Conservation Connection
December 2004
In this Connection:
The year’s end is always a time for reflection. As we look back on the
conservation work that NRCS and our partners have accomplished this year, it is
clear that we are making a difference in communities across the Bay State.
Read more…
Two Massachusetts watersheds – one in Berkshire County and one in Essex
County – are among 202 across the nation selected for the Conservation Security
Program (CSP), a new federal program designed to reward farmers for long-term
land stewardship.
Read more…
NRCS recently presented the New England Small Farm Institute (NESFI) with a
$110,000 federal Conservation Partnership Initiative (CPI) Grant for a project
that will improve conservation services to local farmers with grass-based
livestock operations in the Chicopee River Basin.
Read more…
NRCS has signed an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of
Agricultural Resources (MDAR) to contribute $4.3 million in federal funds to the
state for the preservation of Massachusetts farmland in 2004. This funding,
provided through NRCS’s Farm and Ranchland Protection Program and administered
through the state’s Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program, will protect
an estimated 1,500 acres of prime Bay State farmland. NRCS and MDAR work in
partnership with communities, local land trusts and other organizations in
preserving farmland across the commonwealth.
Read more…
NRCS has signed an agreement with the Town of Dennis to provide $250,000 in
federal funds to restore saltmarsh in Sesuit Creek as part of an estimated $1.2
million project. Sesuit Creek is a 163 acre marine ecosystem that is bisected by
Bridge Street, a town road. In the past, the area was used to produce salt marsh
hay. A culvert pipe installed when Bridge Street was built in the 1940's has
limited tidal flow and has degraded the 57 acre upper marsh system, which has
been detrimental to native vegetation and marine life habitat.
Read more…
Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns has been nominated by President George W. Bush
to be the 28th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Johanns will
succeed Secretary Ann M. Veneman, who was sworn in on Jan. 20, 2001.
Veneman said, "I congratulate Governor Johanns... He is a good friend whom
I've worked with closely over the years to advance agriculture policy and trade
opportunities for America's farmers and ranchers."
 Statement By Agriculture
Secretary Ann M. Veneman (Dec. 2, 2004)
A growing number of Massachusetts towns are establishing agricultural
commissions to address issues concerning local farms and how those issues relate
to residential, municipal, commercial and industrial interests. Now, federal and
state government agencies and community groups are collaborating to help Bay
State farmers find the resources they need to form an agricultural commission in
their town.
Read more…
To receive the Massachusetts Conservation Connection by
e-mail, to be removed from the list, or to submit news items, please send an
e-mail message to Diane.Petit@ma.usda.gov.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership
in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain and improve our
natural resources and environment.
NRCS Massachusetts State Office: 451 West Street, Amherst, MA
01002 | 413-253-4350 | fax 413-253-4395 |
www.ma.nrcs.usda.gov
Cecil Currin, State Conservationist
Jeffrey Anliker, Assistant State Conservationist
NRCS field offices are located at USDA Service Centers in
Barnstable, Greenfield, Hadley, Holden, Pittsfield, Westford and West Wareham.
Visit
www.ma.nrcs.usda.gov for addresses and phone numbers.
An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
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