On Aug. 8 we helped host a visit of Secretary of Agriculture, MikeJohanns, and 53 business, government and agricultural leaders.The group toured Lyon, Sioux, O’Brien, and Osceola counties in

northwestern Iowa. This visit was part of a three-state, three-day bustour that highlighted economic and conservation achievements found inSouth Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota.

This was a great opportunity for us to show people what we do tomake their lives and the land better. Our tour partner, RuralDevelopment, showcased energy related projects such as a wind farmconnected to a biodiesel generator near Sioux Falls and an ethanol plantin Sioux Center. Iowa NRCS highlights included an EQIP project inSioux County and conservation practices found in Osceola County.

I think many people on the tour did not know much about RuralDevelopment or NRCS before the tour started. They do now. DistrictConservationist Greg Marek showed the Secretary and his guests a solidmanure settling system that was designed by our engineers and builtwith Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funds. DistrictConservationist John Vogel highlighted eight conservation practices anddiscussed their benefits to the environment as they rolled throughOsceola County on their way to Minnesota.

Along the way NRCS folks also talked about our efforts to: •promote the use of wind energy •develop technology to burn switchgrass in coal power plants•use solar power to pump water for cattle•implement conservation practices that improve lives, the econ-

omy and the land. The Secretary’s tour was a great reminder to us as we enter the sea-

son of fairs and special events that we do good things to help the landand improve people’s lives. I encourage you to share your stories andshow your successes to the people we serve.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, 210 Walnut St., Room 693, Des Moines, IA 50309 Summer 2006

What’s inside.....Bridge Sent Airborne.....................Page 2In Memory of MarvMensching.......................................Page 2New Employees Trained...............Page 3Got ‘r Done!...................................Page 4Retirees Reunion............................Page 5National Attention on RC&D.......Page 5 SCSer into Hall of Fame................Page 5Personnel Actions...........................Page 6

From the Office of Iowa State Conservationist

Rick Van Klaveren

"Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service:Excellence in helping people

conserve and improve our natural resources, communities, and environment."

Iowa Current DevelopmentsDevelopments

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

RC&D Sends Bridge Airborne

The Limestone Bluffs RC&D helpedsend a bridge listed on the NationalRegister of Historic Places flying. Thebridge, over the Wapsipinicon River nearthe community of Hale in Jones County,needed to be moved to a new locationnear Wapsipinicon State Park. TheLimestone Bluffs RC&D helped obtain$583,000 of grants, local funds, and in-kind donations to renovate the bridgeand help local partners move it to itsnew location.

On March 8, 2006, the three sectionsof the Hale Bridge were flown by theIowa Army National Guard from Hale toits new piers and abutments near thepark.

The History Channel is preparing adocumentary about the move for its“Mega Move” program.

Warren Johnson, Limestone BluffsRC&D Coordinator, said, ”The HaleBridge will serve as the connecting linkbetween Wapsipinicon State Park andthe City of Anamosa and will be the cat-alyst for future development in thearea.”

Helping People Help the Land Summer 2006 Page 2

Iowa Current Developments

In Memory ofMarvin Mensching

Former District ConservationistMarvin Alan Mensching, 51, passedaway at Mercy Hospice House inJohnston on June 14, 2006, after a bat-tle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).

For 18 years he was the districtconservationist at the Knoxville FieldOffice.

Marvin was born in CouncilBluffs. He was an Iowa State gradu-ate with a bachelor of science inforestry and a minor in soils.

Marvin worked for the USDANatural Resources ConservationService for 25 years. He began as atemporary soil conservationist in theShenandoah Area Office in 1981. He helped start two organizations:the Preserve Identity Iowa Grainsand the Red Rock EnvironmentalEducation Fund.

Marvin is survived by his wife,Robbin, of Ankeny; two sons, Ryanand Andrew Mensching, of Ankeny;his parents, Kathleen and OrvilleMensching, of Woodbine, and onesister and her husband, Lori and JimMalone, of Council Bluffs.

Donations in memory of Marvinmay be made to the Marion CountySoil and Water Conservation Districtat the NRCS Office, 1445 Lake Drive,Knoxville, Iowa 50138.

OIG Trains Area 2Employees on Field Safety

Craig Hangsleben, Senior SpecialAgent with USDA’s Office ofInspector General, talks withStephanie Hill, Federal Women’sProgram Manager for Iowa.

At a recent Area 2 employeesmeeting held in Clarion, CraigHangsleben, Senior Special Agentwith USDA’s Office of InspectorGeneral, talked to employees abouthis office’s role in investigatingcrimes against federal employees andfield safety.

Hangsleben’s invitation to speakcame as a result of a Iowa FederalWomen’s Program Committee initia-tive.

Hangsleben told employees that itis against the law to threaten federalemployees doing their jobs or assaultthem. If a threat or assault is made,his office will investigate and canmake arrests. If arrested, the subjectwill go before a federal judge and, ifconvicted, the punishment can bemuch more severe than one resultingfrom a state or county court proceed-ing.

