Comment Period Ends for Draft Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations - The comment period for the draft Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations, which was released jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in September, ended January 19. Over 1,700 comment letters have been catalogued so far.

The Forest Service Content Analysis Enterprise Team will prepare a summary of the comments to be published along with the final Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations in the Federal Register later this year.

Transcripts from the listening sessions held in November and December are currently being posted. Comments are available to the public for review by calling the AFO Comment Team at 202-690-0646. Comments will also be posted on the web at http://cleanwater.gov under "What's New."

The sessions were held in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, California, Wisconsin, Washington, Iowa, Tennessee, Indiana, Texas, Colorado, and Maryland. Transcripts from these sessions are currently being posted at http://cleanwater.gov under "What's New."

Grazing Lands Technology Institute Conducts National Workshop - The Grazing Lands Technology Institute recently conducted a national workshop on the Forage Quality and Animal Well-Being project. Thirty-three States were represented at the workshop. The workshop which is being followed by 11 training sessions being held throughout the country from January through October 1999.

Farmers, ranchers, and NRCS employees report improved grazing lands health, animal well-being, and improved overall efficiency and greater management flexibility as a result of the project.

In its third year, the project involves analyzing fecal samples at Texas A&M University's Grazing Animal Nutrition lab using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy technology. The information from the analysis is sent immediately to NRCS conservationists and cooperators and is used to adjust grazing and supplemental feed management.

Bring NACD's 1999 Annual Meeting Into Your Office or Home - You can bring NACD's 1999 Annual Meeting to your office or home via the Internet at: http://nacdnet.org/virtual/vir-meet.htm. There will be updates on activities, announcements, decisions, and business conducted throughout the meeting and you can also leave a message for someone at the meeting.

Director, Strategic and Performance Planning Division Named - Lane C. Price has been selected as Director, National Headquarters Strategic and Performance Planning Division, effective January 31. Mr. Price presently serves as Team Leader of the Performance Measurement Team, Strategic and Performance Planning Division.

NRCS National Cultural Resources Specialist Named - Effective February 1, Sarah Bridges will serve as the NRCS National Cultural Resources Specialist and Federal Preservation Officer. Ms. Bridges has served as cultural resources specialist for the NRCS Mid-Atlantic Interdisciplinary Resources Team since September 1996 and has over 20 years of experience in Federal historic preservation programs and educational administration. Before joining NRCS, Ms. Bridges worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the national lead/Federal preservation officer and as a regional historic preservation officer in the Southeast.

Roy Twidt Detailed to Office of the Deputy Chief for Management - Effective immediately and until further notice, Roy Twidt, Director, National Business Management Center, Fort Worth, Texas, will be on a detail to the Office of the Deputy Chief for Management. During this time, Christine Pytel, Special Assistant, Deputy Chief for Management, will serve as the Acting Director, National Business Management Center. Both Roy Twidt and Christine Pytel will remain at their current duty locations to carry out their new assignments.

IN THE FIELD

NRCS Maine Sees Recreational Fisheries Accomplishments In 1998 - Dam removal activities in Maine have enhanced both recreational and commercial fisheries in that State. The Souadabscook stream was restored by removing one dam and breaching another in Hampden, Maine. As a result, over 160 miles of streams providing runs for Atlantic salmon, sea-run trout, shad, smelt and alewife were restored. A significant improvement to the coastal river's striped bass fishery has also resulted from this dam removal effort.

Using WHIP and donated private contributions, the Pleasant River dam in Columbia Falls was removed, restoring 8 acres of important tidal smelt spawning habitat. Smelts are an important resource for recreational and commercial fisheries and provide food for Atlantic salmon, trout, and striped bass in tidal and fresh water.

The Souadabscook and Pleasant River watersheds and their associated tidal areas are traditional fishing and hunting areas for Maine American Indians who strongly support this role that WHIP is playing in the region.

An additional 20 ponds are currently scheduled for restoration, using WHIP, State funds and private contributions, during the next 5 years.

Buffer Beginnings - Nancy Mathews, consultant for NRCS, has collected stories on the good work that's being done in the field with riparian buffer strips. This week features a story from Colorado.

Cal Campbell, a fourth generation Colorado rancher, raises 300 mother cows and grass and alfalfa hay and pasture on his 500-acre cattle ranch on the North Fork of the Gunnison River. The North Fork runs low through most of the summer and winter months, he says, but during spring snow-melt becomes a torrent. Campbell explains: "There's a period of 10 days to 2 weeks per year when it causes problems. It's not just like a flash flood, it's just that the river itself is out of balance, and can't handle the water it carries."

