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| Friday, July 2 , 1999 Washington, DC |
AND THE WINNERS ARE...
NRCS Alabama Engineer Recognized for Excellence - Perry Oakes, NRCS Alabama's State Conservation Engineer, recently received the "Distinguished Engineer Award" from the Alabama Section of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. Perry was recognized for his outstanding leadership and excellence in the agricultural engineering.
Clearly Deserved Recognition for Stream Corridor Pub - On June 29, Jerry Bernard, Geologist for NRCS Conservation Engineering Division at National Headquarters, and Ron Tuttle, the agency's recently retired National Landscape Architect, were among several contributors who were recognized for their outstanding work on the publication Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. Each received a Bronze Medal Award from the Environmental Protection Agency's Assistant Administrator for Water at the Annual Office of Water Awards Ceremony held at USDA in Washington, D.C.
Outstanding SEPM's Honored at Joint Training Session - Six NRCS Special Emphasis Program Managers were recently recognized for outstanding service. Holly L. Martien, Luis Hernandez, Tish Espinosa, Herman Garcia, Michelle Thomas, and Renee Poisson-Foster were honored during a luncheon at the agency's first joint training session for Hispanic Emphasis Program managers and Federal Women's Program managers. The session was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, in conjunction with the Seventh Annual National Organization of Professional Hispanic NRCS Employees Training Conference.
Net Magazine Picks PLANTS - NRCS PLANTS Database has received yet another important recognition. This time kudos come from "HMS Beagle--The BioMedNet Magazine," which recently picked the PLANTS web site as its "Web Pick of the Day." PLANTS provides a single source of standardized information about plants. You can access the pubís citation by going to http://hmsbeagle.com Last July, the MSNBC cable network named the PLANTS site the "Most Incredible Site of the Day." PLANTS receives directly through its site an average 1.7 million hits per month. This figure does not include access through other systems that use PLANTS for collecting data. The PLANTS web site can be accessed through http://plants.usda.gov
FOCUS ON THE FIELD
NRCS, Park District, Schools Partner for a Greener St. Louis - The city of St. Louis is looking a lot greener thanks to NRCS, the East St. Louis Park District, and students at local schools. The agency's Regional Outreach Project Office there coordinated efforts between NRCS Elsberry Plant Materials Center (PMC) and the park district to establish native vegetation throughout the St. Louis area. The PMC provided 2,500 shrubs, trees, forbs, and legumes for propagation in an East St. Louis greenhouse. Students from local schools planted the seedlings in vacant lots. Thanks to this partnership, plants are adding beauty to the city and educating city people about the environmental and esthetic values of vegetation. NRCS expects other ideas for native plant landscaping to sprout from this project.
NRCS Oklahoma, Partners Break Ground for Dam Rehabilitation - Federal and State conservation officials recently joined local citizens at a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the first rehabilitation in the Nation of a small upstream flood control dam. The effort focuses on Oklahoma's 20,000-acre Sergeant Major Creek Watershed where six upstream flood control dams serve the city of Cheyenne and the National Park Service Washita Battleground. The dam, which is affected by spillway problems and other difficulties, was built in 1949 in an agricultural area that has since become a site for home development. Partners in the rehabilitation effort include a local workgroup and the Upper Washita Conservation District.
Dam Removals Draw Dignitiaries, National News - July 1 saw a celebration marking the removal of the Edwards Dam in Maine. Attending were Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Chair of Coastal America Terry Garcia. The Coastal America Penobscot Watershed Team will soon begin removal of the Upper Souadabscook Dam. The team will receive the 1999 Coastal America Partnership Award. Twenty-six additional dam removal projects and 12 fishway projects are underway in Maine. ABC World News with Peter Jennings plans to highlight these dam removal efforts and will include in its coverage footage from an agency video on the Quaker Neck Dam Removal project in North Carolina. CBS also covered the Edwards event. The network recently highlighted dam removal efforts and used the Quaker Neck footage in a lead story that aired on CBS Sunday Morning. Regional teams nationwide are working on 70 significant dam removal and fishway projects.
