Natural Resources Conservation Service 
P.O. Box 2890 
Washington, D.C. 20013 

Dear Grantee: 
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service WRCS), in cooperation with the Soil and 
Water Conservation Society (SWCS), is sponsoring the 3rd Annual Conservation Innovation 
Grants (CIG) Showcase. This Showcase will be held in conjunction with the SWCS Annual 
Conference which will take place July 1 1-1 5,2009, in Dearborn, Michigan. 

We are inviting you to participate in the Showcase to provide the conference participants with 
information about your CIG project and progress. This Showcase will also allow you time to 
interact with natural resource professionals from across the Nation and world. The CIG 
Showcase will be held during the concurrent sessions on July 13-14, 2009. We will hold a CIG 
Awards Ceremony during the Showcase to recognize the CIG Poster and Oral Presentations. 

Presentation and poster selection criteria will include Natural Resources, Innovative Technology, and Regional Diversity. Evaluation of the presentation and poster abstracts will include input from the NRCS technical contacts and the National or State CIG Program Manager. 

SWCS cussently has a Call for Papers requesting proposals for the upcoming SWCS Annual 
Conference. We plan to utilize their proposal submittal process. If you would like to be included for consideration, please prepare and submit a 250 word project abstract by Friday, February 20, 2009, using the online service at: 

http://www.swcs.org/en/conferences/2009_annual_conference/. 

Click the link "Submit an Oral or Poster Abstract or Symposia Description". Follow the 
directions provided to create an account to submit the abstract to the webpage. See the help tab 
for submission instructions. Please only select Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) as the 
Topic. To assist you, an electronic version of the instructions is available online at 
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/cig/InfoForGrantees.html. 

The grantees that are selected will be notified by e-mail in March 2009. Selected presenters are 
responsible for covering their own registration and travel expenses. No additional funds are 
available to cover the travel costs to attend this event. 

The CIG Showcases is a great opportunity for CIG grantees and conservationists to network and 
share information, We look forward to a successful effort to showcase emerging innovative 
technologies and approaches to conservation If you have any questions, please contact Ross 
Braun at (301)504-2195 or via e-mail at ross.braun@wdc.usda.gov.