conviction. It needs imagination and ingenuity. It demands engagement and enterprise from us all."

--Vice President Al Gore

NRCS This Week is issued weekly by the Conservation Communications Staff, NRCS headquarters, Washington, D.C., and posted on the NRCS Home Page at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov. Please send correspondence and material via e-mail to: nancy.garlitz@usda.gov or mail to Editor, "NRCS This Week," NRCS, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013 or FAX to Editor, "NRCS This Week," 202-690-1221.

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