Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture WATERSHED - FISH - WILDLIFE - AIR - RARE PLANTS ::: WFW MONTHLY WFW STAFF NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2008 CONTENTS News Coming Events Technical Information & Publications Training & Tools Sharing Success Vacancies/ Employment Opportunities General/Cross Area * * * Air Resource Appeals & Litigation Aquatic/Fish * * Continuing Education/WFW NatureWatch Planning Soil * * TES * Watershed * Weather Wildlife * * Other Staffs or Partners * Click on the header to take you to this section of the newsletter. Federal job announcements can be found at: http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/agency_search.asp Submit your information Disclaimer & Non-Discrimination Statement News: GENERAL/CROSS AREAS Leave Donor Program Recipient Don Martin, Alaska Regional Fisheries Biologist, is approved as a VLTP recipient, and is in need of donated annual leave. Don needs to care for his wife, who has been hospitalized as a result of a long battle with breast cancer, and now needs treatments requiring them to travel to Seattle, Washington. If you are interested in donating annual leave, please fill out OPM 630-A form online. Click on 'File->Save As'; Save the form locally and email the form as an attachment back to Rhonda George for processing. Please ensure that you complete block number 10 with your signature. "/s/ Smokey Bear" OPM 630-A (2001): Request to Donate Annual Leave Form (online pdf) If you have any questions, please contact Rhonda George, HR Specialist, ASC-HCM at 505.563-9274. Email: rhondageorge@fs.fed.us Submitted by: Rhonda Stewart, USFS/WO/WFW Ron Thill Retires! Ron Thill, Team Leader SRS-4251, U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Wildlife Habitat & Silviculture Lab, is retiring. Please join us as we wish him well in his new and rewarding retirement endeavors. Submitted by Jina Mariani, USFS/WO/WFW SOIL Long-term Soil Productivity Program Several efforts to strengthen the national and regional support of the Long-term Soil Productivity (LTSP) program were completed in late 2007. A national letter of recommitment was cosigned by Joel Holtrop, NFS Deputy Chief and Ann Bartuska, Research and Development Deputy Chief. The LTSP program is a national initiative and is essential to understanding long-term impacts from forest management practices. The Southern Region, Cooperative Forestry and the Southern Research Station updated their LTSP MOU. The major shift was the inclusion of Cooperative Forestry as a partner in the LTSP program and recommitment by the region to support the LTSP program. National Long-term Soil Productivity Study (letter: PDF xxx KB) Long-term Soil Productivity MOU (PDF xxx KB) Submitted by: Randy Davis, USFS/WO/WFW WILDLIFE Restoring North America's Migratory Birds: Saving Birds and Habitat through Cooperative Conservation In December 2006, the White House invited the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to recommend how the federal government could help restore habitats and populations of declining migratory birds. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology convened a group of leaders in the bird conservation community and together prepared this report, "Restoring North America's Migratory Birds." The report, delivered to the White House in late January 2007, recommended six key actions by which the U.S. government could help migratory birds and their habitats. On October 20, 2007, President Bush outlined a national strategy for bird conservation (see link), which included many of the recommendations in our team's report and also emphasized an important new public-private initiative to fund conservation and education in our National Parks. Visit (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071020-2.html) for a transcript of President Bush's address. Submitted by: Jina Mariani, USFS/WO/WFW Bird News Network (BNN) The American Bird Conservancy has launched Bird News Network (BNN), a syndicated news service for stories about birds and bird conservation throughout the Americas. ABC is currently inviting organizations to participate by submitting press releases and story ideas and by subscribing to the news service. BNN will enable media professionals, birders, and conservation organizations interested in birds and bird conservation to subscribe to an RSS news feed that will provide regular press releases and summaries of national press coverage on bird conservation issues. These releases will include regular video news webcasts as well as stories from American Bird Conservancy and its partners in bird conservation. Bird Conservation Alliance members and other interested organizations, and news outlets can syndicate the RSS feed on their websites and blogs. To view current BNN headlines go to American Bird Conservancy's website at (www.abcbirds.org). Alicia King, American Bird Conservancy Submitted by: Jina Mariani, USFS/WO/WFW Coming Events - Conferences & Meetings: GENERAL/CROSS AREAS 73rd Annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference March 24-29, 2008 Hyatt Regency, Phoenix, Arizona Information/Registration: