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Janaury 2007 West Kansas snow strom (NRCS photo by Janice Colgran, Atwood, Kansas -- click to enlarge)NRCS This Week mast head

The Natural Resources Conservation Service — Helping People Help the Land.

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National

NRCS Chief, Arlen LancasterChief Lancaster Visits All 50 States During His Tenure
During his tenure as NRCS Chief, Arlen Lancaster visited NRCS offices and projects in all fifty States and the Caribbean Area. He has been very impressed by the diversity and richness of NRCS conservation programs and practices and the agency’s key role in conserving the natural resources of the Nation. Chief Lancaster views NRCS employees as the agency’s most precious asset.  Here is a sampling of his visits to the field.

 
Florida

Jeremy Martin (left) goes over a conservation plan with Walton County District Conservationist Darryl WilliamsFlorida and NRCS Team-Up to Enhance Wildlife Habitat
Private landowners across the State of Florida are benefitting from an agreement between NRCS and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).  The Florida NRCS and technical service provider FWC have an agreement that will protect and enhance wildlife habitat for years to come.  Under the agreement, FWC wildlife biologists at the direction of NRCS District Conservationists, prepare Wildlife Plans of Operation for landowners according to NRCS specifications. 
 

 


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Listen to Darryl Williams describe in his own words how this agreement benefits Florida landowners.
 
Rhode Island

Shell bags filled with surf clam shells are assembled to serve as a substrate for larval oysters that will be spawned in a hatchery ( photo by Rhode Island NRCS soil conservationist Justin Tuthill)Oyster Reef Restoration
Read this account by NRCS Rhode Island State Biologist Andy Lipsky of how Environmental Quality Incentives Program funds helped eight shellfish farmers restore oyster reefs in the State's waters.  The goals of this effort are focused on ecosystem services –- restoring reef habitat to benefit a wide range of aquatic organisms and to enhance filter feeding capacity in Rhode Island’s coastal ponds.
 

 

 
South Dakota

NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations Gary CoplanNRCS Employee Retires after 44 Years of Service
South Dakota NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations Gary Coplan has announced his retirement after serving 44 years with the NRCS in that State. 
 

 

 

 

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2008 Earth Team Award Winners Announced
The results are in!  Find out who the Earth Team award winners are for 2008.

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NRCS political appointees and top staff stand to applaud Chief Lancaster while Staci Lancaster looks onUSDA/NRCS Leadership Say Farewell
USDA and NRCS leadership recently gathered to bid agency staff farewell as the current administration prepares to turn over the reins of government.  NRCS This Week was there to capture the moment.

 

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new bibliography of recent scientific literature, Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Fish and WildlifeCEAP Fish and Wildlife Bibliography Released
The Water Quality Information Center at the USDA National Agricultural Library (NAL) has released a new bibliography of recent scientific literature, Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Fish and Wildlife.  The two-volume bibliography is the seventh in a series in support of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP).

 

 

 

 

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Ward Burton -- Virginia Earth Team Volunteer (NRCS photo)Ward Burton -- Virginia Earth Team Volunteer
Ward Burton is a NASCAR driver, founder of the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation, and an NRCS Earth Team volunteer in Halifax County, Virginia.

 

 

 

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Saturday night dance at the Farm Security Agency Tulare Migrant Camp in Visalia, CaliforniaMigrant Camp in Visalia, California
This is a 1940 photo of a Saturday night dance at the Farm Security Agency Tulare Migrant Camp in Visalia, California (Library of Congress Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Workers Collection photo -- click to enlarge)

NRCS This Week features a weekly historical photo and caption.  NHQ, districts, States, RC&D councils, and all other NRCS entities are invited to submit a historical photo of activities or individuals who have worked or are working for the agency along with a caption. 
 

Conservation Our Purpose. Our Passion. header bar

Conservation... Our Purpose. Our Passion

The purpose and passion for conservation is shared among many.  It is shared between NRCS employees and partners who help people help the land. And it is shared by the landowners with whom we work. Our passion is manifested through the benefits derived from stewardship of private lands—benefits we all enjoy, such as cleaner water and air, improved soils and abundant wildlife habitat.

Learn about our stories, the stories of conservation made possible through a shared purpose, a shared passion and a shared commitment to conservation. 
 

Meet Our NRCS Employees 

These three featured employees were chosen to represent each NRCS region -- a cross-section of our workforce nationwide as part of the Conservation... Our Purpose. Our Passion. campaign.

               Wyoming NRCS civil engineering technician Al Lopez     Ohio NRCS State GIS/Resource Inventory Coordinator & Geodata Administrator Robert "Bob" Parkinson     Massachusettes NRCS Greenfield District Conservationist Rita Thibodeau

 

 

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