Campbell installed a buffer area with an average width of 60-100 feet along nearly 10 miles on both sides of the North Fork, protected by temporary electric fence (permanent fences have been lost to spring floods). Like many of his neighbors, Campbell has tried over the years to protect his land from the river – he's put in some rock veins along the bank, and he's taken advantage of some trees washed out upstream and deposited on his place. Once anchored in the streambank, sediment gets deposited behind them, Campbell says, and "if they have sediment and silt to grow in, 'volunteer' cottonwoods and willows will start the very next year."

In 1995 Campbell enlisted the help of the local conservation district, and "we asked, 'is it possible for everyone to get together and take the same approach?'" The resulting North Fork River Improvement Association (NFRIA) is a citizen organization of riverfront landowners, water users and concerned citizens along a 16-mile stretch of the North Fork.

NFRIA has used the information to identify priority areas and is undertaking a demonstration project to restore 2 miles along the river in the town of Hotchkiss. Jeff Crane says that "careful planning and design – and monitoring to assess results – are critical to reaching our goals." Equally important is the expertise and assistance of the participating agencies: the Delta Soil Conservation District, Colorado Division of Wildlife, NRCS, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. EPA, as well as many individuals and groups.

Campbell was named "the 1997 Landowner of the Year" by the Colorado Riparian Association in recognition of his efforts in organizing the NFRIA and on his own place. In its story on the award, the North Fork Current quoted Campbell: "The river is what this valley was built on. The river is just as important to those who do not live on it as those who do, and we have to work together as a community to manage it. Humans are a part of this equation. The river will not be like it was in 1860, but there are a lot of things we can do to have a more stable river system, and we owe it to our kids to get started now."

Personnel Changes - Effective March 14, Thomas E. Jewett will become State Conservationist for North Dakota. Mr. Jewett is presently State Resource Conservationist in Casper, Wyoming.

CONSTITUENCY AND PARTNERSHIP NEWS

50th Anniversary Plaques Awarded - NRCS in Minnesota distributed plaques to nearly 30 soil and water conservation districts that reached or exceeded their 50th anniversaries. The plaques, signed by State Conservationist William Hunt, were given out at the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD) Annual Meeting in Bloomington, in December of last year. The award recognized each of the districts for their conservation achievements. More than 800 people attended the MASWCD meeting.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Legislative Workshop - NRCS Legislative Affairs Staff hosted the first Quarterly Legislative Workshop for Deputy Chiefs, Division Directors, and program managers. Speakers included Ms. Jan Poling of the USDA Office of General Counsel. Ms. Poling provided information to staff regarding provisions of the Anti-Lobbying Act. She stressed that Federal employees must not engage in lobbying activities, or they are subject to legal action under existing statute. Galen Fountain, minority counsel for the Senate Appropriations Committee, provided information on the 106th Congress. He also summarized some of the activities on the FY 1999 appropriations bill, and highlighted some of the key issues that will encompass debate on the FY 2000 appropriations bills. NRCS Legislative Affairs staff distributed informational packages on Congressional committees in the 106th Congress, and also provided informational materials on communicating effectively with Members and staff.

Legislation of Note - Representative Porter Goss from Florida introduced H.R. 34, which directs the Secretary of the Interior to make technical corrections to a map relating to the Coastal Barrier Resources System.

Watershed Hearing - The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources (Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-NY) has tentatively scheduled a hearing for February 10, to discuss the Administration's FY 2000 budget submission and programs under the subcommittee's jurisdiction. Specifically, the subcommittee has requested testimony regarding the NRCS small watershed program and updates on the aging watershed infrastructure issue. Other likely witnesses at the hearing will include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

State Of Conservation Briefing - The State of Conservation briefing, previously scheduled for January 12th, has been scheduled for March 9th. The briefing, regarding the state of conservation activities on private land, will be sponsored by the Senate Agriculture Committee and open to the public and the media. NRCS staff will present information about the current state of program delivery system and conservation assistance and will also outline key priority issues for the agency for 1999.

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UPCOMING

January 31-February 4 - (California) 53rd National Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting to be held at the Town and Country Resort and Conference Center (1-800-772-8528) in San Diego, CA. Meeting agenda highlights and information are on NACD's home page at http://nacdnet.org/meetings/.