http://www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/nawnrc/registration.htm Theme: "Effective Conservation Through Partnerships" On March 26 the U.S. Forest Service will hold our 'Get Wild' partners meeting from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, and the annual awards ceremony (co-sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management) begins at 6:00 pm. The Forest Service Directors meeting will be held March 27th at 9:00 to 11:30 am, and the Wings across Americas Awards ceremonies will be held that evening from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. You can register for the conference three ways: Online: http://www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/nawnrc/registration.htm Download Registration Form Fax to: 802-865-8066 Download Registration Form Mail to: 73rd NAWNRC c/o Delaney Meeting & Event Management One Mill Street, Suite 301 Burlington, VT 05401 We hope to see everyone there! Submitted by: David Pivorunas and Jina Mariani, USFS/WO/WFW TES NCTC Training - Native Bee Identification, Ecology, Research and Monitoring Date: March 24-28, 2008 Location: National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV Information/Registration: http://training.fws.gov/ Course Objectives: * Describe key characteristics and life histories of all the North American genera of bees east of the Mississippi River * Identify native bees to species using Discover life online identification guides and other resources * Use common trapping and netting techniques for Native Bee species in the region surrounding the Training Center * Survey native bee populations using common strategies * Describe issues surrounding the pollination biology, natural history, research, and identification of native bee species. Who Should Attend: Federal, state, county and municipal agencies, private consulting firms, citizen volunteers, neighborhood associations, environmental organizations, and teachers, performing native pollinator assessments or monitoring programs; with a desire to improve their identification skills . Submitted by: David Pivorunas, USFS/WO/WFW National Pollinator Week 2008 The Pollinator Partnership is proud to announce that June 22-28, 2008 will celebrate the 2nd Annual National Pollinator Week. Due to the enormous success of National Pollinator Week 2007, officially declared by the U.S. Senate (S.Res. 580) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Pollinator Partnership received requests from all over the continent to expand on this year's festivities and events. You can help spread the pro-pollinator message by planning your own National Pollinator Week event in your state. The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and The Coevolution Institute sponsor pollinator Partnership. E-mail info@coevolution.org so we can publicize your event on www.pollinator.org. Check out www.pollinator.org and click "Pollinator Week 2008" for free, downloadable, educational materials, or click "Great Free Pollinator Items" for materials like the Pollinator Garden Wheel and the Pollinator Action Poster. There is a shipping and handling fee per item. Submitted by: David Pivorunas, USFS/WO/WFW WILDLIFE 11th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count, 15 - 18 February 2008 The 11th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is just next month (15 February 2008) and a great outdoor activity that families can do together. The GBBC is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. Visit http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ for all the information you will need to jump in and participate. No registration required! Submitted by: Jina Mariani, USFS/WO/WFW Technical Information & Publications: SOIL Newsletter Release The San Dimas Technology & Development Center released their Fall 2007 "Current & Profiles Newsletter". It includes the request for FY09 WSA Proposals. Current & Profiles Newsletter: Fall/Winter 2007 (728 KB) Submitted By: Randy Davis, USFS/WO/WFW Training & Tools: GENERAL/CROSS AREAS Endangered Species Act for Line Officers - Climate Change and ESA May 5 - 8, 2008 Key West, Florida New this year - discussions on climate change and how we can see it ripple through ESA. Designed for Line Officers and Decision Makers. Focus on provisions of ESA and other laws governing species management, agency policies, procedures, and taking action to prevent listings. Review of law and agency policy relating to the management of threatened, endangered, and sensitive species. Particular attention will be paid to building appropriate administrative records of decisions, and the roles of all the players. Discuss Agency and Line Officer obligations for consultation and recovery under the ESA. Interactive lectures, roundtable discussions, exercises, a field trip, and panels are used to facilitate learning. Challenging case studies are used to explore managing TES species across landscapes and jurisdictions in an effort to develop best management practices. More information... Submitted By: Shelly Witt, WO/WFW/Continuing Education Natural Resource Policy Values & Economics May 5 - 9, 2008 Portland, Oregon How do you 'value' the soil under a building...before and