If confronted by an angry cus-tomer Hangsleben says the bestdefense is to get out of there. Hesuggests employees remove them-selves from the situation, report theincident to their supervisor and fol-low their office’s EmergencyPreparedness Plan.

After months of preparation, anArmy National Guard helicoptertransports a historical bridge to itsnew location.

Helping People Help the Land Summer 2006 Page 3

Iowa Current Developments

Roy Campbell gestures to punctuateverbal instructions given to fourblindfolded co-workers during ateam building exercise that was partof a state office training and awardsday held in early June. Campbell’sgroup consisted of Connie Bishop,Human Resources; Jennifer

Dubendorf, GIS; Jean Sandstrom,Design Team; and JenniferAnderson-Cruz, Ecological Sciences.Campbell’s team was one of 14 thatwas timed as it worked a ball througha maze designed and built by JohnPaulin of the Planning Staff.

Tough Notebook for aTough Job

Tablet notebooks, built to functionunder field conditions, are being usedin the state. The fully functional com-puters come with a GPS capabilitythat allows soil scientists or engineersto walk around the landscape lookingat a soil survey map on the computerscreen and add land features to thatmap with GPS accuracy.

According to Gregg Hadish,Geographic Information SystemsSpecialist in the state office, NRCSIowa has seven of the ruggedizedtablet computers. They are located insoils offices and are primarily used insoil survey work.

Application of ConservationPractices training was held June 19-23 at Springbrook State Park nearGuthrie Center. Attending were:Front Row: Hani Nguyen, Fairfield;Courtney Myers, Burlington; SaraKlindt, Muscatine.Second Row: Wyatt Sperry,Centerville; Brandy Franklin,Keosauqua; T.J. Lynn, Fort Dodge;Dan Case, Oakland; Jim McGrath,Independence; Pat Corey, Mount Ayr;Kate Timmerman, Washington;Andrew Focht, Corning; Tom Klever;Karla Horihan, Leon; Luke Frobish,

DeWitt; Joe Frerk, Pocahontas;Kelvin Pruitt, Sergeant Bluff; JeffPorter, Instructor (I), State Office.Third Row: Chuck Abel, Indianola;Mark McWilliams (I), Anamosa; ScottShifflett, (I), Sigourney; Tina Cibula,Malcom; Kelly Heather, Carroll;Alexis Straka, Sioux City; LaurieHumpal, (I), Davenport; MelindaTague, (I), Marshalltown; DebVonnahme, (I), Carroll; Ray Frana, (I),Osage. In the foreground are theclass volleyball mascots Bob andBabbs.

Watch for the Bull’s EyeLyme disease is a bacterial infectionmost commonly contracted from atick bite that may cause flu-like sick-ness. Untreated, it may cause long-term, persistent illness that can affectmany systems of the body.

While many symptoms of Lymedisease mimic other diseases, onesign that is unmistakable is the devel-opment of a bull’s eye rash aroundthe site of a tick bite. If you have thisrash, you have Lyme disease andneed to seek treatment.

Christina Murphy, a civil engineeron the state office Planning Teamrecently used a “ruggedized”tablet notebook while on a detailto Louisiana. She used theportable computer on the shore ofLake Pontchartrain to fill out dam-age survey reports.

Helping People Help the Land Summer 2006 Page 4

Iowa Current Developments

Townleys Host SpringCleaning Event

With tools in hand and a “git ‘erdone” attitude, 23 co-workers andfriends met April 15 to completehome improvement chores for GregTownley, Malcom DistrictConservationist, who is currentlyon active military duty in Iraq. Theeffort was spearheaded by BruceTrautman, Assistant StateConservationist (Field Operations),Area 5. Trautman was joined byfriends and co-workers fromConservation Districts of Iowa,Iowa Department of SoilConservation, NRCS, and the Soiland Water Conservation Society.They teamed up to tackle theTownley “to-do-list” a list of thingsGreg would do if he was home.

The group painted outside buildings,moved a strawberry patch, drilled andseeded garden and field areas, washedwindows, cleaned and repaired gutters,replaced a toilet fixture, and many othermiscellaneous chores. Greg’s wife,Janet, said the large group completedher original “to-do-list” so quickly thatanother had to be prepared.

The Townleys were amazed and veryappreciative of the support and helpthey received from Greg’s work family.

Participating in the Spring CleaningEvent were: Jeff Collins, Larry Jones,Dana Holland, Kevin Funni, TedOswald, Shawn Dettman, KerryRichards, Bruce Trautman, Deb Ryunand her husband, Steve Rassler, TeresaReed, Steve Johnston, Craig Hempy,Amy Bouska, Dick Tremain, Denis andMichelle Schulte and sons Kyle, Nick,and Ryan.

