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Natural Resources Reporter
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October / November 2009 |
Published by the New Mexico
Natural Resources Conservation Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture |
In This Issue
Featured Links
Energy Estimators
NRCS This Week
en Espanol
Soils Links
Web Soil Survey
Soil Data Mart
Most Popular Links
About NRCS NM - Access a quick guide to many of NRCS New
Mexico’s most popular websites
Programs -
More information about NRCS New Mexico’s
many programs
FOTG
-
See the technical guides that are the
primary references for NRCS New Mexico
Snow Survey -
View NRCS New Mexico’s snow survey data
and water supply forecasts
Contact Us
NRCS New Mexico
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Agriculture
Secretary Brings Rural Tours to NM
 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited the Southern New Mexico
State Fairgrounds, September 30 and held a ‘Rural Tour’ community forum
to discuss efforts by the Obama Administration to rebuild and revitalize
rural America, listen to local residents talk about how the federal
government can assist them, and discuss solutions to challenges facing
their communities.
“It is critically important to hear the thoughts, concerns, and
stories about New Mexico’s vision for its future and to collect ideas
about how USDA can better serve these communities,” Vilsack said. |
Newly Appointed FSA, RD
Directors Take Oath
 U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency and Rural Development
new appointed State Directors took their oath of office during a
swearing in ceremony on October 2, 2009. President Obama tapped Salomon
Ramirez to head the USDA’s Farm Service Agency along with Terry Brunner
to head USDA’s Rural Development. The oath of office was administered
by the Natural Resource Conservation Service State Conservationist,
Dennis Alexander. |
Stimulus Funds Are at Work in New Mexico
On May 26, 2009, NRCS New Mexico received funding through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, also known as the Stimulus
Package) for two projects. The allocation amounted to $1,440,000, of
which $240,000 is for planning, design, and construction management of
dam improvements, and $1,200,000 is for construction. These funds are
available until the end of September 2010. One project is to improve
Prop Canyon Dam near Bluewater, and the other is to improve Santa Cruz
Dam near Chimyo. The planning and NEPA process is complete for the Santa
Cruz project. For the Prop Canyon project, planning is complete, and the
NEPA process is almost complete. The design of Santa Cruz is 85%
complete, and the Prop Canyon design should commence on October 26,
2009. |
NRCS - NM Wraps up Successful Fiscal Year
Program year 2009 introduced the 2008 Farm Bill with new initiatives
and focus beyond past Farm Bills. The efforts in implementing all the
new initiatives and focus on existing activities resulted in New Mexico
acquiring an additional $5M, and placing more conservation on the
ground. NRCS New Mexico wrapped up Fiscal Year 2009 on September 30
after investing $23.9 million for conservation in the state. This
outlay included 413 conservation contracts for $17.1M through the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Two special emphasis efforts
in EQIP funded $930,000 for the Organic Initiative and $800,000 for
Private Non-Industrial Forest Lands. Twenty contracts were funded for
$1.3M through the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative, and
thirty contracts for $3.4M through the Agricultural Water Enhancement
Program. The submittals are in for the 2009 go-round of the
Conservation Stewardship Program, accounting for 390 applications that
encompass almost three million acres. And, in response to the July 27,
2008 floods in the Ruidoso area, NRCS, using the Emergency Water
Protection Program, sent teams to work with the Upper Hondo Soil and
Water Conservation District, Lincoln County, Mescalero Tribe, Capitan,
and Ruidoso. Among much other work the agency held sustainable
agriculture workshops in Carlsbad, Albuquerque, Clovis, Deming, Shiprock,
Las Cruces, Santa Fe, and Tierra Amarilla. Making all this possible
were the agency’s partners and the many farmers and ranchers in New
Mexico who are bringing conservation to every corner of the state – and
most importantly, their hometowns. |
Tucumcari
What would you expect of an outstanding conservationist like Kent
Carter, who is helping conserve a wildlife playa and experimenting with
no-till on his land? You might not be surprised if he invented his own
plow to lay down a weed barrier for a new windbreak – and that is
exactly what he did. For the full story
click |
Solar, Wind Power Aid Grazing
Management
Grassland conservation requires proper grazing management, and one of
the primary techniques in achieving proper grazing management is
appropriate distribution of livestock watering facilities. But securing
a power source to pump water in New Mexico’s wide open spaces can be a
tricky business, when distances can make running electrical lines too
costly. The answer - solar pumps and wind turbines. For the full story
click |
Meeting
the Challenge with Native Legumes
 So, how do you take a tiny
bit of foxtail prairie clover seed and produce enough to sow vast
acreages? The Los Lunas Plant Materials Center can tell you, for they
met the challenge. For the full story
click |
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