FOCUS ON THE FIELD

NRCS Colorado Calls for EWP Help for Flooded Areas - NRCS Colorado is seeking engineers and construction inspectors to assist with streambank bank stabilization and other associated work necessitated by recent floods. The area of service extends from Colorado Springs to areas 90 miles downstream. Staff is needed July through September. Service would be in 4- to 6-week increments. For information, call Colorado Assistant State Engineer John Andrews on (303) 236-2903, ext. 254. NRCS Colorado will pay salary as well as travel expenses.

NRCS, Partners Win Public Works Awardm - Congratulations go out to NRCS employees Mike Hayama, Tim Brasuell, Neal Fujiwara, Keith Harada, Gerard Samulski, and Mario Milani, who, with the County of Maui and the West Maui Soil and Water Conservation District, won the 1999 Project of the Year from the American Public Works Association (APWA), Hawaii Chapter. They were acknowledged for their work on the Honokeana and Kaopala Desilting Basins in West Maui. The basins improve water quality and preserve the health of coral reefs by reducing sediment and capturing storm debris. The P.L. 83-566 project was authorized for installation in 1976 and completed in July 1998. The award recognizes successful partnerships among the managing agencies, consultants, and contractors. The project will be nominated for the National APWA Project of the Year.

"Outreach in its Finest Form" Celebrated in Taylor County, WV- NRCS West Virginia, the Wes-Mon-Ty Resource Conservation and Development Council, and several other partners celebrated the opening of a new composting facility in Taylor County. Called by State Conservationist Bill Hartman "outreach in its best form," the facility is operated by the Taylor County Workshop, a community rehabilitation center that hires and trains individuals who have disabilities to manufacture containers. Workers will turn a combination of sawdust and poultry litter from nearby Hardy County into compost. This composting will save space in landfills, recycle and make use of organic wastes, and improve the water quality of a stream that flows by the workshop. NRCS provided $60,000 for the facility and technical assistance.

NRCS California Ag Engineer Assists with Hurricane Recovery in Honduras - John Tiedeman, NRCS agricultural engineer from California's Santa Maria Service Center, recently served on an interagency team that traveled to Honduras to assist in areas hard-hit by Hurricane Mitch. John and the team offered farmland value assessments, technical and financial assistance, engineering design and construction quality control, and Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) project strategies. NRCS' International Conservation Division recommended John for this effort because of his EWP engineering experience and his ability to speak Spanish.

WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

WOW Wows Capital Kids - Kids from Washington, D.C., public schools learned about conservation and the outdoor life at the kick-off event of the Wonderful Outdoor World (WOW) program held on the National Capital Mall. Hosted by Federal, State, and local agencies, and private sector partners, including the Walt Disney Corporation, the event featured five learning stations. At the environmental conservation station, NRCS personnel showed their guests how to build their own soil profile and were given coloring books that explained soil and water conservation techniques.

Now Available...

SARE Sustainable Ag Info Tip Sheets Now on Web - Ten tip sheets that list free and low-cost resources on a range of topics, including improving soil quality, weed control, marketing, and low-cost livestock systems, are now available on the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program's web site. The tip sheets are in Adobe Portable Document Format and are designed to fit in a looseleaf binder. SARE's web address is www.sare.org For more information, contact Valerie Berton on (301) 405-3186 or vberton@wam.umd.edu SARE is a USDA-funded initiative that sponsors competitive grants for research and education in sustainable agriculture.

Tech Tip from the NRCS Science and Technology Deputy Area

Prescribed grazing is being successfully practiced nationwide on riparian areas (Nature's buffer strips) to improve and maintain water quality, fish and wildlife, forage production, and stream integrity. Development of Ecological Site Descriptions helps conservationists and land managers understand site ecology and make informed choices of management alternatives to obtain these benefits.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Annual International Meeting of American Society of Agricultural Engineers

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

July 18-21, 1999

For more information, contact Brenda West at (616) 429-0300 or visit the society's web site at http://www.asae.org

 

Federally Employed Women, Inc., Annual Training Conference

Phoenix, Arizona

July 19-23, 1999

NRCS State Conservationist Michael Somerville is the honorary chair.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK"

Nature does nothing uselessly.

--Aristotle, Greek philosopher

 

I am at two with Nature.

--Woody Allen, American entertainer

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