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hay bales on a field in Scott County, Indiana (NRCS photo -- click to enlarge)NRCS This Week mast head

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Maryland

Secretary Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Merrigan unveil the new sign for the Norman A. Berg Plant Materials CenterSecretary Vilsack Dedicates National Plant Materials Center In Honor Of Norman A. Berg
Secretary Tom Vilsack recently dedicated the USDA National Plant Materials Center in honor of pioneering conservationist Norman A. Berg who dedicated more than 70 years to the stewardship of working farm and ranch land.
 


 

Utah

Sally Collins and Carl Lucero visit with National Mitigation Banking Association President George Kelly (left) who is director of business development and founder of Environmental Banc & Exchange, LLC, in Owings Mills, Maryland. Utah Prairie Dog Habitat Credits Exchange Featured at National Conference
NRCS recently co-sponsored the 12th National Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking Conference held May 6-8, 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah. As a national sponsor, NRCS headquarters worked with the Utah NRCS State office to develop a concurrent session presentation on the Utah Prairie Dog Habitat Credits Exchange project and create an exhibit highlighting NRCS market-based strategic efforts.
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West Virginia

Elkwater Fork Dam projectNRCS Provides Drinking Water for Randolph County, West Virginia
Most Americans take drinking water for granted -- turn on the faucet and water flows out. But residents in West Virginia’s southern Randolph County who haven’t had a reliable source of drinking water, will soon have a clean, abundant, and safe water when the NRCS Public Law-566 Elkwater Fork Dam project goes “on-line” to serve 21,500 residents in the Upper Tygarts Valley River Watershed.
 

 

 

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Circle of Excellence award winner NRCS agricultural engineer Caroline Clarin (NRCS image -- click to enlarge)Caroline Clarin -- NRCS Circle of Excellence Winner
Wisconsin NRCS agricultural engineer Caroline Clarin, recently awarded the NRCS Circle of Excellence award, has been in Afghanistan since March 2009 at the Forward Operating Base Sharana with the Patika Province Reconstruction Team (PRT). She is assessing natural resources throughout the province and is providing direct mentoring and planning assistance to the provincial agriculture and irrigation director and other provincial leaders. She sees watershed restoration as key to slowing erosion that she says, “is severe -- the result of deforestation due to war, drought, and overgrazing.”
 

 

 

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Pearlie Reed was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Administration by Secretary VilsackPearlie Reed Sworn-In as USDA Assistant Secretary for Administration
Former NRCS Chief Pearlie Reed was sworn-in this week in Washington D.C. as USDA Assistant Secretary for Administration by Secretary Vilsack. Pearlie Reed retired from NRCS in 2002 as a 32-year USDA conservation professional who has held positions in NRCS and the Department, including acting assistant secretary for administration where he provided leadership to more than 300 employees on the Civil Rights Action Team.
 


 

this year’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month poster, Leadership to Meet the Challenges of a Changing World (NRCS image -- click to enlarge)Celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Thirty years ago, President Jimmy Carter signed a joint resolution declaring the first Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Week as May 4-10, 1979. Eleven years later, in 1990, President George Bush extended the week into a month-long celebration. Two years after that, Public Law 102-450 designated May of each year Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.  The theme for this year’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is Leadership to Meet the Challenges of a Changing World.
Links…
Learn more about NRCS civil engineering technician Thomas Share who created this winning poster for the 2009 Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Poster contest.
NRCS Asian Pacific Islander Organization
President's Proclamation for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

 

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Larry Layman -- Virginia Earth Team VolunteerLarry Layman -- Virginia Earth Team Volunteer
Larry Layman's main interest is to get conservation on the land. After working as a county forester in Halifax for 28 years, he brought his skills to the Earth Team.

 

 

 

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sediment sockMimic Nature: Re-vegetate Depleted and Disturbed Soils with Compost Erosion Control Socks and Blankets
Soil erosion is one of the biggest contributors to nonpoint source pollution with soil loss rates from construction sites being 10 to 20 times that of agriculture land (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000).  Several studies indicate that compost socks and blankets are more effective in establishing vegetation and reducing runoff than hydroseeding or straw (Journal of Soil & Water Conservation, Volume 61 No. 6 and Volume 62 No. 6). 

 

 

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USDA bacteriologist Lore Alford Rogers working in laboratory at the Department of Agriculture (Library of Congress image -- click to enlarge)USDA Bacteriologist
This circa early 1900's image depicts USDA bacteriologist Lore Alford Rogers working in laboratory at the Department of Agriculture (Library of Congress image -- 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 along with a caption of activities or individuals who have worked or are working for the agency along with a caption to Fred Jacobs at "NRCS This Week," P.O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013.
 

 

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