after it is washed away? How do you 'value' a potential landslide and human life ... or closing a road? Purification of air and water - what is the value? How do we adapt our management for global warming? Questions posed more frequently today by our agency, litigants and landholding neighbors. You will learn how to determine 'value' and ask good economic/policy/value questions -- to yourself and to people with their set 'values'. Humans try and substitute these 'ecosystem services' at high expense and not doing it nearly as well as nature. Join the discussion - delve into other areas you may not have previously considered - explore some options and actions. Highly recommended for Line Officers and decision makers. More Information... Submitted By: Shelly Witt, WO/WFW/Continuing Education Sharing Success: AQUATIC/FISH Cooperative Project Improves National Forest Fish Habitat Wildlife Unlimited of Delta County and Plum Creek Timber Company have joined with the Hiawatha National Forest to improve spawning habitat for fish in Eighteenmile Creek in eastern Delta County. Matching contributions of $2500 from Wildlife Unlimited and Plum Creek this spring helped fund construction of 6 gravel "riffles" that will be used by spawning steelhead and salmon (Figure 1). Supervision for the project was provided by the Forest Service while contributed funds paid for materials and equipment costs. Inmates from Camp Manistique provided much of the labor. Eighteenmile Creek is one of several streams in Delta County that have been improved with the help of Wildlife Unlimited and other partners. Since 1985, partners have contributed more than $150,000 to fish habitat management in the Whitefish, Ogontz, Sturgeon and Fishdam River systems. The 2007 project is the first partnership effort with Plum Creek and has resulted in improvements that would not have been possible otherwise. Declining availability of Forest Service funds for local fish habitat management in recent years has increased dependence on partnership funding. The current spawning habitat project is expected to yield results similar to those of past projects. Forest Service fish population surveys found that spawning habitat built with Wildlife Unlimited assistance in 1997 produces approximately 1600 juvenile steelhead per mile each year in lower Eighteenmile Creek. Juvenile steelhead usually spend 2 years in spawning streams before migrating to Lake Michigan to mature. Typically 5%-10% of migrating juveniles survive to adult sizes and become available for anglers to harvest, either in the lake or in streams during spawning migrations. Previously completed projects in Eighteenmile Creek and tributaries have contributed to a 65% increase in brook trout numbers. In addition to the partnership project with Plum Creek, Wildlife Unlimited provided $2500 this year toward maintenance of in-channel sediment basins on Haymeadow Creek, Eighteenmile Creek and Buckeye Run (a tributary to the East Branch Whitefish River). These projects are part of a comprehensive plan to improve habitat conditions for coldwater fish species in many area streams. Other treatments that have been completed in the past include log structures, stabilization of eroding banks and upgraded road crossings (Figure 2). These projects reduce sediment loads and provide spawning habitat, hiding cover and pools that fish require for survival. Habitat improvements encourage natural reproduction of fish and are an alternative to stocking hatchery raised fish in some waters. Where stocking is necessary, habitat management can increase long-term survival by providing more favorable conditions. For more information on the Forest Service fisheries program or partnership opportunities contact Chuck Bassett at 789-3336 or cbassett@fs.fed.us. Figure 1. New spawning habitat on Eighteenmile Creek Figure 2. Reconstructed crossing over Johnson Creek on CR-442 reduces sediment input. WATERSHED Forest Service Hydrologist Honored as "Mover & Shaker" in the Business World Traci Sylte, hydrologist and civil engineer on the Lolo National Forest in Montana, has been recognized by Western Montana's In Business Monthly for working with people in the community toward rehabilitating and restoring the upper reaches of Lolo Creek watershed. Editor Sherry Devlin remarked that the publication was "overwhelmed" by nominations for so many people deserving recognition in their annual "Movers & Shakers" edition. Those selected for 2007 exemplify the "the power of individuals to bring about positive change." Traci is honored among those people who work behind the scenes to get things done, yet rarely get their names in print. She notes that "we really can integrate social values with improvements to the natural environment. We can have both if we're willing to work together." Congratulations Traci and Lolo National Forest for providing such great examples of working across boundaries with the community to improve natural resource conditions. Read more about Traci and her work at the Lolo at the following link: http://www.mtinbusiness.com/inbiz-0711/bus04.php. Submitted by: Sherry Hazelhurst, USFS/WO/WFW Siuslaw NF/OWEB Awarded $500,000 US Fish and Wildlife