Arkansas Conservation News -- Winter 2007

Conservation Corner

Kalven L. Trice
State Conservationist

Happy New Year NRCS Arkansas,

I hope your holidays were fulfilling and relaxing. The end of December was busy for supervisors writing and reviewing performance plans. I need each of you to understand what is in your performance plan. It is an important tool for assessing your performance. Your performance plan reflects the goals defined in the Arkansas Business Plan and National Strategic Plan (NSP). The President’s Management Agenda makes it important that each performance plan be linked to the NSP at every level. I encourage you to go on-line at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/strategicplan/ or order a hard copy from Landcare and read the NSP.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is still operating under a continuing resolution until February 15. Arkansas NRCS is potentially facing the toughest budget challenge yet. A deficit reduction plan was submitted to National Headquarters recently. The management team needs everyone to work together to accomplish our goals and reduce the deficit. We are evaluating all options, including closing offices, not filling positions and furloughs.

The management team is addressing the policy on credit and compensatory leave. The ultimate goal is for Arkansas NRCS to be accountable and provide quality technical assistance to our customers.

Conservation program sign-ups are here and the peak workload for field application of conservation practices is around the corner. This year is no different than last year with the earlier deadlines. The farmers and ranchers of Arkansas expect us to deliver our conservation programs regardless of the budget. I have no doubt Arkansas NRCS will do those things that are necessary to meet their expectations. My expectation is that we continue to be professional and do what is legal, moral, ethical, and within policy. I know your commitment will shine through as you work with our customers.

My best to you
 

Healthy Forests

Program enhances, restores ecosystems for threatened, endangered species.

The red-cockaded woodpecker requires pine forests with lower timber density and larger trees than what normally occurs on lands where timber production is the main emphasis. Prescribed fire and timely thinning create the structural conditions that the birds need for foraging and nesting, and will also benefit many other wildlife species.

Red-cockaded woodpecker habitat in Arkansas is being enhanced through the Healthy Forest Reserve Program. The program is designed to help restore and enhance forest ecosystems, increase biodiversity, enhance carbon sequestration and provide assurances to landowners with regard to the recovery of threatened and endangered species on private forestlands.

Red-cockaded woodpeckers keep sap flowing around their nests to ward off predators. Through the Healthy Forest Reserve Program (HFRP), metal bands can also be placed above and below the nesting cavity to keep predators out. HFRP was available in four watersheds in Southern Arkansas including parts of Ouachita, Calhoun, Union, Bradley, Ashley and Drew counties. During 2006, $982,125 was approved to fund seven HFRP contracts on 1,070 acres.

Bringing nature home

WRP helps turn 22,000 acres into wildlife paradise

Dana Horn, at age 88, has a 10-year plan for his 22,000 acres in Southwest Arkansas. He started with just 363 acres enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program in 1997, and since then has added to it for a total of approximately 17,000 acres in WRP and 120 acres in the Conservation Reserve Program.

This land benefits more than ducks and it is all thanks to Horn keeping the big picture and long-term plan in mind.

Horn has a superior grasp on what is important for wildlife and his farm. “Water is king,” he says. “It is precious and is getting more so.” Ample water is available from rivers, lakes and wells on the property to irrigate both cropland and WRP moist soil units. The largest pump can move 12,000 gallons of water per minute.

NRCS Resource Engineer, Randy Childress, designed the plans to utilize the irrigation canals already on the farm. Working with the on-site manager Brendon Burrell, Childress and Horn are restoring micro-typography potholes and habitat mounds in the newer WRP sites and monitoring the 902,000 trees planted last year.

The value for wildlife is enhanced by the cypress swamps, hardwood timber and open farm fields. The complete mosaic is a paradise for wildlife. Deer, otters, alligators, bobcats, waterfowl and songbirds all call the farm home.