NRCS Maryland Joins Army...To Manage Resources on Training Lands - NRCS Maryland has joined an army of partnerships whose goal is to manage natural resources on 12 million acres of training lands owned by the U.S. Army, Army Reserves, and Army National Guard. From NRCS on this mission are Soil Scientist George Teachman, Plant Materials Specialist Dave Lorenz, and Resource Conservationist Angel Figueroa. Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the Department of Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Geological Survey. This remarkable alliance provides guidance to the Army for conservation of training lands and assurance that those lands will aid the Nation's military readiness.
SWCD Rep Finds Rare Flower on Easement Land - After not being seen for more than 30 years, the vernal pool monkeyflower, which was once common in lowland prairies across the Willamette Valley, was recently discovered in a rye grass field west of Corvallis, Oregon. About 2 years ago, the field went out of production because Corvallis granted NRCS a protective easement there. Last winter, flooding of the Marys River washed way the rye grass and replaced it with silt. Native plants began sprouting in the area. Rana Foster, Associate Director of the Benton Soil and Water Conservation District and Oregon State University graduate student, found the flowers while checking bluebird houses. Nearly 1,000 plants were in bloom.
Louisiana RC&D Shows How To Make the Most of Compost - More than 200 people know more about the benefits of composting thanks to a series of workshops recently held by the Trailblazer Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council of Ruston, Louisiana. However, Trailblazer's objectives for the workshops were not strictly educational. The RC&D wants to reduce by 30 percent the amount of trash taken to local landfills, as well as improve the quality of the environment through the recycling of wood and yard waste.
WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Agriculture Appropriations Bill Yields Gridlock - Once again, the Senate version of the agriculture appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2000 (S. 1233) remained stymied, due to debate on other issues. By midweek, Senate leaders had agreed to a plan, which would schedule the Senate to debate managed healthcare issues following the Independence Day recess. As a result, the Senate was only able to complete action on legislation making appropriations for foreign operations. Congressional staffs have indicated that the agriculture bill will not return to the Senate floor until late in July.
Bexar, Medina, Atacosa Watershed Markup - On Wednesday, the House Agriculture Committee approved by voice vote, a resolution authorizing the Bexar, Medina, and Atascosa Counties watershed project under the NRCS Small Watershed Program. The P.L. 566 project involves primarily irrigation system improvement in southern Texas and would improve recharge of the Edwards Aquifer, which is the source of drinking water for 1.3 million people. The Senate Agriculture Committee must approve the project, before it becomes a fully authorized small watershed project.
Final Notice on Soil Handling, Mining on Farmland Now in Federal Register - On June 29, NRCS issued a Final Notice in the Federal Register on specifications for soil handling in relation to mining activities on prime farmland. Under the provisions of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1997 (SMCRA), the Secretary is directed to establish specifications for the removal, storage, replacement, and reconstruction of prime farmland soils. These specifications are not regulatory, and will serve as guidelines for developing State-specific standards. They will also help the mining industry and other entities develop reclamation plans, which, when implemented, will provide the best opportunities to meet the post-reclamation crop production standards required by SMCRA.
Tech Tip from the NRCS Science and Technology Deputy Area
Piping is a technical term that describes the erosion process that occurs within earth embankments. When the height of water on one side of an earth structure is higher than the other side, the potential for water to seek a flow path exists. Water will take the easy way ñ typically, the path of least resistance through the embankment which is usually adjacent to a smooth surface like a conduit or concrete structure. As water starts to flow fairly slowly, very small soil particles are carried with the water. As soil is removed, the void increases in size. The results -- increased flow volume and velocity with additional energy. This increased energy can carry larger soil particles through the embankment. This results in a cavity which resembles a pipe; therefore the term "piping." Piping is not a desired feature of earth conservation structures.
SPECIAL EVENTS
"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"
Summer is drawn blinds in Louisiana, long winds in Wyoming and shade of elms and maples in New England.
-- Archibald MacLeish, American poet
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