NRCS Backyard Conservation Public Service Announcement - In mid-June, the Backyard Conservation television public service announcement was distributed to more than 1,100 stations. As of July 31, the spot has been played over 3,200 times in 43 States, for an estimated air time value of nearly $420,000. The television station that has played the spot the most is in Reading, Pennsylvania - 276 times.

NRCS Accountability System Update - Work on Chief Pearlie Reed's initiative for a new accountability system in NRCS continues. The Acting Deputy Chief for Strategic Planning and Accountability and the five System Team Leaders have conducted a series of leadership briefings around the country to gain input on the system, scheduled for implementation on October 1. The 3-hour briefings covered performance measurement, budget allocation, workload analysis, cost accounting, and workforce planning.

Since July 31, briefings have been held at the East State Conservationists and Partners meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; at the Workload Analysis Training Sessions for operations management and IRM specialists in Atlanta and Denver; at the Southeast Leadership Meeting in Atlanta; and at the National Association of Conservation Districts' leadership meeting in Rapid City, South Dakota. This week, a briefing took place at the Oversight and Evaluation Conference in Madison, Wisconsin.

Similar briefings are scheduled in September at the NRCS Midwest and Northern Plains Regional Meeting, the West Regional State Conservationists Meeting, and for the National Headquarters Policy Leadership Council. The Chief's Advisory Committee will also be briefed at a teleconference.

Regional Conservationists will also provide briefings on the new system in their respective regions. Based on the feedback from all briefings, a list of the most frequently asked questions is being compiled and will be distributed throughout the agency.

NRCS Soils Explorer - NRCS has completed work on a Soils Explorer, a digital soil data viewer delivered on CD-ROM. The Soils Explorer runs under Windows 95/NT and includes a certified Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO). No additional software is required to run the viewer. The SSURGO data on the CD-ROM is in a standard format usable by popular commercial GIS packages. Initially, one Soils Explorer is being prepared for each State. User feedback on test versions of the Soils Explorer has been overwhelmingly positive, and demand for the product is expected to be very high. Data included on the Soils Explorer includes: digital soil map; roads, streams, and political boundaries; digital orthophotography; soil profile and landscape photographs; and interpretations of soil map units for agriculture, forestry, range, recreation, urban, and wildlife uses.

New Confidential Assistant to the Chief to Report in September - Don Richardson will join the NRCS headquarters staff as confidential assistant to the Chief in September. He will work with the Chief, Associate Chief, and Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment on leadership issues. Mr. Richardson has served as executive vice president of the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts since 1989. Prior to that, he served a 3-year term, from 1990 to 1993, on the National Council for Environmental Policy and Technology with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He has also served as commissioner of the Arkansas Rural Development Commission from 1991 to 1993. He served as Commission chairman from 1994 to 1995. Mr. Richardson also served as mayor of the City of Clinton, AR, from 1987 to 1991.

County-Based Study to Wind-Up On Schedule - The last deliverable for the County-Based Study, from consultants Coopers and Lybrand, will be delivered on schedule September 30. The consultants are looking at how the field service partner agencies should reorganize their field office structure to provide the best service possible. The results of their study will be presented to the Secretary of Agriculture.

IN THE FIELD

NRCS Participates in New York City Watershed Agricultural Program Review - NRCS recently participated in a Conservation Technology Information Center-sponsored review of the New York City Watershed Agricultural Program (WAP). The review has been completed and the final report is being prepared.

A Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program project has been approved for the WAP area. This $10.4 million project will protect as much as 165 miles of stream banks in the project area by paying farmers to convert fields along these streams from cropland or grazing land into buffer zones of grass or trees. USDA will provide approximately 70 percent of the funds needed for this project and New York City will provide the remainder. City environmental officials have indicated that they expect this project to significantly improve the quality of the city's drinking water by reducing the amount of nutrients, sediment, and pathogens carried into the city's reservoirs west of the Hudson River.

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) Proves Popular - NRCS in Tennessee reports that WHIP is giving the agency opportunities to work with landowners who do not typically participate in Department of Agriculture programs. WHIP is proving to be especially popular with owners of small tracts of land who want to increase populations of songbirds, small game, and other wildlife. So far, NRCS in Tennessee has received more than 350 applications for assistance through WHIP.

Farmland Protection Program Yields Results in Vermont - A "down payment" on the future of Vermont's agriculture was cause for celebration this month in Addison County. The Raymond and Linda Vander Wey family hosted a farmland conservation reception and tour of their farm "Nea-Tocht," Dutch for "Never Dreamed" (we'd have this farm), one of 14 farms preserved this past year under the Farmland Protection Program. Federal funds, coupled with State funds administered by the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, were used by the Vermont Land Trust; the Upper Valley Land Trust; the Addison County Community Trust; and the Vermont Department of Agriculture, Food, and Markets to purchase development rights on these farms to keep productive farmland in use.

