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Idaho's Salmon River in autumn (NRCS image byJoel McNee -- click to enlarge)NRCS This Week mast head

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

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Florida

Jean-Paul Calixte (blue NRCS shirt, second from left) with volunteers preparing to set up the garden plotsNRCS, Florida Organic Growers, and Local Church Partner to Produce Community Garden
Inspired by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s People’s Garden, Florida NRCS geographic information systems and global positioning system coordinator Jean-Paul Calixte helped organize a community garden for his church and a low income Gainesville neighborhood.  With the help of the Florida Organic Growers and their Gainesville Initiative for Tasty Gardens program, ten raised-bed vegetable plots and a compost bin were recently set-up on church property by Calixte and church and community volunteers.
 

Links...
Listen to Jean-Paul Calixte describe in his own words the community garden project.
Indiana

Indiana's Pathway to Water Quality Exhibit logo (NRCS image)The following requires  Adobe Acrobat.
Indiana's Pathway to Water Quality Exhibit
Intended to reach land use decision makers, Indiana NRCS's Pathway to Water Quality exhibit demonstrates best management practices for a variety of land use areas throughout Indiana. 

 

 
Massachusetts

NRCS State Conservationist Christine Clarke (left) recognizes the partnership of NRCS, MassWildlife and the landowners as Commissioner Mary Griffin looks onPublic-Private Partnership to Protect Rare Turtles on Agricultural Lands 
Under an innovative cooperative agreement, a partnership involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Amherst College, and two farmers from the Connecticut River Valley will help to protect about 40 acres of critical field habitat for wood turtles, a State listed species of special concern.
 

 

 

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2009 NRCS Hispanic Heritage Month Poster, "Embracing the Fierce Urgency of Now."Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated September 15 through October 15 -- the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on September 16 and Chile on September 18.  Hispanic Heritage Month has been celebrated in the United States since 1974, when President Gerald Ford issued a Presidential Proclamation extending Hispanic Heritage Week into a month-long observance.  The theme for this year's Hispanic Heritage Month is "Embracing the Fierce Urgency of Now."

Links…
Read the President's 2009 National Hispanic Heritage Month Proclamation.

Learn more about the NRCS National Association of Professional Hispanic Natural Resources Conservation Service Employees.

 

The President’s SAVE Award poster (OMB image -- click to enlarge)The President’s SAVE Award
Have a smart idea for how NRCS or the Department can trim costs?  Submit your cost-saving initiative for potential inclusion in the President’s Budget and be the first-ever SAVE Award winner.
 

 

 

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Earth Team Volunteers planting cordgrass along the shore line at Rockefeller RefugeLouisiana Earth Team Volunteers
Read how for two hot and humid days, NRCS employees and Earth Team volunteers to participated in a marsh restoration project at Rockefeller Refuge in southwest Louisiana.

 

 

 

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switch grass (NRCS PLANTS database image by Jeff McMillian -- click to enlarge)Establishing and Managing Switchgrass as a Biomass Energy Crop
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently designated switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) as one of the leading biofuel candidates for combustion, gasification, and liquid fuel production. 

 

 

 


 

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1960 image depicts a Solzman multiflora rose planted at the Bismarck Plant Materials Center (NRCS image – click to enlarge)Bismarck Plant Materials Center
This 1960 image depicts a Bismarck Plant Materials Center (PMC) specialist examining a Solzman multiflora rose planted at the PMC (NRCS 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 caption and historical photo of activities or individuals who have worked or are working for the agency. 

 

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