|
For the Week of March 24-28, 2008
In This Week's Edition . . .
A Report from the Executive Director, Jennifer Boyle
Stewardship “Letter to Editor” for Districts. Click here to download a letter to the editor that you may customize and submit to your local newspaper for Stewardship Week, April 27-May, 2008. The letter is based on a template from NACD. It has been sent under IASWCD President Jim Droege’s signature to ag media around the state, but not to local newspapers. So, here is an opportunity for each District to include your county SWCD name, quote your supervisor chair, and submit the letter to your newspaper. If you have any questions, contact DeeDee at 317.692.7374 or deedee-sigler@iaswcd.org. Remember to submit the letter in time to meet your newspaper’s deadline for Stewardship Week.
2009 Annual Conference – Call for Abstracts. The 2009 Annual Conference planning committee is taking a new approach to soliciting presentations for the conference. A Call for Abstracts is being distributed around the state to generate renewed interest and expand our pool of speakers in order to bring an outstanding Annual Conference to you in 2009. Districts, individuals, universities, agencies, organizations and others are all eligible to submit an abstract. Please review the information found in the Call for Abstracts: Click here for the Word or PDF format. Most importantly, the deadline to submit an abstract is May 16, 2008.
Hoosier Farmers Asked to Participate in BMP Survey. SWCDs can encourage farmer customers to visit CTIC’s Web site and click on “Indiana Farmers Take BMP Survey.” CTIC will be collecting information until April 15. For more information about the survey visit CTIC's Web site and click on “BMP Survey Results.” Contact Courtney Schmidt, CTIC Communications Director, or 765.494.6956, or Megan Kuhn, ISA Communications Director, 317.347.3620, ext. 306, with any questions you might have.
Job Openings at the NREC Center. For those interested in working in the field of natural resources education, there are three part-time positions open in the IDNR Division of Fish and Wildlife at the Natural Resources Education Center, Indianapolis. One position is with the Project WILD program. The other two are with the GoFishIN program (including one position dedicated to the State Fair Fishing Pond). The job description for the Project WILD position is available through the State Job Bank. Search for position # 555488. For more information on the GoFishIN positions, please contact Kacie Ehrenberger, Go FishIN Coordinator, at 317.549.0206.
Reminder on Deadline for Mandatory Training. For District employees utilizing a USDA Common Computing Environment (CCE), please remember that the annual Aglearn Computer Security and Privacy Training must be completed by March 31. See the March 19 Weekly Update article for details.
Barn on the Move. The Normandy Barn, which for the past 10 years stood on the south side of 38th Street in Indianapolis across from the main entrance of the Indiana State Fair (ISF), began its journey to the north side of the fairgrounds on Monday. Formerly the home of the Center of Agriculture Science and Heritage, the barn now becomes the centerpiece of a new educational complex on the north side of the ISF, known as the World’s Largest Classroom. During the fair the barn will be part of Pioneer Village and will help tell the story of agriculture’s past and future. It joins several other existing facilities on the fairgrounds’ north side that also are helping to tell the conservation story throughout the year. This includes Pioneer Village, Little Hands on the Farm, the Farm Bureau Building, Pathway to Water Quality, the Department of Natural Resources building, and the 4-H Education Complex that have been part of the fairgrounds ag and natural resources classroom curriculum offered to schools in the fall and spring starting in 2007.
And Finally. Hats off to Gene Schmidt, LaPorte County SWCD and NACD Secretary-Treasurer, who is on the cover of the April issue of Indiana Prairie Farmer Magazine. We also say thanks to Tom Bechman, editor, who continually showcases conservation in the publication.
Have a good week,
Jennifer
EPA's Watershed Academy Webcast
The U.S. EPA Watershed Academy presents a free Webcast titled Monitoring Watershed Programs Thursday, April 10. The Webcast is a two- hour audio Web broadcast from 2 to 4 p.m. central time.
There is increasing emphasis on evaluating the results of our efforts to control nonpoint source pollution on a watershed basis. Evaluation must be an ongoing part of any watershed management, based on proper design and data collection. Three types of data are needed to evaluate watershed management projects: administrative, social and environmental.
