Resource Conservation and Development Areas Mean Great Things for Communities

Remarks by Bruce I. Knight, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service,
at the National Association of RC&D Councils Annual Leadership Forum
Washington, DC
February 3, 2003


Thank you, Joe (Cantu). It is a pleasure to be here with you today to talk
about the RC&D program.

This is my first time meeting most of you, so I want to take a couple of
minutes to introduce myself. First, and foremost, I am a rancher and
farmer. I have a diversified grain and cattle operation using no till and
rest rotation grazing systems. I went to school and to church in a
community much like many of those served by RC&D councils around the
country. My father impressed on me that we may be the landowners, but we
are really just the stewards of the land. That is how I have run my
operation.

I am also a public policy person. I served on Majority Leader Bob Doles
staff, focusing on the development of the conservation title of the 1996
farm bill. I also worked as a legislative assistant to Rep. Fred Grandy of
Iowa and Sen. James Abdnor of South Dakota. Between those jobs, I worked
for the National Association of Wheat Growers. Finally, I spent seven years
with the National Corn Growers Association, as vice president for public
policy.

I am enjoying being chief of NRCS and having the chance to implement the
conservation measures that I have worked on so hard over the years. It is
truly an honor to join NRCS, an agency with a proud history of providing
assistance to Americas farmers, ranchers, and communities.

I am delighted to have NRCS lead the RC&D program. You, the participants in
this program, are constantly exploring potential opportunities to expand the
conservation of natural resources and improve the well being of our local
communities.

I am impressed with the accomplishments of the RC&D Areas nationwide this
past fiscal year.
You completed more than 4,000 projects and brought in more than $252 million
from other sources!

Almost every group I talk with, I stress the importance of bringing in more
partners and more non-federal resources to get the job done. I dont have
to tell you about that. For years, you have developed local partnerships
and used creative financing to accomplish things
far beyond the relatively modest Federal dollars involved. I congratulate
you for your inventiveness and your dedication to making things happen in
your communities. I expect you to achieve even greater accomplishments in
the future.


BUILDING SUPPORT AND CREATING VISIBILITY

Your success depends on maintaining high visibility for the worthwhile
projects you take on, reflecting all the sectors of the public you serve,
and continuing to set your own high standards for accomplishments that are
responsive to your areas needs.

I applaud what you are doing to help put people and resources together.
Your projects benefited more than 772,000 economically disadvantaged people
last year, among the many others served.
Very few efforts of the federal government have the wide-ranging impact that
yours do.

I strongly encourage you to seek increased participation in local RC&D
activities by all USDA agencies represented in your area. Our USDA RC&D
Policy Advisory Board has worked to increase USDA-wide understanding of the
program and to recognize RC&D Councils as important constituents. If you
are uncertain how to make those contacts in your area, ask your State
Conservationist for help in getting started.


BUDGET

As you are probably aware, Congress has not finalized our budget for fiscal
year 2003, which began on October 1. Until the new budget becomes law, we
are authorized to continue supporting the designated RC&D Areas at the same
level as we did last year at this time.

Concerning new areas, no decisions can be made on whether we recommend that
the Secretary designate any new RC&D Areas until we have more certainty
about the final budget level. I am in agreement with the National RC&D
Association that our first priority is to provide appropriate funds for the
368 designated areas. Only with a significant increase would we recommend
that a few new areas be designated. We currently have 32 applications on
hand.

We continue to support achieving nationwide coverage, but only with the
level of funding to support each area.


NEW FARM BILL

My number-one priority is to implement the new Farm Bill. It contains the
single most significant investment in conservation in history. Of course,
a major milestone for you was the permanent authorization of the RC&D
program. With a history of 40 plus successful years, I guess Congress
finally recognized that RC&D had stood the test of time in outstanding
fashion.

In addition to the permanent authorization, changes in the statute included
specific recognition for the first time of the RC&D Councils and the
State, regional, and national associations as key partners in this program.

In exchange for providing permanent authorization, Congress has requested
that we complete a program evaluation and submit a report to them by June of
2005. We will be working with you to complete this evaluation.

I challenge you to look beyond the RC&D provision in the Conservation Title
of the farm bill to the other provisions and to explore with your State
Conservationists how you can use these resources to accomplish the
conservation goals of your communities. You should regard the Technical
Service Provider process, EQIP, Farm and Ranch Land Protection, and all
other provisions of the bill as tools for you to use as appropriate.

You should monitor the Farm Bill page on the NRCS web site, and, as new
proposed regulations are issued for each program, offer your suggestions on
how we can most effectively implement the programs. The Web site also has
fact sheets and other materials to help you understand all the new
provisions and opportunities.


ACCOUNTABILITY

I want to alert you to some changes in the way NRCS will be operating in the
future. President Bush has established a set of Management Initiatives:
strategic management of human capital, competitive sourcing, improved
financial performance, expanding e-government, and budget and program
integration.

Together, these initiatives will lead to overall improvement in the
effectiveness of the
Federal government. They also require an even higher level of
accountability for performance. We are being challenged to link future
budget levels to performance the results of implementing each program. We
will be needing information from you to document your activities. Keeping
track of this information will help both NRCS and you better understand
what you accomplished, how it was tied to your area plan, and what benefits
resulted.

We have two other major priorities.

The first is strengthening our technical delivery system. We must have a
strong technical delivery system for farmers and ranchers in every
community.

And the second is increasing outreach and workforce diversity. USDA is
being held increasingly responsible for delivering agriculture programs to
all citizens in this country, and that responsibility flows through
agreements and contracts to everywhere Federal dollars are involved. NRCS
and all of its partners must live up to this responsibility in everything we
do, from meetings with landowners to delivery of services.

I ask that you bear with us as we adjust within NRCS to the changes in how
we carry out our work. At the same time, I want to reassure you that you
will still set the agenda for the work that you think is important to
accomplish in your area. We remain committed to helping you get that work
done.


CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I would like to say that your July meeting in San Antonio is
very important to NRCS. To be sure as many NRCS leaders as possible attend
the meeting, I have scheduled an NRCS leadership meeting in San Antonio.

Thank you again, simply for being such wonderful, dedicated people. You are
great partners, and you bring great good to your communities. Together we
have accomplished and will continue to accomplish outstanding things to
improve the environment and quality of life in this country.

I applaud you for your efforts, and I appreciate the opportunity to attend
your Forum today. I look forward to seeing each of you in San Antonio.