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January 27, 2009
Economic Stimulus Continues to Advance in Congress
Congress is expected to move the widely anticipated
economic stimulus bill closer to enactment with key votes
this week. Congressional leadership has indicated the
intention of final passage of the stimulus by February 13.
A vote by the full House of Representatives is expected
later this week. Stimulus legislation has passed in both
the Senate and House Appropriations Committees. The Senate
committee approved its stimulus legislation today, while
the House Appropriations Committee met last Thursday to
approve its bill. The total cost of the economic stimulus
is currently estimated to be $825 billion dollars, with
significant investment in natural resource infrastructure
projects.
In the House bill, specific funding levels include $350
million for Natural Resource Conservation Service Watershed
and Flood Prevention Operations; $50 million for Watershed
Rehabilitation; $850 million for Forest Service wildfire
activities on federal, state and private lands; and $325
million for restoration and hazardous fuels reductions for
the Bureau of Land Management. At press time, specific
information on funding levels for these programs in the
Senate bill had not been released.
NACD continues to encourage districts to support the
economic stimulus proposal we submitted in December, which
calls for substantial investment in watershed structures,
319 nonpoint source grants, and forest and rangeland
management activities. Click here for more information.
USDA Makes Interim Appointments
Following last week’s change in Administration, political
appointees under the Bush Administration have left
vacancies in many positions at the United State Department
of Agriculture (USDA). Recently confirmed Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack designated certain career employees
as “acting” in many of the politically appointed positions.
President Obama will make official selections for these
positions in the coming weeks and months.
Some of those acting appointments include Doug Lawrence as
Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the
Environment and Dave White as Acting Chief of NRCS. Acting
regional chief positions include Leonard Jordan (East),
Diane Gelburd (Central) and Ginger Murphy (West).
At the Farm Service Agency, Dennis Taitano is Acting
Administrator, James Meidinger is Acting Associate
Administrator for Programs, Candy Thompson is the Deputy
Administrator for Farm Programs and Robert Stephenson is
the Acting Deputy Administrator for Field Operations.
Complete lists of acting appointments are available on the
USDA website (http://www.usda.gov/).
“DIG IT! The Secrets of Soil” Education Materials Available
After a long review process with our partners, the
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the
Soil Science Society of America, NACD’s soils education
materials are now available to order from NACD’s online
store.
The materials correspond with NACD’s 2009 Stewardship Week
theme and the Smithsonian soil exhibit, both themed “DIG IT!
The Secrets of Soil.” Educators planning to order materials
for use during NACD’s 2009 Stewardship Week, which will
take place April 26 – May 3, 2009, are encouraged to place
their orders soon to allow ample time for shipping and
ensure you receive your materials in time.
Visit the NACD Marketplace at http://www.nacdstore.org to place your
order today!
USDA Announces Funding Availability for Chesapeake Bay
Initiative
Last week, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)
published a notice of funding availability for the new
Chesapeake Bay Initiative that was included in the 2008
Farm Bill. Under this initiative, $23 million is available
in the six state bay watersheds through the existing
Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Funding can
provide assistance to eligible landowners to address soil
erosion, sedimentation and excess nutrients in streams and
waterways, as well as other related natural resource
concerns such as air quality, wetlands, wildlife habitat
and forestry.
Additional information on the funding and initiative can
be found on the NRCS website at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/.
Additional Speakers Added to NACD Annual Meeting Line-Up
NRCS Acting Chief Dave White will join the NACD Annual
Meeting in New Orleans and is scheduled to speak to
attendees next Tuesday morning. Also presenting on Tuesday
will be Sally Collins, Director of the USDA Office of
Ecosystem Services and Markets (OESM). OESM, which was
established this month, will implement ecosystem provisions
of the 2008 Farm Bill and coordinate with other federal
agencies. The complete program for the conference is
available at http://nacdnet.org/events/annualmeeting/program/.
NACD Reaches Out to Members
It is hectic preparation time for the upcoming NACD Annual
Meeting, but NACD officers and staff continued to make an
effort to reach out to members at various state meetings.
Last week NACD President John Redding and Second Vice
President Bob Cordova participated in the Georgia
Association of Conservation District Supervisors Annual
Meeting. Cordova briefed the group on recent developments
following the change of administration and thanked Redding,
a native Georgian, for his extensive service to NACD and
conservation districts.
Southeast Region Representative Phylis Vandevere
participated in the Mississippi Association of Conservation
Districts 64th Annual Meeting in Jackson last week. Over
350 people attended, participating in sessions covering many
topics, including Biodiesel Conservation, Tips for Effective
Funding from City & County Government and Economic
Development. NACD board member Jim Harreld provided an
Association update to the group.
Last week, NACD Communications Associate Mary Hammon and
Director of Member Services Brad Ross also participated in
Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation District’s
(OFSWCD) annual meeting. Hammon presented two workshops on
improving district outreach and communication, and Ross met
with the OFSWCD Board of Directors.
NACD strives to maintain and improve our connection with
member conservation districts. Meeting with our members
across the country enables us to better know and meet their
needs.
USDA Goal for 2009 Information Security and Privacy
Training Not Yet Met
Even though the deadline for completing the security and
privacy training is March 31, 2009, USDA set milestones
for completion for January and February. The target
completion numbers are to have 75 percent of USDA and
partner employees (which includes district employees who
use CCE computers) by January 31 and 85 percent by
February 28. Reports last week indicated that only 45
percent of NRCS employees and 28 percent of partner
employees (mainly district employees) have completed the
training for 2009. USDA sent NRCS State Conservationists a
reminder on these requirements last week, and NACD expects
an update on the progress later this week.
The security and privacy training is mandatory for all
USDA and partner employees and is important for district
and USDA employees to complete in order to stay abreast of
the many changes occurring on these subjects, such as the
language on privacy that was included in the 2008 Farm
Bill. New threats to security of the systems also require
employees to stay up-to-date on the latest USDA procedures
and requirements.
FBI and Homeland Security Suspend USDA Web Mail Access
Last week NRCS field staff were notified that their access
to Web Mail was going to be suspended indefinitely. The FBI
and the Department of Homeland Security required USDA to suspend
Web Mail access or else shut down the entire system. In
addition to NRCS field staff, the suspension affects many
conservation district employees.
NACD has a meeting scheduled with USDA officials to explore
how long such a suspension will last and what other options
are available to employees. USDA is trying to shore up
protections from cyber attacks. The process will likely
take time, and USDA does not anticipate a return to Web
Mail access in the immediate future. We understand this
is a serious inconvenience to those affected and will keep
you posted on further developments.
Summit to Focus on Ranching and Conservation in the West
NACD was recently invited by the Public Lands Council (PLC)
to participate in the “Summit on Ranching and Conservation
in the West,” which will be held February 26-27, 2009 in
Salt Lake City, Utah. The PLC also extended an invitation
to environmental, conservation and industry groups, inviting
them to participate as a team to address the goals of the
Summit. The meeting will focus on ways to preserve ranching
and bring additional conservation benefits to the West and
will consist of four major components: public relations,
federal agency relations, legislation and litigation. NACD
Western Issues Specialist Ralph Thier will attend the event
on behalf of NACD and welcomes districts to provide input
(email to ralph-thier@nacdnet.org).
For additional information about the Summit, contact Dustin
Van Liew at dvanliew@beef.org or go to. If you are
interested in attending, you must RSVP no later than
February 12.
Editor's Note
Due to NACD's annual conference, there will not be a
regular issue of eNotes next week. Instead, look for daily
updates in your email inbox from the 2009 NACD Annual
Meeting.
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