Evaluation or effectiveness monitoring is designed to measure the actual impact of management decisions, such as implementation of nutrient management practices (administrative, social) and resulting impacts of nutrient levels (environmental) in the water body. Environmental monitoring needs to focus on specific variables, take place in specific locations, and at minimum frequencies to provide a measure of whether and to what extent the water quality problems are being addressed.
Registration for this Webcast opens April 3. You must register in advance to participate in the Webcast. To register, visit www.clu-in.org/live. The Webcast will be a Web-based slide presentation with a companion audio portion. After the Webcast is over, an audio version of the Webcast will be available — visit www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts for more information.
2008 CSP Sign Up Announced
Last week USDA Secretary Ed Shafer announced a sign-up for the Conservation Security Program (CSP) from April 18 to May 16. Farmers in Southeast Indiana in the Upper East Fork White River Watershed can apply. The watershed touches seven counties including: Decatur, Bartholomew, Jackson, northern Jennings and small parts of Shelby, Rush and Brown counties. About 519,330 acres make up the watershed, with just over 1,300 farms inside its boundaries.
“We are excited to offer CSP to the farmers in the Upper East Fork White River Watershed because of the natural resource concerns of the farmers there. Most of the soils in the watershed have medium to high potential for erosion,” says NRCS State Conservationist Jane Hardisty. “Some of the best conservation farmers in the state are in this watershed, and with CSP we’ll be able to reward the best of them for their stewardship efforts.
“We will soon be hosting CSP public information meetings in the sign-up area. These meetings will help landowners and operators become familiar with the program and learn how they may take advantage of the opportunities CSP provides,” Hardisty said. “We’ll announce the meeting schedule in a few days, along with other information on the program, the sign-up and how to apply.”
CSP is a voluntary conservation program that supports ongoing stewardship of private, agricultural working lands and rewards those producers who are meeting the highest standards of conservation and environmental management on their operations.
“We hoped for an earlier sign-up,” says Hardisty. “But the continuing resolutions in the appropriations process, early in the federal fiscal year, and the uncertainties of the Farm Bill reauthorization process have been obstacles this year.
“It is clear now that even if the new Farm Bill is enacted in April, there is not enough time to get new program rules written and conduct a sign-up before the end of the 2008 fiscal year (Sept. 30),” said Hardisty. “For that reason, USDA has elected to offer the program now using current program rules to ensure that conservation benefits of the program can be realized this year.”
Producers can find information about the Upper East Fork White Watershed boundaries, the program, how to begin the application process and other details by visiting the NRCS Indiana Web site or an NRCS office in one of the USDA Service Centers in the watershed.
DNR awards funds to treat lakes
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has awarded funding totaling nearly $1.2 million over the last year (from FY 2007-08 funds) to 45 projects to protect and restore Indiana lakes in 13 counties.
The funds come from the Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) program in the Division of Fish and Wildlife and will be used on 56 different lakes around the state.
The grants mark the 21st year of the continuing partnership between the DNR and local groups. Funding comes from the LARE fee paid by boat owners. In 2003 the legislature initiated a variable fee based on the value of each boat, with one-third of the money slated for use by the DNR for lake projects that remove sediment or control exotic or invasive plants or animals. The remainder is split between traditional LARE projects and the DNR's Division of Law Enforcement.
The DNR awarded $724,973 in grants to survey and treat exotic invasive plants in 48 lakes in 13 counties. Eighty percent of the lake associations that requested funding received awards. Highest priorities included eradication of new exotic species introductions in Lake Manitou and Griffy Lake and follow-up control of other invasive species in those lakes; follow-up control for lakes previously funded for fluridone treatments and some new fluridone treatments; and maintenance treatments in lakes with new 2007-11 management plans and other lakes that have received past funding in two years or fewer.
No new aquatic vegetation management plans will be funded for 2008 in order to complete a three-year herbicide treatment cycle for lakes that already have plans.
The other type of grant, for sediment removal, provides positive recreational and economic benefits to both users and residents of the affected lakes. A total of $473,500 will be distributed in seven counties to seven sediment removal projects involving 11 Indiana lakes.
Click here for the release (then click on Mar 19 / DNR awards funds to treat lakes / view) to see the list that includes all awards for 2008 aquatic plant management grants and sediment removal projects. This year, the program received applications totaling more than $4.1 million, although slightly less than $1.2 million was available for those two broad project categories.
|