“The CRP buffer parallel to the creek acts like a corridor for wild creatures to move about the farm,” says Brendon, as he points out a golden eagle roosting atop one of the trees along the creek. Most impressive though is that more than 176 species of birds and mammals are now found on the easement, where as prior to restoration efforts the count was at only 36, (as reported by the SW Arkansas Audubon Society).

Horn came home to the land of his youth, the Big Woods of Southwest Arkansas, and now he is bringing nature home to his land.
 

Soil Survey

Ouachita National Forest mapping has long history

by Jeff Olson
Soil Survey Project Leader
Glenwood, Ark.

For the past 27 years, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Forest Service (FS) have shared the cooperative effort of conducting soil surveys on the Ouachita National Forest.

The partnership was spurred by the Forest Service’s need for a complete soil resource inventory in order to better address their multi-resource management concerns, plans and operations.

This effort, a cooperative agreement on a cost per acre basis, was initially forged in late 1979 and lead by Ouachita National Forest Soil Scientist John K. Long and Arkansas NRCS State Soil Scientist, Charles L. Fultz. FS soil scientist, Richard Rightmyer, understood and conveyed the need for a complete and comprehensive soil survey of the forest, specifically one consistent with both the National Cooperative Soil Survey standards and Forest Service regional criteria.

In early 1980, soil survey operations commenced on the forest by NRCS soil scientists Bill Garner, Jeff Olson, and Frank Vodrazka. Olson initiated the field work in Scott County. It continued over the next 12 years in Yell, Polk, Montgomery, and Pike counties where Soil Scientist Ron Rhodes, along with Olson, mapped a substantial amount.

The work in these counties not only gave the Forest Service a quality product, but also finished four county surveys which may have otherwise had only non-federal ownership mapped.

In 1991, NRCS and FS soil scientists began working on the development and refinement of the Ouachita National Forest soils legend, which transcended county and state boundaries and represented an early application of the current regional approach to soil survey. The legend continues to be monitored and amended.

In 1992, the need was recognized for updating those portions of the forest which either had soil mapping at an Order 3 level (not detailed enough) or which were outdated for other reasons.

This need translated into a continuance amending the original agreement and the initiating of subsequent yearly agreements for work in portions of Saline, Perry, Howard, Logan, Sebastian and Yell counties in Arkansas and into portions of McCurtain and Leflore counties in Oklahoma. NRCS soil scientists Larry Ward, Edgar Mersiovsky and Marie Ross and FS soil scientist Emanuel Hudson have been a part of this important ongoing project.

In 1993, Ken Luckow replaced John Long with the FS and in 2004 Luis Hernandez replaced Charles Fultz with NRCS. Both men continue the legacy of strong leadership left by their retiring predecessors. NRCS state soils and GIS staff expertise and assistance as well as state conservationist leadership and support have also been crucial.

Currently, Jeff Olson and NRCS Cartographic Technician Johnny Duke are in the process of using GIS technology to digitally correct soil and map unit inconsistencies on the forest. This will ensure the Ouachita National Forest has a seamless and uniform soil survey across its 1.7 million acres.

Like the soils themselves, soil surveys are not a static entity but rather a dynamic medium and, as such, they should be designed to both meet current customer needs and have sufficient capacity and flexibility to be amended as those needs change and as technological innovations warrant.

The soil survey for the Ouachita National Forest exemplifies this and is a reliable and solid management tool which serves the Forest Service and the American public.

The survey is a prime example of what can be accomplished through interagency expertise, cooperation and teamwork.
 

Field offices working on program sign ups

EQIP, WHIP, WRP deadlines approaching for 2007 enrollment

Field staffs have been busy assisting landowners with their Environmental Quality Incentives Program, EQIP/Ground and Surface Water Conservation, Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program and Wetlands Reserve Program applications.

In the next five weeks, they will be completing ranking and eligibility determinations.

During 2006, 2,304 landowners applied for $45,377,944 in EQIP funds. Program funding levels limited funding to 1,033 applicants who received a total of $19,942,229.

