NRCS Gets Votes of Support from West Virginia's Legislators- NRCS West Virginia reports that the State's House and Senate recently passed a resolution that calls upon the President and Congress to increase funding for NRCS conservation technical assistance. The resolution cited the importance of NRCS technical assistance in protecting the State's natural resources and economy. Also cited were the efforts of the agency's partners in conservation.

National Agroforestry Center's Site Named "Best of the Net" - Congratulations go out to the National Agroforestry Center (NAC) whose web site was named best of the net for forestry-related sites by the Mining Company, a popular web guide. The site includes on-line versions of most of the NAC's information and technical materials and links to resources on forestry. Site visitors can order NAC materials using an on-line form and access an overview of agroforestry and the Center's programs.

NRCS Michigan's Program Produces Top-Quality Conservation Planners - NRCS Michigan wants its conservation planners to be ready for the field. To make that happen, agency personnel there have developed a special training program for the people who will be doing the planning. Trainees take a conservation planning course and receive help from mentors who have plenty of experience in planning. The program's graduates are certified as conservation planners and receive a "Certified Conservation Planner" stamp. To maintain their certification, they must meet ongoing training requirements. NRCS Michigan has 86 certified conservation planners, including all 79 agency employees who have conservation planning in their position descriptions. For details about this program, contact Gary Rinkenberger on (517) 337-6701.

NRCS, Extension Service Increase Awareness of Soils Program - To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Cooperative Soil Survey Program, NRCS Alabama and the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service teamed up to produce a brochure and exhibits that will increase public awareness of soils and soil surveys. NRCS and Extension report that they are receiving outstanding support for centennial activities from RC&D councils, catfish producers, the Soil and Water Conservation Society, the State's Soil and Water Conservation Committee, the State Board of Registration for Professional Soil Classifiers, and the Professional Soil Classifiers Association of Alabama.

RC&D's Recycling Effort Keeps Pesticides Away from Water - A partnership organized by the Nebraska Loess Hills RC&D recently recycled more than 13,000 plastic agricultural pesticide containers that could have posed a threat to water quality. The containers will be used to manufacture new pesticide containers, fence posts, lumber, and parking lot stops. Agribusinesses, chemical dealers, the Omaha Tribe, and the University of Nebraska's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources worked together on the effort.

NRCS Public Information Staff Receives SWCS Award - NRCS Missouri's public information and marketing staff received the News Media Award from the Show-Me Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society. The staff was selected for its work in informing the public and government personnel about natural resources. The staff includes Norm Klopfenstein, State Information Officer; Sarah Minor, Public Affairs Specialist; and Gail Broderick, Information Assistant.

WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON

Bills Clearly Concerned About Clean Water - NRCS Legislative Affairs reports from Capitol Hill that the following bills of significance to the agency and conservation have been introduced. In the House: H.R. 579 that would allow a tax credit for the purchase and installation of agriculture water conservation systems; and H.R. 684 that would amend the Clean Water Act to increase regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations. In the Senate: S. 492, The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act that would encourage increased efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay and establish an Environmental Protection Agency small watershed grants program.

Congress, OMB, Department Praise Agency's Performance Measurement System - NRCS' Performance and Results Measurement System (PRMS) has won resounding praise from Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Department for its innovativeness and quality. Though the system is not fully implemented, they see it has having high potential to meet the expectations for performance measurement created by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. On April 1 all PRMS screens and user documentation for data entry will be available. By July 1, all counties should be entering all of their performance measures through PRMS.

SPECIAL EVENTS

NRCS National Civil Rights Committee Meeting

Davis, California

March 29-April 2

 

Ag-Earth Day

National Mall, Washington, D.C.

April 22-23

Visit the Ag-Earth website at: http://www.nasda-hq.org/nasda/earth/events1/index.html

 

"Restoring Louisiana's Wetland Heritage" Celebration

Monroe, Louisiana

May 1

Contact: NRCS State Public Affairs Specialist Herb Bourque at 318-473-7762; or e-mail:

hbourque@laso2.la.nrcs.usda.gov

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"

Out of the long list of nature's gifts to man, none is perhaps so utterly essential to human life as soil.

Hugh Hammond Bennett, Soil Conservation, 1939

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