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| Friday, March 26, 1999 Washington, DC |
EQIP To Come Through for Victims of Nebraska Sandhills Fire - Flexibility built into the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) will bring much-needed assistance to landowners affected by last week's fire in the Nebraska Sandhills. Half of the 78,000-acre burn site is in an EQIP priority area; however, State Conservationist Steve Chick anticipates that a request from the local workgroup will lead to the expansion of the priority area's boundary to include the entire fire area.
"The sandy soils in that area are extremely vulnerable to wind erosion," said Chick. "We have given landowners the go-ahead to establish EQIP-related conservation practices before they receive ranking for their contracts."
Next week, some of Nebraska's top range conservationists, working out of a "war room" in a motel near the burn area, will team up to work with landowners to assess damages. They will also show landowners the benefits of long-term conservation planning.
The fire, caused by a surge in an electrical line that was blown down by a high wind, led to the death of a fire fighter and the loss of several thousand cattle. NRCS is exploring possibilities for assistance to landowners through the agency's Emergency Watershed Protection Program.
Small Watershed Program To Protect Community, Improve Water Quality - NRCS South Carolina announced that the Holly Hill Watershed Project in Orangeburg County has been approved for funding under the agency-led Small Watershed Program. The project will prevent flooding and flood damage, and enhance the quality of surface water. Sixty-three percent of Holly Hill's residents are minorities. The 33,000-acre project is sponsored by the Town of Holly Hill, Orangeburg County, Orangeburg Soil and Water Conservation District, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Technical and engineering assistance, and some project administration, will be provided by NRCS.
NRCS Illinois Helps Museum Visitors Go Underground - Because of assistance from NRCS Illinois, millions of people will know what it is like to be shrunk to a tiny fraction of their normal size and menaced by an 11-foot crayfish and a gigantic earwig. For more than 2 years, NRCS soils and public affairs folks lent their expertise to Chicago's Field Museum for "Underground Adventure," a $10 million, 15,000-square-foot, permanent exhibit that takes visitors on a tour of what goes on in the soil. Visitors can follow mole paths, see larger-than-life root tips and fungi, and experience a variety of other exciting and educational adventures. To make sure that the exhibit told the true story, the head of the museum requested assistance from NRCS. The exhibit opens March 27, and is funded by Monsanto, ConAgra Foundation, National Science Foundation, and many other businesses, trusts, and anonymous donors.
Florida House Declares 1999 "Year of the Soil Survey Centennial" - The Florida House of Representatives last week adopted House Resolution 9007 that declares 1999 to be "The Year of the Soil Survey Centennial." The resolution points out the importance of soil as a natural resource; mentions Myakka fine sand, which is Florida's official State soil; and emphasizes the importance of soil surveys to Florida's past and future.
Asian Pacific American Program Seeks Prose - Aspiring authors, take note. The Asian Pacific American (APA) Program is accepting short articles that answer the questions: "What does it mean to be an Asian Pacific American?" and "What is the significance of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month to you?" Submit your articles by e-mail by April 9 to: Aylene Hizon, National Asian Pacific Program Manager, at: aylene.hizon@usda.gov The articles will be published in a document that commemorates an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebration to be held on May 6 at USDA's Jamie Whitten Building in Washington, D.C.
Oregon's Would-be Conservation Planners Must Complete Certification Course - All NRCS Oregon employees and agency partners who want to be conservation planners are now required to complete a special certification process. This process involves both formal and on-the-job training. Ongoing training is also required for an individual to maintain certification. There are three levels of planner certification: Basic, Journey, and Master. To achieve Basic Planner level, employees must complete an 80-hour conservation planning course and develop a conservation plan. The Journey Planner level requires knowledge in various natural resource management disciplines and the ability to develop intricate conservation plans. Master Planners must be able to develop plans at the areawide and watershed levels. For details about this program, contact Roy Carlson on: (503) 414-3231.
WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON
International Programs Division Continues To Take Requests - If you've heard the rumor, don't believe it. A rumor circulating through the agency says that international travel has been suspended because of budget tightening. Not so. Although a smaller budget has prompted the development of a new process for arranging international travel, submission of requests to the International Programs Division (IPD) for travel continues to be encouraged. For answers to your questions about international travel and the new process, contact Cliff Doke, Program Specialist, IPD, by phone on: (202) 690-2212, or by e-mail to: cdoke@usda.gov
A New Contact for "NRCS This Week" - Your NHQ contact for "NRCS This Week" has changed. Please send your articles and correspondence to: Brad Fisher, Public Affairs Specialist, Conservation Communications Staff, at: brad.fisher@usda.gov; by fax to: (202) 720-1564; or by mail to: Editor, "NRCS This Week," NRCS, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013.
Everyone in Conservation Communications extends a big "thank you" to Fred Jacobs for all of the fine work that he did in putting together "NRCS This Week." Under Fred's leadership, "NRCS This Week" found its place in Cyberspace and became even more widely available on e-mail. Thanks, again, Fred!
SPECIAL EVENTS
"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"
Conservation farming put first things first by attending to the needs of the soil -- by seeing to it that the starting-off place, the base, is put into sound health and kept that way. Any other approach, no matter what it may be, always has and always must lead eventually to agricultural disaster.
Hugh Hammond Bennett, Adjustment of Agriculture to Its Environment, 1943
"NRCS THIS WEEK" WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Please send correspondence and material for "NRCS This Week" to the editor by:
-- e-mail to: brad.fisher@usda.gov
-- fax to: Editor, "NRCS This Week," 202-720-1564
-- U.S. Postal Service to: Editor, "NRCS This Week," NRCS, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013
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Do not use a subject line and put the following in the body of the message: subscribe NRCS-THIS-WEEK Firstname Lastname (example: subscribe NRCS-THIS-WEEK Brad Fisher).
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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