Arkansas NRCS allocated $500,000 to the Small Scale Farm Initiative category and $500,000 to the Alternative Crop category. Between these two categories, 44 small farm owners and operators received $387,063 for cost-shares.

Sixty-five WHIP contracts were approved for $658,506 in 18 counties. In addition to those projects that were funded, another 125 applications were made requesting $732,146.

Arkansas funded and contracted 34 Wetlands Reserve Program easements, totaling $12,939,629. There were 277 applicants requesting $44,954,086
 

Environmental Quality Incentives Program, EQIP/Ground and Surface Water Conservation, Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program

January 26 -- Deadline for applications.
March 9 -- Deadline for ranking and eligibility determinations.
March 14 -- Initial selections of funded applications.
June 1 -- Allocated funds obligated in contracts.

Wetlands Reserve Program

January 26 -- Deadline for applications.
March 9 -- Deadline for ranking and eligibility determinations.
March 15 -- Deadline to update state database prior to selections.
March 19 -- Initial funding selections.
June 1 -- Allocated funds committed based on appraisals and Wetlands Restoration Plan of Operations.
 

Did You Know?

EEO Statement and Use

Equal Opportunity Public Notification Policy, as taken from the USDA Department Regulations, Number 4300-3 states:

The non-discrimination statement shall be posted in all offices and included, in full on all materials which are produced by USDA and its agencies for public information, public education or public distribution.

The statement specifically lists all the prohibited bases for discrimination contained in the USDA Civil Rights Policy Statement.
The statement shall be in English and in languages appropriate to the local population, and in alternative means of communication (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.).

If the material is too small to permit the full statement to be included, the material will at minimum include the statement in print size no smaller than the text, that “The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.”

The purpose of this regulation establishes policy for ensuring positive and continuing notification of USDA equal opportunity policy to the public. While the Style Guidelines for Media Materials indicate the EEO statement is not mandatory, (“USDA, like all federal agencies, is an equal opportunity employer, so there is no need to restate this in news releases and features, nor on mastheads”) when in doubt, it is better to use at least the minimum statement than not.

2006 Annual Report

The 2006 Arkansas Annual Report is on-line at http://www.ar.nrcs.usda.gov/news/publications.html.

The report features articles on Conservation Security Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Wetlands Reserve Program and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program projects around the state.

Information is also provided about numerous other Arkansas projects and programs.

LANDCARE Publications and Agency Forms

The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides a variety of free publications about conserving our natural resources through LANDCARE.

To browse the entire list of publications and forms visit http://landcare.sc.egov/usad.gov/ and click on “Browse All”.

You may order publications on line, by phone (1-888-LANDCARE) or by e-mail (landcare@usda.gov). LANDCARE is also publicizing a 20-piece “Educational Packet” available upon request.

Arkansas Employees Directory

The new edition of the Arkansas Employee Directory is scheduled for completion in early February.

The planned October 2006 update was moved to late January to better serve the field and to cover the numerous retirements at the end of the year.

Sid Lowrance wins national Earth Team Award

Sid Lowrance, district conservationist at Marshall, is the 2006 National Earth Team Employee of the Year. He was nominated for his leadership and contributions to the Earth Team Volunteer Program. Lowrance and his team of volunteers built and distributed 125 Eastern Bluebird nesting boxes throughout the state. They also distributed 37,000 tree seedlings in Searcy County. Groups of volunteers contributed 2,142 hours in completing both projects. The group has built and distributed more than 425 nesting boxes since 2004.

Arkansas Earth Team Awards

Arkansas received a record number of Earth Team award nominations in 2006. “The award selecting committee had to make tough choices. All of the nominations were top notch. If you were nominated this year but didn’t win, do try again next year,” Molly Voeller, state public affairs specialist, said.

