Welcome to Conservation Footprints

This new electronic publication will provide news and feature articles highlighting activities occurring across our state.
Conservation Footprints will be replacing the quarterly publication formerly known as Current Developments.

 

Premiere  Issue Fall 2007

A Message from Gus ...

Sniff.  Sneeze.  It must be fall.  My hay fever has started to act up.  It never really gets very bad, but it is annoying. Speaking of annoying, it’s that time of year again – the end of one fiscal year and the beginning of another. At the close of this past fiscal year was the usual rush to get things done before the systems shut down.  Accomplishments had been recorded and reported.  Hours worked had to be closely monitored to ensure we were working consistent with the funds that remained. At this time of year there are always so many things to watch, so many things to do, so little time to get them done. On the other hand, there is a new fiscal has dawned. With it will be a new farm bill. These are exciting times. Every year I look forward to beginning anew. It gives me a chance to put into practice the things I learned from the previous year. I try to sort out what worked really well, what failed miserably, and what didn’t work well, but still has prospects. Then I use that information to establish what I want to accomplish in this brand new year. There will be frustrations as the new farm bill is rolled out.  It won’t happen quickly. There will be times we will be looking for that ‘Bang Head Here’ sign taped to the wall. But conservation will probably do well in this new farm bill. And we’ll be there to help the farmers and ranchers of Washington. Neat stuff. Now -- about that New Year’s resolution . . .

Makin' Tracks   See what's happen' with employees around the state.

The following personnel changes for this quarter have been supplied by our state Human Resources department.

Welcome To New Employees
Heidi Smidansky, Soil Conservationist, Mount Vernon, effective 9/16/07
Jared Hamman, Soil Conservation Technician, Mount Vernon, effective 9/30/07.
Jeffrey Knutson, reassigned from NRCS in Hawaii to Soil Conservationist, Davenport, effective 10/14/07.
Elayne Houde, Rangeland Management Specialist, Davenport, effective 10/28/07.
Scott Bare, MLRA Project Leader, Spokane, effective 11/11/07.

Congratulations On Promotions
Amanda Ettestad, promoted to Resource Conservationist, Prosser, effective 8/5/07.
Amy Smith, promoted to Contract Specialist, Spokane State Office, effective 8/5/07.

Location Reassignments
Ashley Bouck, Student Trainee (Soil Conservationist), Mount Vernon to Renton, effective 9/16/07.
Ed Brinken, Soil Scientist, Quinault Tribal office to Montesano (temporary), effective 8/5/07.

Items of Interest
Joy Hawley, Soil Conservationist, Lynden, converted to career conditional status, effective 9/2/07.
Corey Bonsen, Soil Conservationist, Yakima, converted to career conditional status from the Career Intern Program,
                        effective 9/18/07
Corey Bonsen, Congratulations on the birth of his new daughter who was born September 13th at 12:05 a.m. 
                        She weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Goodbye and Good Luck
Lee McGill, Soil Conservation Technician, Mount Vernon, resigned effective 7/3/07.
Scott Williams, Archeologist, Olympia Area Office, resigned effective 7/26/07.
Patrick Beres, Rangeland Management Specialist, Goldendale, resigned effective 8/9/07.
Jacob Tribelhorn, Biological Science Aid (Plants) Pullman PMC, resigned effective 8/4/07.
Conor Richards, Biological Science Aid (Plants) Pullman PMC, resigned effective 8/11/07.
Derek Boschma, Biological Science Aid (Plants) Pullman PMC, resigned effective 8/22/07.
Chris Miller, MLRA Project Leader, Spokane Soil Survey Office, reassigned to NRCS Juneau, Wisconsin, effective 9/2/07.
Jacob Weaver, Biological Science Aid (Plants) Pullman PMC, resigned effective 9/15/07.
Becky Morris, Soil Scientist, Okanogan Soil Survey Office, reassigned to NRCS, Oregon effective 9/16/07.

Footprint Features  Highlights of conservation activities in Washington

These feature stories were submitted by employees in Washington.

