NRCS This Week - 08/24/01

News

Friday, August 24, 2001 Washington, DC.

"The purpose of conservation: The greatest good to the greatest number of people for the longest time."

–- Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946), America's first professionally trained forester, two-time Governor of Pennsylvania, and first director of the U.S. Forest Service.

Focus on the Field

Alaska: Alaska Presents at SWCS Annual Conference
California: Earth Team Volunteer Learns the "A" to "Z" of NRCS
New Jersey: Newark, New Jersey Park Gets a "Run for Its Money"

Word from Washington
Three New CD-ROM's Released
First Graduate of Soil Science Scholar Program Joins NRCS
Spanish Language Program Aid (PA) Now Available on the Internet

Tech Tip
Laser Technology for Soil Analysis

Accolades
Missouri Wetland Team Receives Governor’s Award

Sites to See

National Drought Mitigation Center State Reports

Actor Morgan Freeman Narrates Public Service Announcements for NRCS
NRCS Legislative Summaries
U.S. Drought Monitor
AGRICOLA: USDA's AGRICultural Online Access
National Association of Conservation Districts e-Notes

Web-agri, the Smart Farming Search Engine

Conference & Training Connection!

See the August 24 "Conference & Training Connection" for an updated, alphabetical-by-subject list and a chronological list of upcoming events.

FOCUS ON THE FIELD

Alaska Presents at SWCS Annual Conference - The NRCS Alaska State Office presented an overview of Alaska's nutrient management program at the recent Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) annual conference, "Conservation from the Mountains to the Sea." The geographical challenges of Alaska's climate and soils result in relatively shallow rooting depth of crops due to cold soil temperatures, increasing the hazard of nutrient leaching to subsoil or water tables. This may have a detrimental effect on water quality, as well as a loss of nutrients. NRCS in Alaska is working with producers to build waste-handling facilities that allow better control over when and where producers apply manure. NRCS is also working with the University of Alaska in evaluating rates and methods of manure application to help farmers use the best science in managing manure as a plant nutrient.
Your contacts are Ann Rippy, NRCS State Agronomist, at 907-479-3159 or Joe White, NRCS State Resource Soil Scientist, at 907-271-2424.

NRCS Earth Team Volunteer Learns the "A" to "Z" of NRCS - A city girl who had only been on the back of a horse one other time in her life got a real taste of the conservation work performed at the NRCS Gila Valley Natural Resource Conservation District. Deanne Cohn, interested in teaching her second graders at Dorothy Stinson Elementary School to appreciate and care for the environment, figured what better way to teach than to first "walk the talk." So she became an Earth Team volunteer this July, and with the help of NRCS district conservationist Dave Fisher, learned about the conservation work NRCS does on private lands in southeastern Arizona. Deanne even got to ride a horse for archeological clearance and livestock pipeline location work. In the office, she organized files to make many other NRCS programs run more smoothly. She even got some plumbing experience, helping Dave build rain gauges from plastic PVC pipe and operating a soil auger with Jennifer Varin, NRCS soil conservationist. Deanne said she thoroughly enjoyed the experience and highly recommends that others get involved in conservation work as Earth Team volunteers. The best part of all, she said jokingly, "I wasn't sore from all the horseback riding."
Your contact is Dave Fisher, NRCS district conservationist, at 928-428-0635 ext 3, or for more information on how to become an NRCS Earth Team Volunteer, call 1-888-LANDCARE.

Newark, New Jersey Park Gets a "Run for Its Money" - The 311-acre urban Weequahic park recently received a $3 million dollar grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and valuable technical assistance from NRCS to clean up the park's lake and construct a 2.2-mile running track around the edge of the lake. The path is stabilizing the shoreline, reducing runoff into the lake from adjacent roads, and improving water quality. Over 140,000 plants were started to help filter the surface storm water and stabilize the shore. NRCS and partners have provided technical assistance to park staff for several years.
Your contact is Carl Dupoldt, NRCS Hydraulic Engineer, at 609-561-3223.

WORD FRIM WASHINGTION

Three New CD-ROM's Released - The NRCS Wildlife Habitat Management Division has completed distribution of three new instructional CD-ROM's. "Managing CRP Fields for Small Game," "Conservation Tillage for Wildlife," and "Fish and Wildlife Considerations in Planning for CORE-4" were recently sent out by National bulletin to all agency field offices. Limited supplies are available from Charlie Rewa, NRCS Wildlife Biologist, at 301-497-5657.