CONSTITUENCY AND PARTNERSHIP NEWS

New Jersey Urban Conservation Action Partnership (UCAP) Selected for National Award - The New Jersey Urban Conservation Action Partnership (UCAP) has been selected for a National Award for Environmental Sustainability. The awards, sponsored by Renew America, are given to programs throughout the Nation that demonstrate leadership and excellence in environmental sustainability.

This year, 28 winners were selected from more than 1,600 applicants that exemplify the ideals of Earth Day. UCAP's founding partners include: NRCS, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture; the New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts; the Soil Conservation Districts of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, and Union Counties; and the Rutgers University Cooperative Extension.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Congressional Schedule - The Senate will return on August 31 and the House of Representatives on September 9, for the final session of the 105th Congress. Congressional leadership has agreed to push for adjournment by October 9.

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UPCOMING

September 7-9 - The Arizona Association of Conservation Districts is holding its annual convention in Prescott, AZ, at the Prescott Resort Conference Center. For more information, contact Lisa Hayes at 602-280-8803.

September 9-11 - NACD Southwestern Regional Meeting, Prescott Resort and Conference Center (1-800-967-4637), Prescott, AZ. 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 803-253-3930; or e-mail: bthompson@sc.nrcs.usda.gov.

September 13-15 - NACD Pacific Regional Meeting, Sonoma County Hilton (1-800-445-8667), Santa Rosa, CA. For more information contact Robert Raschke at 303-988-1810; fax: 303-988-1896.

September 15-17 - NACD Business Alliance Council Meeting, Washington, DC. For more information contact Donna Smith at 202-547-6223; fax: 202-547-6450.

September 16-18 - NACD Great Lakes Committee Meeting (September 16) and Great Lakes Sediment & Erosion Control Conference to be held at the Radisson Hotel in Toledo, OH. For more information, contact Bill Horvath at 715-341-1022; fax:: 715-341-1023.

September 19-23 - Society of American Foresters 1998 National Convention, Traverse City, MI. For more information, contact Keith Martell at 517-731-4612.

September 27-29 - NACD Agricultural Lands Resources Committee Meeting to be held at the Holiday Inn in Topeka, KS. For more information, contact Bill Horvath at 715-341-1022; fax: 715-341-1023.

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 4-7 - North American Conference on Enterprise Development Through Agroforestry: Farming the Agroforest for Specialty Products, will be held at the Double Tree Park Place Hotel, in Minneapolis, MN. (Note: September 1 is the last day to submit poster abstracts). For more information, contact Scott Josiah at 612-624-7418; fax: 612-625-5212; or e-mail: CINRAM@forestry.umn.edu.

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.

October 24-28 - NACD Fall Executive Board Members Meeting to be held at the Radisson Inn in Bloomington, MN. For more information, contact Robert Raschke at 303-988-1810; fax: 303-988-1896.

November 8-10 - California Association of Resource Conservation Districts will host its annual business meeting and conference, "Bridging the Gap" at the Double Tree Hotel in Palm Springs, CA. For more information, contact Aleta Zak at 916-447-7237; e-mail: carcd@ns.net.

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.

November 16-19 - The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) is sponsoring its Annual Conference at the Marriott Grande Hotel in Point Clear, AL. For more information, call the AWRA at 703-904-1225.

November 17-20 - The National Organization of Professional Asian Pacific American NRCS Employees is sponsoring its first annual training conference in Sparks, NV. Poster and technical papers are being solicited. Deadline to submit topic and general outline is October 30. For more information on poster papers, contact Kent Matsutani at 308-254-4507; or email: wmatsuta@ne.nrcs.usda.gov. For general information on the conference, contact Mon Yee at 503-414-3264; e-mail: myee@or.nrcs.usda.gov or Virginia C. Lewis, at 505-761-4408; e-mail: vlewis@nm.nrcs.usda.gov.

January 19-21, 1999 - Soil and Water Conservation Society will host their national conference, "The State of North America's Private Land" at the Holiday Inn O'Hare in 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" in Ft. Collins, CO. The conference will provide a forum for presenting 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.

January 31-February 4, 1999 - 53rd NACD Annual Meeting to held at the Town and Country Resort and Conference Center (1-800-772-8528) in San Diego, CA. For more information, contact Robert Raschke at 303-988-1810; fax: 303-988-1896.

February 17-20, 1999 - Land Improvement Contractors of America Winter Convention, Adams Mark Hotel, San Antonio, TX. Contact Wayne F. Maresch at 301-248-5749; fax: 301-248-0847; or email: WayneF86@aol.com.

May 23-28, 1999 - The International Soil Conservation Organization will host the 10th International Soil Conservation Conference, "Sustaining the Global Farm" at Purdue University in 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

"Nature ever flows; stands never still. Motion or change is her mode of existence."

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American poet and essayist

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.

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