Inter-Departmental Team to Review Conservation Farm Option (CFO) Proposals - The NRCS Conservation Operations Division took the lead, this week, in organizing and coordinating an inter-departmental team to review CFO project proposals submitted by both individuals and groups. The team hopes to complete their review of the 120 proposals by

August 1. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) will then rank the proposals according to the CCC criteria for pilot project proposal scoring.

Backyard Conservation Public Service Announcements - In mid-July the Backyard Conservation radio public service announcements were distributed nationally to nearly 3,000 stations. Four 30-second spots were recorded, with three of them translated into Spanish.

In mid-June the Backyard Conservation TV public service announcement was distributed to more than 1,100 stations. So far, usage has been reported in 35 states at a value of over $77,000 in air time.

IN THE FIELD

NRCS, Others, Sponsor Buffer Exhibition at Bass Anglers Classic - NRCS, the National Corn Growers Association, and the Southeast Conservation Buffer Campaign are jointly sponsoring a buffer exhibition at the 1998 Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society Masters Classic, August 5-8, in Greensboro, North Carolina. They will be constructing a 40' x 60' buffer exhibit under a tent on the grounds of the Greensboro Convention Center, as well as setting-up a display in the exhibit hall. Seven conservation buffer technologies, plus demonstrating constructed wetlands, are being planned for the exhibit. Additional assistance is being provided by the new NRCS plant materials center in Alderson, West Virginia, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. It is anticipated that the event will attract as many as 70,000 visitors.

South Dakota Hosts Ag Camp - About 35 agricultural lenders, appraisers, and realtors from across the State of South Dakota and Wyoming recently participated in a 3-day camp at a ranch near Fort Pierre, South Dakota, sponsored by NRCS, South Dakota State University, Cooperative Extension Service, the South Dakota Grassland Coalition, the South Dakota Section of the Society for Range Management, the South Dakota Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils, and the Stanley County Conservation District, under the direction of a group of South Dakota bankers. Camp sponsors wanted to help lenders and other participants understand trends in natural resource management and focused on techniques to better evaluate the grass resource. One of the primary goals of the camp was to help ag lenders and appraisers recognize the potential production of a pasture and gain more knowledge to explore management options with their ranching customers.

CONSTITUENCY AND PARTNERSHIP NEWS

Earth Team Update - Here are some highlights of Earth Team activities from around the Nation.

South Carolina: The Berkeley Soil and Water Conservation District booth is one of the most popular attractions at the Backyard Naturescope Program. The event, held at Santee Canal State Park for two days in May, provides a hands-on experience for over 4,000 children in kindergarten through 4th grade by allowing them to make their own individual soil profile. They also learned the importance of taking care of the soil and all of our other natural resources.

New York: Since October 1997, over 11,000 students have participated in conservation education and outreach efforts in New York State. The children planted trees; learned backyard conservation techniques - including the 10 best practices for backyards - clean water actions that everyone can do; field day practices; activities on soil erosion; and participation in the New York State Environthon.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Agriculture Appropriations Bill Passes Senate - The Senate approved an amended version of the FY99 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture. A final bill will now be negotiated between the House and Senate.

Legislation of Note - The following bills of significance to NRCS and conservation were recently introduced:

Bill	Member	Purpose
S. 2218	Sarbanes (MD)	Requires the Secretary of Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to evaluate, develop, and implement a strategic master plan for States on the Atlantic Ocean to address problems associated with toxic micro-organisms in tidal, and non-tidal, wetlands and waters.
S. Res. 253	Gramm (TX)	Resolves that USDA should provide timely assistance to Texas farmers and livestock producers experiencing worsening drought conditions. (Companion House Bill H. Res. 493)

Consolidation of USDA Operations - Next week the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee (Chairman Lugar, IN) will hold an oversight hearing on USDA progress in consolidating and downsizing its operations.

SUBSCRIBE TO "NRCS THIS WEEK"

Receive "NRCS This Week" by E-mail - You can receive "NRCS This Week" by e-mail the minute it's cleared. To get on the NRCS-THIS-WEEK mailing list, send an e-mail to: listproc@nrcs.usda.gov. 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 Fred Jacobs).

To get help with other commands that are available at the "listproc@nrcs.usda.gov" address, send a message with no subject and the word HELP on a line by itself in the body of the message. "NRCS This Week" will continue to be posted on the NRCS Homepage.

UPCOMING

July 27-August 1 - 11th National Envirothon, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI. For more information, contact Brenda Weiser at 800-825-5547, ext. 27; or e-mail: envirothon@nacdnet.org.

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 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 803-253-3900; 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, Nevada. 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.

January 19-21, 1999 - Soil and Water Conservation Society will host their national conference, "The State of North America's Private Land," Holiday Inn O'Hare, Chicago, IL. For more information, contact Charlie Persinger at 515-289-2331; fax: 515-289-1227; e-mail: swcs@swcs.org.

January 24-27, 1999 - Colorado State University will host "Tailings and Mine Waste '99," Ft. Collins, CO. The conference will provide a forum for presenting state-of-the-art information on mill tailings, mine waste, and current and future issues facing the mining and environmental communities. Contact Linda L. Hinshaw at 970-491-6081; fax: 970-491-3584; or e-mail: lhinshaw@engr.colostate.edu.

May 23-28, 1999 - The International Soil Conservation Organization will host the 10th International Soil Conservation Conference, "Sustaining the Global Farm," Purdue University, West LaFayette, IN. For more information, call 765-494-8683; fax: 765-494-5948 c/o ISCO99; e-mail: isco99@ecn.purdue.edu; or visit the conference website at: http://spc3.ecn.purdue.edu/isco99/isco99.htm.

QUOTE

"Here, man is no longer the center of the world, only a witness, but a witness who is also a partner in the silent life of nature, bound by secret affinities to the trees."

-- Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961) Swedish diplomat and humanitarian

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.

< NRCS This Week Archives