First Graduate of Soil Science Scholar Program Joins NRCS - The first graduate in the agency's Soil Science Scholar Program, Mitchell Scott, joins the NRCS La Plata, Maryland, Soil Survey Project Office, where he has worked in past years as an intern. Mitchell is a graduate of Virginia State University. The Soil Science Scholar Program was established as part of NRCS workforce planning efforts to bolster diversity in the agency's soil science disciplines. American Indian, Hispanic, and 1890's colleges and universities all participate in the program.
Your contact is Horace Smith, Director NRCS Soil Survey Division, at 202-720-1820.

Spanish Language Program Aid (PA) Now Available on the Internet - A Spanish language version of PA-1619, "Estimating Soil Moisture by Feel and Appearance," entitled, "Calculo de la Humedad del Suelo por Tacto y Apariencia" can now be downloaded from NRCS Wyoming’s homepage at http://www.wy.nrcs.usda.gov along with the English version. The Spanish language publication was distributed earlier this year. Limited supplies are available from the NRCS National Publication Distribution Center at 1-800-LANDCARE.

TECH TIP

Laser Technology for Soil Analysis - NRCS scientists from the Soil Quality Institute, National Soil Survey Center, and the Grazing Land Technical Institute have been working with U.S. Department of Energy scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, on the potential application of the laser induced breakdown spectroscopy technique to soil analysis, primarily carbon – a technology that will be used for ‘soil’ and rock analysis on the next Mars probe. The use of lasers for total elemental analysis of solids, ores, and various precious metals began to be studied in the 1960’s. The technology has already been used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and others for detecting certain elements in soil. The laser emits pulses of energy, generating temperatures as hot as the surface the sun - 7,000 to 10,000 degrees Kelvin - causing a soil sample to form into a micro-plasma. The high temperature and electron density of the plasma causes atoms to become electronically excited and emit light from which carbon is measured. Soil is currently being analyzed at the Soil Quality Institute and the National Soil Survey Lab. Field testing of laser soil analysis will begin this fall and promises to be a valuable tool for NRCS, as laser induced breakdown spectroscopy can now be made field portable.
Your contact is Lee Norfleet, NRCS Soil Quality Institute, at 334-844-4741 ext.176.

ACCOLADES

Missouri Wetland Team Receives Governor’s Award - NRCS Missouri’s Chillicothe, office wetland emphasis team was recently presented the 2001 Governor’s Award for Quality and Productivity at a ceremony in the State Capitol in Jefferson City by Governor Bob Holden. The team assisted the Missouri Department of Transportation by suggesting a more accessible site from which to transport soil needed for a local highway project. This wetland mitigation alternative plan saved $2.5 million, prevented the destruction of a 55-acre forested wetland, and allowed the project to be completed eight months ahead of schedule. Members of the award-winning team include Mark Abney, NRCS wetland team leader; Bob Dobbins, NRCS biologist; and Mike McClure, Missouri Department of Conservation wetland biologist assigned to the NRCS wetland emphasis team.
Your contact is Charlie Rahm, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist, at 573-876-9359.

CONFERENCE & TRAINING CONNECTION

August 24, 2001

As a service to NRCS personnel and the agency's partners, "NRCS This Week" offers the following by-subject list of conferences and training sessions. To add an event, please send an e-mail message to fred.jacobs@usda.gov

By Subject:

By Month:

Agroforestry/Forestry

Composting & Reycling
Farm Management
NEW! Forestry
Geographic Information Systems
Grazing Management
Hydrology & Hydraulics
NEW! Nutrient Management
Resource Conservation and Development
NEW! Soil Science
Water Quality
Watersheds
Wetlands
Wildlife and Natural Resource Conservation

August 2001
September 2001
October 2001
November 2001
December 2001

Agroforestry/Forestry

Society of American Foresters 2001 National Convention
September 13-17, 2001
Adams Mark Hotel
Denver, Colorado
Theme: "Forestry at the Great Divide." This is the annual Society of American Foresters meeting with over 2,000 professional foresters with over 200 sessions on the issues and topics facing forestry today. Of note, there is a technical field workshop on "Trees on the Prairie - Great Plains Agroforestry" for Monday, September 17. Compare notes with leading forestry experts and incorporate latest strategies and tools into your work. More information and registration on line are available at http://www.safnet.org/calendar/natcon.htm.

Southern Forest Science Conference: Contributions of Forest Research to Sustainable Forestry Preliminary Conference Announcement and Call for Papers

November 26 - 28

Renaissance Waverly Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia

The Southern Forest Science Conference will highlight the history and future of research in sustainable forestry. The conference is for anyone interested in the science of southern forests and is open to researchers, research managers and research users as well as policymakers, landowners and other interested stakeholders. Call for Papers: Topics, deadlines and other information can be found at the conference website at http://www.southernforestscience.net/ For more information contact http://www.southernforestscience.net/ or the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station at (828)-257-4302.