The Natural Resources Conservation Service — Helping People Help the Land.

Subscribe to NRCS This Week | NRCS This Week Articles Index | NRCS This Week Archives | Contact Us | Where to Get Information | eNotes from NACD | TSP Express (Requires Adobe Acrobat.)

This Week may be your last chance to take
the NRCS This Week Reader Poll! 

All responses will be kept completely confidential. 

Valued non-employee readers – We are always glad to hear from you!  Please e-mail your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about NRCS This Week directly to the Legislative and Public Affairs Division.
 

Alabama

Alabama Hosts Dunes Restoration Workshop/Demonstration
Alabama NRCS, the Baldwin County Soil and Water Conservation District, and others along with approximately 50 volunteers recently teamed-up to host an Alabama Coastal Dune Restoration Field Day and demonstration to educate individuals about dune restoration on Alabama’s storm-eroded beaches.
 

Hawaii

Big Island Gets New Soil-Weather Stations
“Hawai`i has lots and lots of rain gages and rainfall data, but very little information on soil moisture,” says Chris Jasper, NRCS Soil Survey Project Leader in Kealakekua. But rain gages and rainfall data only tell half the story.

 

Iowa

Wetlands Remain Very Popular with Iowa Landowners
Over the past 15 years, NRCS and its partners have helped restore 133,000 acres of wetlands in Iowa.  According to Marty Adkins, NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Water Resources in Iowa, this popularity continues today, "Currently, NRCS has a backlog of over 300 applications where land owners want to restore wetlands. Getting that work done will add 28,000 acres of additional wetlands to the State."

 

Michigan

Dead River Recovery Is Making Progress
In 2003, a failed fuse plug in the Silver Dam sent millions of gallons of water roaring down the Dead River system in Marquette County, flooding the area and washing away the river's natural features. Now, three years later, there are distinct signs of recovery.
 

Vermont

Vermont Governor Recognizes 500 Acres of CREP
Vermont Governor Jim Douglas was on hand at the Devries Farm to celebrate the completion of 500 acres of Vermont farmland planted to buffers under the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) in Addison County.

Connect to NRCS' State News, Newsroom, and News Releases!

NRCS Announces Signup for Healthy Forests Reserve Program
NRCS Chief Bruce Knight has announced the signup for the Healthy Forests Reserve Program from June 19 through July 7, 2006 in Arkansas, Maine and Mississippi.  The new program will improve forested wildlife habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker in the Lower Ouachita River Flatwood region of Arkansas, the Canada Lynx in the northern boreal forest of Maine, and the gopher tortoise and black pine snake in the longleaf pine ecosystem along the gulf coast of Mississippi.

Links…
NRCS news release, "NRCS Announces Signup for Healthy Forests Reserve Program" (6/19/06)

Healthy Forest Reserve Program

USDA Awards Nearly $20 Million in Conservation Innovation Grants
Agriculture Under Secretary Mark Rey has awarded nearly $20 million in Conservation Innovation Grants to fund 66 projects in 38 states to develop and refine cutting-edge technologies and approaches to help producers maintain viable agricultural operations.

“These projects exemplify cooperative conservation and continue USDA’s partnership with public and private entities to promote practical, innovative solutions to manage our natural resources,” said Rey in remarks to the annual meeting of the National Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils.

CIG funds pilot projects and conservation field trials that can last from one to three years. The total value of the approved projects exceeds $48 million after the grantees match at least 50 percent.

Links…
USDA news release: News Release: "USDA Awards Nearly $20 Million in Conservation Innovation Grants," (June 19, 2006)

Conservation Innovation Grants

2006 Conservation Innovation Grant Awards

Click Here to See the Latest NRCS Directives

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.