With his selection of Thomas Dorr as the USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development, President Bush has sent a clear and present message that he fully supports industrialized factory farming in rural America. Now, according to the Clean Water Network (CWN), the Bush administration also intends to weaken one tool Rural America has used to protect it's waterways and wetlands from the ravages of factory farming - the Clean Water Act. While the Clean Water Act has made significant progress towards cleaning up America's rivers and estuariaires, the EPA is announcing they plan on moving ahead with new, relaxed rules for implementation and enforcement. These rules are to be announced in October and the Clean Water Network says that if the White House gets its way they will "ensure dirty waters remain polluted, if not become more so -- for decades to come." You can help out the effort by sending a message to members of Congress via the Network's website at: http://capwiz.com/cwn/issues/alert/?alertid=432041&type=CO. Here you will find background on the issue and a sample letter or fax to send on your own.

As reported last week in RU! the new farm bill generously increased funding to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This increase was paralleled by a change in eligibility requirements which, for the first time, made EQIP funds available to factory farms, or CAFO's (Confined Animal Feeding Operations). While the well heeled commodities lobbyists worked overtime to push this change, the move was stridently opposed by conservation and family farm groups who saw the logical conclusion; tax payer dollars used to subsidize unsustainable industrialized agriculture that undercuts family farms and makes adjacent rural property values drop like fly larvae on manure.  

While the legislative battle was lost, efforts are still underway to reduce the negative impacts of the change. To help ensure integrity in the implementation of EQIP, a coalition of groups have sent three letters to the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the federal agency in charge of implementing EQIP. You can read these letters on the familyfarmer.org "Take Action" page at: www.familyfarmer.org/sections/action.html.

Under a legal settlement with conservation groups including the South Dakota Resources Coalition and the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has proposed to designate 'Critical Habitat' for the Topeka Shiner, a rare fish species which occurs in parts of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota and Missouri. 

A series of important public hearings on the issue will begin next week and your voice is needed. The meeting schedule is as follows: Manhattan, KS, on September 4, 2002; Bethany, MO, on September 5, 2002; Fort Dodge, IA, on September 9, 2002; Pipestone, MN, on September 10, 2002; Sioux Falls, SD on September 11, 2002; and, Madison, NE, on September 12, 2002. People not able to attend can send comments on the proposed rule to the Kansas Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 315 Houston Street, Suite E, Manhattan, KS 66502. The complete file for the proposed rule will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above address.

Copies of the proposed rule are available by writing to the above address or by connecting to the Service internet web site at http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/topekashiner/ch.

The NRCS this week unveiled an electronic version of their Field Office Technical Guide (eFOTG). This is the first time that Field Office Technical Guides for the entire country have been available via the internet. All the guides are organized according to a similar outline, divided into sections containing general resource references, natural resource information, resource management systems and quality criteria, state standards for conservation practices, and conservation effects. The new system should improve access to technical information, allow comparisons between states, and expedite dissemination of the most up-to-date material.

The Electronic Field Office Technical Guide is available at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/efotg/

There is also a fact sheet on the eFOTC at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/factsheets/overview.html

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