February 11 - (Washington, D.C.) USDA Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Policy Advisory Board Meeting. For more information, call the NRCS Resource Conservation & Community Development Division at 202-720-2241.

February 17-20 - (Louisiana) NRCS is holding a series of three , Third Annual American Wetlands Month Conferences. The first in the series will be held in New Orleans, LA, at the Raddisson Hotel. For more information, contact the Terrene Institute at 800-726-4853; fax 703-548-6299; e-mail: terrconf@aol.; or visit the Terrene Institute website at: www.terrene.org for program updates.

February 17-20 - (Texas) Land Improvement Contractors of America Winter Convention, Adams Mark Hotel, San Antonio, TX. Contact Wayne F. Maresch at 301-248-5749; fax: 301-248-0847; or e-mail: WayneF86@aol.com.

February 21-26 - (Nebraska) The Society for Range Management and the American Forage and Grasslands Council will hold their annual meeting, "Building on Our Heritage," at the Holiday Convention Center, 3321 South 72nd Street in Omaha, NE. For more information, visit the Society for Range Management website at: http://srm.org/meetings.html.

February 22 and 23 - (Virginia) The U.S. Department of Agriculture will hold the 75th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA. For more information, visit the Agricultural Outlook Forum website at: http://www.usda.gov/agency/oce/waob/agforum.htm.

February 28-March 2 - (Missouri) The Southwest RC&D Association meeting will be held in Springfield, MO. For more information, call the NRCS Resource Conservation & Community Development Division at 202-720-2241.

March 26-30 - (California) The Wildlife Management Institute will hold its 64th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, CA. For more information, call 202-371-1808; fax: 202-408-5059; e-mail: wmihq@aol.com; or visit the Wildlife Management Institute website at: www.wildifemgt.org/wmi.

April 14-17 - (California) The second in the series of Third Annual American Wetlands Month Conferences will be held in San Francisco, CA at the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway. For more information, contact the Terrene Institute at 800-726-4853; fax 703-548-6299; e-mail: terrconf@aol; or visit the Terrene Institute website at: www.terrene.org for program updates.

May 6-8 - (Massachusetts) The third and final Third Annual American Wetlands Month Conferences will be held in Boston, MA, at the Rolling Green Inn and Conference Center. For more information, contact the Terrene Institute at 800-726-4853; fax 703-548-6299; e-mail: terrconf@aol; or visit the Terrene Institute website at: www.terrene.org for program updates.

May 16-19 - (Texas) The National Watershed Coalition is presenting its Sixth National Watershed Conference, "Getting the Job Done at Ground Level," at the Doubletree Hotel in North Austin, TX. For more information, contact John W. Peterson at 703-455-6886 or 4387; fax: 703-455-6888; or e-mail: jwpeterson@erols.com.

May 23-28 - (Indiana) The International Soil Conservation Organization will host the 10th International Soil Conservation Conference, "Sustaining the Global Farm," at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. For more information, call 765-494-8683; fax: 765-494-5948 c/o ISCO99; e-mail: isco99@ecn.purdue.edu; or visit the conference website at: http://spc3.ecn.purdue.edu/isco99/isco99.htm.

June 6-9 - (Pennsylvania) The American Farmland Trust and 13 other agricultural organizations, in cooperation with NRCS and several other Federal agencies, will host the "Keep America Growing: Balancing Working Lands and Development" conference at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, contact Karl Otte at 703-440-8611; or visit the conference website at: www.farmland.org/KAG.html.

June 9-12 - (Louisiana) The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service and other Federal and State agencies will present the Third National Workshop on Constructed Wetlands/BMPs for Nutrient Reduction and Coastal Water Protection at the Radisson Hotel, New Orleans, LA. For more information, contact Dr. Frank Humenik at 919--515-6767; or e-mail: frank_humenik@ncsu.edu.

QUOTE

"There is not a "fragment" in all nature, for every relative fragment of one thing is a full harmonious unit in itself."

John Muir (1838-1914), "A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf."

NRCS This Week is issued weekly by the Conservation Communications Staff, NRCS headquarters, Washington, D.C., and posted in the SCS:SCS shared folder on FTS2000Mail. Please send correspondence and material via FTS2000Mail to !A16SCSOPA and type "This Week" on the subject line or e-mail: fred.jacobs2@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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