“We had many outstanding Earth Team projects and programs across the state,” said Pat Hoeffken, state volunteer program coordinator. “Volunteers helped with tree plantings, river cleanups, forestry contests, fishing derbies, outdoor classrooms, grazing land workshops, water festivals, recycling, wetlands festivals, field days, county fairs, as well as outreach, clerical, field, clean up, and conservation education activities. They also helped with Envirothons, entering computer data, maps, photography, research, creating PowerPoint presentations, interpreting for Spanish speaking customers, organizing committees and community groups, networking local government and community leaders, cooking and serving lunches.”

All state Earth Team award winning nominations were forwarded on to national competition.

Volunteers are recognized with appreciation gifts in April and November. State awards are presented in November. Earth Team award winners from 2006 included:

• Northwest Area Volunteer of the Year: Randall Williams
• Northeast Area Volunteer of the Year: Jordan McKinnon
• South Area Volunteer of the Year: Dennis Hackbart
• Volunteer Group of the Year: Sid Lowrance, Ricky Reed, Bill McEntire, Janie McEntire, and Wendy Hendrix
• NRCS/RC&D Partnership Award: Ozark Foothills RC&D Council
• NRCS/NACD Partnership Award: Pulaski Conservation District
• NRCS Employee of the Year: Sid Lowrance
• NRCS Field Service Center of the Year: Camden Field Service Center
• RC&D Coordinator of the Year: Lori Barker
• Earth Team Coordinator of the Year: Amanda Mathis

Arkansas Ranks 7th in Number of Volunteers

Arkansas set a state record in fiscal year 2006 with a total of 2,919 volunteers who worked 15,311 volunteer hours. According to the latest figures from the National FY ‘06 Earth Team annual status report, Arkansas ranks seventh in the nation in the number of volunteers and seventeenth in volunteer hours. The total hours Earth Team volunteers contributed in Arkansas this fiscal year are valued at $276,210.44 according to the $18.04 per hour value assigned by the Independent Sector in Washington D.C. The Earth Team numbers soared when the database developers included Arkansas’ group volunteer statistics, as shown below.

• Number of Individual Volunteers: 147
• Number of Individual Volunteer Hours: 10,156
• Number of Volunteer Groups: 117
• Number of Members within Volunteer Groups: 2,772
• Number of Group Volunteer Hours: 5,155
• TOTAL NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 2,919
• TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS: 15,311

Employees Who Began as Volunteers

NRCS-Arkansas employees who began their NRCS careers as an Earth Team volunteer are:

• Amanda Mathis, Paris;
• Brittany Kaufman, Fayetteville;
• Charles Grose, Morrilton;
• Edna Cole, Harrisburg;
• Hettie Finn, Little Rock;
• Jody Rodgers, Conway;
• Kristin Raper, Forrest City;
• and Tony Malone, Clarendon.

Calendar

February

1-28 -- Black History Month
1 -- Strategic Planning Meeting, Conway
2-3 -- Arkansas Farm Show
9 -- Rural Life Conference, Pine Bluff
14-15 -- Management Team Meeting
18-21 -- Southwest States RC&D Annual Meeting
19 -- Presidents Day Holiday
28 -- Soils Media Event, State Capitol

March

1-31 -- Women’s History Month
8-9 -- Women in Ag Conference, Hot Springs Conference Center
14-15 -- Management Team Meeting

April

18-19 -- Management Team Meeting
 

Comings & Goings

• Chris Avery, soil scientist at Monticello, retired January 3.
• Cody Carlile is the new district conservationist at Danville.
• Walter M. Delp is the new state conservation engineer effective March 18.
• Mike Hanke, state office engineer, transferred to Chicago with FEMA.
• Christopher King is the new geologist at the state office effective March 18.
• Glen Laurent, soil scientist at Fayetteville, retired Jan. 3.
• Larry Stanberry, soil conservation technician at Danville, retired Jan. 3.
• Wheeler is the new district conservationist at Harrisburg.
  

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