 

	New Technology Comes to Farmers in Douglas County. Submitted by Mark Bareither, Resource Conservationist, Waterville Auto-Steer, using GPS technology, is fast becoming the wave of the future in Douglas County. Two years ago only one producer was using the equipment. Today over 30 farmers have purchased and are using this new technology. Some are portable that can move from one tractor to another, others are plumbed directly into the steering column. Read more (HTML)... | Printable version PDF (80KB)
	Disabled Fishing Access and Deck Coming Soon to Lyons Ferry Marina located in Columbia County Submitted by Lisa Naylor, RC&D Coordinator, Blue Mountain RC&D, Dayton At a Council meeting last fall, 2006, Port of Columbia manager, Gene Turner outlined plans for a special access walkway and fishing deck at Lyons Ferry Marina and requested assistance from the Blue Mountain RC&D. Patrons at the marina facility have requested access for disabled, the elderly and very young. Read more (HTML)... | Printable version PDF (33KB)
	Quinault Indian Nations Utilizes EQIP Submitted by Carri Gaines, Tribal Liaison, Quinault Nation, Taholah Back in 2003, the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) adopted their current Forest Management Plan (FMP).  The new FMP significantly changed how floodplains and riparian buffers were viewed and treated.  Previous land management practices on the Quinault reservation altered the riparian vegetation which often resulted in hardwood dominated riparian and floodplain areas that were originally mixed or conifer dominated. Read more (HTML)... | Printable version PDF (94 KB)
Healthy Lands Initiative Submitted by Jay Kehne, RC&D Coordinator, North Central Washington RC&D, Okanogan The Initiative for Rural Innovation and Stewardship (IRIS) as a standing committee of the North Central Washington RC&D has completed the Healthy Lands Initiative to bring together conservation, agriculture and economic development interests to craft new and innovative approaches for combining biodiversity conservation with the maintenance of productive and profitable agricultural enterprises. The initiative includes all of North Central Washington including Douglas, Okanogan, Chelan counties and the Colville Indian Reservation. Read more (HTML)... | Printable version PDF (24 KB)
Gus Visits Les Collines Vineyard Submitted by Jim Loiland, Soil Conservationist, Walla Walla State Conservationist Gus Hughbanks visited Les Collines Vineyard in Walla Walla on Tuesday July 31.  During the brief visit, Gus learned about the complexities of wine grape production.  Highlighted during the visit was the vineyards’ use of organic compost and pest and irrigation water management to promote the quality of wine grapes. Read more (HTML)... | Printable version PDF (13 KB)
Washington State in Top Five of National Soil Survey Request Submitted by Brad Duncan, Assistant State Soil Scientist The demand for Washington State soils information, especially in the Puget Sound, has risen dramatically since the introduction of the Web Soil Survey. Requests from the Web Soil Survey for soils information from three Washington State Soil Survey Areas are consistently in the top 10 nationally. Read more (HTML)... | Printable version PDF (104 KB)

Footprint Extras  Other items of interest along the way

How YOU Can Be More Involved In Civil Rights
By Rick Beck, Central Area Civil Rights Representative

You too can be more involved in civil rights simply by making a conscious effort to treat everyone, both external customers and co-workers, with dignity and respect. The Civil Rights Policy states in part; "NRCS treats its employees and customers with respect, dignity and equality while providing a professional work environment that delivers program services in a fair, equitable and respectful manner." It's painless and there's no out-of-pocket expense to being more thoughtful toward people we come in contact with in our work and home environments. For instance, try being really positive with someone who always seems to be negative. Be friendly toward someone who's grouchy. See what happens - who knows, your attitude might be just the thing that person needs to make their day.  But above all, be accountable for your actions and words. Remember, civil rights is YOUR responsibility.

Educate yourself by taking the time to read the Civil Rights Policy. You can be more involved in civil rights by:
• Volunteering to serve on the Civil Rights Committee
• Participating in or organizing an event regarding civil rights
• Writing an article for this newsletter
• Start by checking  out our civil rights webpage

Elevating the Conservation Partnership
Submitted by Harold Crose, Area Conservationist, Ephrata

Following a couple of years of planning, a group of aspiring mountaineers completed a successful climb of Mt St Helens, May 18th, 2007 – dubbed the Conservation Partnership anniversary climb. The summit picture shows Mark Clark, Executive Director of the Washington State Conservation Commission, John Larson, Executive Director WACD and Harold Crose Central Area Conservationist happy to be on top. It was a picture perfect day, right up to the last 15 minutes before reaching the summit. Clouds moved in blocking the view but not the enthusiasm.   
                                    
The rest of the party is shown in the group picture – Dan Lowe, Kathleen Clark, Lucas Nardella, Kevin Guinn, Mike Logsdon, John Larson, Kurt Stiles and Harold Crose. This is the first of three climbs that are being planned. Mt. Adams is next spring and then Mt Rainier. If you are interested, drop me a line.

We hope you have enjoyed our first issue of Conservation Footprints. If you would like to have your article published in an upcoming issue of Conservation Footprints, let me know.  Comments about the new look of this newsletter are also welcome.

For those interested in accessing past Current Development publications.

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