Service-National Coastal Wetlands Grant Program awarded the Siuslaw National Forest and Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board a $500,000 grant for a restoration project. This grant focuses the spotlight on Forest Service wetland and coastal work, which is an often overlooked component of the watershed program. They were awarded the funds to complete a restoration project in the Salmon River estuary. The Siuslaw NF was selected among 29 projects nationally, and 1 of only 4 in Oregon, to be funded under National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. Congratulations to the Siuslaw NF on developing this partnership development and obtaining this important grant. We wish them great success in completing the restoration work! Submitted by: Sherry Hazelhurst, USFS/WO/WFW Vacancies/Employment Opportunities: Federal job announcements can be found at: http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/agency_search.asp OUTREACH--Supervisory Biological Scientist, GS 401-13-Sierra National Forest, Clovis, CA The USDA Forest Service, R5 Pacific Southwest Region, Sierra National Forest, is currently in the process of conducting outreach to assess interest in a Supervisory Biological Scientist, GS 401--13, position, located at the Supervisor's Office in Clovis, CA. Please share this information with people who may be interested. This outreach notice is in effect until January 7, 2008. If you would like more information, contact Ed Cole by phone at (559) 297-0706 ext. 4800 or via email at ecole@fs.fed.us. If you respond to this Outreach Notice, you will be advised when and where this vacancy will open. Thank you for your interest in our position. Outreach Notice - Forest Fisheries Program Manager GS-0482-12 Region 6, Malheur National Forest, Supervisor's Office, John Day, Oregon This Outreach Notice is open to current employees and non-employees alike. Please respond accordingly. The purpose of this Outreach Notice is to determine the potential applicant pool for this position and to establish the appropriate recruitment method and area of consideration for the vacancy announcements. Responses received from this outreach notice will be used to make this determination. Your response by February 1, 2008 would be greatly appreciated. If/when this position is advertised, applicants will need to create an application profile and apply on-line using Avue Digital Services (ADS) procedures at www.avuedigitalservices.com/usfs/applicant/html. This is a non-supervisory, permanent full-time position that serves as the Forest Fisheries Program Manager for the Malheur National Forest. The position is located in the Natural Resources department of the Supervisor's Office and reports to the Natural Resources Staff Officer. The position provides guidance, leadership, and oversight for the Forest's Fisheries program. This includes oversight of the Forest aquatic budget and program execution, plans, inventories, monitoring, reporting, data management, analysis and interpretation, and training. The incumbent drafts local policy and technical guides, prepares assessments and serves as an advisor and consultant to the Supervisor's Office and Ranger Districts in all facets of Fisheries Management. The incumbent serves as a member of the Forest Interdisciplinary Team (IDT). If you would like additional information about this position, please contact Rene' Mabe, Natural Resource Staff Officer, at (541) 575-3041 or by email rmabe@fs.fed.us. Information on the Malheur National Forest is available at http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/malheur . If you are interested in this position, please respond by completing the attached Outreach Response Form and returning it to Rene' Mabe, rmabe @fs.fed.us or fax: (541) 575-3002. Malheur National Forest Outreach Form - Fish Program Manager The vacancy announcement for this position, when open, will be posted at the USA Jobs website, the U.S. Government's official site for jobs and employment information. WFW Newsletter Contact Information: Disclaimer - Non Discrimination Statement WFW Newsletter is a monthly newsletter without a clever name and is provided by the National Forest System Watershed-Fish-Wildlife-Air-Rare Plants staff (including Soils and Meteorology) of the USDA Forest Service. Contributions are welcome and should be submitted to Netta Grant at agrant@fs.fed.us or your favorite Program Leader no later than the 20th of each month. We reserve the right to edit contributions for clarity and brevity. Emphasis on brevity. Links to detailed URLs or documents are great - include them in your information contribution. If photos are included in your submission please provide alternative text with each photo. Alternative text should not repeat captions but describe the scene shown in the photo. If brevity and clarity are a struggle for you, we recommend the "Plain & Simple! Document Writing" workshop instructed by Dr. Jud Monroe. Vacancy Positions listed are for outreach purposes only and are not full announcements. Interested individuals should contact the units referenced or consult the USAJOBS website. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer."