American Heritage Rivers Initiative - President Clinton has designated 14 rivers throughout the Nation as American Heritage Rivers. The communities along these rivers will receive help implementing plans to restore and protect the environmental, economic, and cultural values of the rivers and riverfronts. The fourteen designated rivers are:

Blackstone and Woonasquatucket Rivers (MA, RI)

Connecticut River (CT, VT, NH, MA)

Cuyahoga River (OH)

Detroit River (MI)

Hanalei River (HI)

Hudson River (NY)

New River (NC, VA, WV)

Rio Grande River (TX)

Potomac River (DC, MD, PA, VA, WV)

St. Johns River (FL)

Upper Mississippi River (IA, IL, MN, MO, WI)

Lower Mississippi River (LA, TN)

Upper Susquehanna and Lackawanna Rivers (PA)

Willamette River (OR)

The American Heritage Rivers initiative supports community-led efforts that spur economic revitalization, protect the environment, and preserve the cultural heritage that surrounds a river. Federal agencies will support these efforts by coordinating Federal plans, functions, programs, and resources.

With the announcement of the selection of American Heritage Rivers, Federal agency facilitators will travel with members of the American Heritage Rivers Work Group to each of the rivers to help the communities and local Federal agencies establish an agreement on how they will work together to implement the community's plan of action. The agreements are to be completed within 90 days of the President's designation of the American Heritage Rivers.

After completion of the agreements, a river navigator will be assigned to each river to serve the community for a period of up to 5 years as liaison to the Federal government. The river navigators will help the communities better understand how to access existing Federal resources.

A lead Federal agency will also be assigned to each of the designated rivers. These lead agencies will provide administrative assistance and leadership to the local Federal agencies as they prepare the agreements and help the communities implement their plans of action.

Publication on Women in Agriculture - "Women in Agriculture: Changing Roles and Current Outreach Techniques" will be distributed by the NRCS Social Sciences Institute in early August. The number of women in agriculture is increasing, and the percentage of women in agriculture at land grant universities ranges from 30 to 35 percent. Questions about the publication can be directed to Barbara Wallace at (616) 942-0943; e-mail: bwallace@po.nrcs.usda.gov. For additional copies, contact the Social Sciences Institute-Grand Rapids at (616) 942-1503; e-mail: ssinter2@po.nrcs.usda.gov.

NRCS National Plant Materials Center to Hold Field Day - On August 19, the NRCS National Plant Materials Center in Beltsville, MD, will host a field day. This is the first field day held at the National Plant Materials Center to educate the public about how the Center and NRCS assist people in natural resources conservation. Demonstrations, including farm equipment operation and greenhouse production techniques, will be presented. Conservation exhibits from area NRCS offices will be on display. These exhibits suggest ways in which the public can become involved in conserving natural resources. The event is free and open to the public.

IN THE FIELD

Emergency Watershed Protection Program Update - Portland, OR, will soon extend the Waterfront Park walking and biking trail along the Willamette River, thanks in part to NRCS. Emergency Watershed Protection program funding will be used by NRCS and the Portland Development Commission to stabilize a section of riverbank that was eroded by floods. This action will also protect water quality and endangered species.

Affirmative Action Statistics in Idaho - NRCS in Idaho distributed the "Idaho Affirmative Action Statistics 1997" to all offices. Data in this publication include population figures by race/ethnicity, gender, occupational, and labor force for the State and each of Idaho's 44 counties. This booklet, published by the Idaho Department of Labor, will help NRCS identify historically underserved clientele.

CONSTITUENCY AND PARTNERSHIP NEWS

NASDA Earth Day Celebration - The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) joined a task force of agriculture community leaders for the first-ever industry celebration of Earth Day 1998. With the theme of "Agriculture & the Environment: A Growing Partnership," their goal was to raise public awareness of the role the agricultural community plays as a daily steward of the land. The long-term mission is to better establish agriculture and its partnerships as a resource and a solution in dealing with environmental issues. After having a successful 1998 celebration, the Earth Day/Agriculture Task Force is now looking at future events to find the best methods of spreading the agricultural/environmental partnership message. For Earth Day 1999, they hope to have 25 state departments of agriculture working with them, highlighting initiatives in their areas through local events and at the national celebration in Washington, D.C. More information about these events can be found on the partnership website on NASDA's home page at http://www.nasda-hq.org.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

None to report.

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UPCOMING

August 9-14 - Ninth North American Forest Soils Conference, "Forest Soils and Ecosystem Sustainability," Granlibakken Conference Center, Tahoe City, CA. Information and registration form available at http://weber.u.washington.edu/~robh/S-7/NAFSC; or e-mail: jdjoslin@tva.gov; or fax: 423-632-1493.

August 13 - 6th Annual Sustainable Agriculture and Integrated Pest Management Field Day - Manure and Nutrient Management, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD. For more information, contact Judy Holliday at 301-504-6537; fax: 301-504-6491; or e-mail: holliday@asrr.arsusda.gov.

August 19 - NRCS National Plant Materials Center Field Day, Beltsville, MD. Activities at the National Plant Materials Center and exhibits from local NRCS offices will be featured. The event will run from 1:00 to 5:00 and is open to the public. For more information, contact Jennifer Kujawski at 301-504-8175 or visit the National Plant Material Center's website at http://Plant-Materials. nrcs.usda.gov:90/MDPMC/describe.html.

August 20-22 - NACD Leadership Conference, at the Rushmore Plaza, Holiday Inn, Rapid City, SD. For more information, contact Robert Raschke at 303-988-1810; fax: 303-988-1896.

September 10-12 - The National Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation and the Partners to the Statement of Mutual Intent will combine their Fourth Annual Acid Mine Drainage Conference and the Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation Annual Meeting, to host "A Joint Conference on Reclamation," at the Radisson Hotel, Knoxville, TN. For more information, contact Byron Thompson at 803-253-3930; or e-mail: bthompson@sc.nrcs.usda.gov.

September 22-25 - National Civil Rights Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. For more information, contact Darrel Dominick at 207-866-7241; or e-mail: ddominick@me.nrcs.usda.gov.

September 27-30 - Thorne Ecological Institute hosts "Peaks to Prairies: A Conference On Watershed Stewardship, Sustaining Communities, and the Environment" at the Rushmore Plaza, Holiday Inn, Rapid City, SD. For more information, call 303-499-3647; fax: 303-499-8340; or e-mail: dir@thorneecoinst.org.

October 5-9 - Joint meeting of the State Resource Conservationists and State Conservation Engineers, Reno, NV. For more information, contact David Thackeray at 202-720-0134; or email: david.thackeray@usda.gov.

October 11-14 - The Association of Dam Safety Officials will host "Dam Safety '98," Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, NV. For more information, call 606-257-5140; fax: 606-323-1958; or e-mail: damsafety@aol.com.

November 10-13 - ETC/Environmental Technology China will present "The 4th International Exhibition on Environmental Protection, Pollution Control and Green Production Technology," China International Exhibition Centre, Beijing, P.R., China. For more information, contact Rebecca Fung at 852-25163346; fax: 852-25165024; or e-mail: aes@adsaleexh.com.

November 17-20 - The National Organization of Professional Asian Pacific American NRCS Employees is sponsoring its first annual training conference in Sparks, NV. For more information, contact Mon Yee at 503-414-3264; e-mail: myee@or.nrcs.usda.gov or Virginia C. Lewis, at 505-761-4408; e-mail: vlewis@nm.nrcs.usda.gov.

QUOTE

"The mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n."

-John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667)

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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