Major Greg Townley serves with theArmy Reserve as a liaison officer with aMarine logistical unit just west ofBaghdad. He is expected to returnhome in October.

Teresa Reed, DC in the TiptonField Office, cleans a paint brushafter helping the Greg Townleyfamily compete spring cleaningchores while he is on active dutyin Iraq.

Take Your Daughter to Work Day

Tim Terrill, an EnvironmentalSpecialist with the Iowa Departmentof Agriculture and LandStewardship in the Ankeny FieldOffice, was recently assisted by hisnine year old daughter, Abryelle, aspart of the national Take Your Childto Work Day. She helped her dadtake pictures of grade stabilizationstructures, filter strips, and waterand sediment control basins. Shealso was able to spend some timewith family farmers who fed hercookies and kool-aid. When she lefttheir house she said, “Farmers arereally nice people.”

Sigourney is an‘Extinguished’ Field Office State Technician Scott Shifflett is a

volunteer fireman. When all the outdat-ed fire extinguishers were beingreplaced in the Keokuk County ServiceCenter, Shifflett volunteered to take theold extinguishers and offer his co-work-ers hands-on firefighting training. Afterthe new extinguishers were installed,the old extinguishers were collected,classroom training was conducted, andall 14 employees were able to go to theparking lot to pull the pin, aim andsweep out a fire.

One person said it was “thrilling” touse an extinguisher to put out a fire. Allagreed it was worthwhile training.

Three Energy EstimatorsNow On-line

The Energy Estimator forNitrogen joins two other web basedtools NRCS has developed toincrease energy awareness in agricul-ture. Producers, using this website,will now be able to calculate the costof nitrogen, tillage and irrigationused on their farm to help make bet-ter informed decisions.

The results, generated by thesetools, are estimates based on NRCSmodels and are illustrative of themagnitude of savings. They can befound at http://energytools.sc.egov.usda.gov/.

Tim Terrill and daughter Abryelleat the Ankeny Field Office.

National AttentionFocused on CharitonValley RC&D Project

ABC-TV’s World News Tonight,Wallaces Farmer, the BrownfieldRadio Network, The Des MoinesRegister, and even my.NRCS has fea-tured stories on the Chariton ValleyBiomass Project managed byChariton Valley ResourceConservation and Development.According to Chariton Valley’sRC&D Coordinator Dora Guffey,ever since President Bush mentionedswitchgrass as a renewable energysource in his State of the UnionAddress, media have been veryinterested in their project.

Co-funded by the US Departmentof Energy, USDA, Alliant Energy andother project partners, the biomassproject recently ended a 3-month testburn of a switchgrass and coal mix-ture at the Ottumwa GeneratingStation in Chillicothe, Iowa. Duringthe test burn, 31,568 bales of locallygrown switchgrass were burned gen-erating enough electricity to provideall the electrical needs for over 1,874

homes for an entire year. By burningrenewable switchgrass that wasplanted, grown, harvested, stored,delivered and processed by Iowafarmers, 12,060 fewer tons ofWyoming coal were required by thepower plant.

International media and localpoliticians have also been keepingtabs on the project. Iowa gubinatorialcandidate Jim Nussle and staff mem-bers for Senators Grassley andHarkin have all toured the biomassfacility.

Currently the generating station isin the testing phase where it burnsonly coal. When this testing is com-pleted and additional test results arereleased in early winter, Guffeyexpects media attention to increaseagain.

Helping People Help the Land Summer 2006 Page 5

Iowa Current Developments

The Greene County USDA ServiceCenter sent supplies to a militaryunit in Iraq in time for Easter.Involved in the effort were NRCSemployees Carolyn Schwartz, Kevin

Kordick and Steve Gilbert, districtemployee Mike Tighe, FSA employ-ees Diane Wise, Jean Finch andDiane Ostrander, and state secre-tary Kathy Van Gundy.

Iowa SCSer Inducted into Hall of Fame

Chuck McCarty, former CharitonValley RC&D coordinator, was recent-ly inducted into the NationalAssociation of RC&D Councils Hallof Fame during their annual confer-

ence in Savannah, Georgia. Heserved as the first coordinator atChariton Valley RC&D.

The Hall of Fame Award recog-nized McCarty for “leadership anddedication to the principles and ideasof the RC&D Program” and for “leav-ing a legacy for others to follow. “

2006 SCS/NRCS Retiree's Bi-annual Reunion

Where: Iowa Arboretum, 1875 PeachAvenue, Madrid, IATime: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. August 25Menu: Choice of smoked pulled porkor orange teriyaki chicken with potatosalad, baked beans, coleslaw and cook-ies.Price: $10 per personTour: an optional tour of theArboretum is available for an extra $4fee. It is a walking tour, but a smallcarriage is available for up to five peo-ple who may find walking difficult.To register: contact Duane Miller at515-278-8495 or send e-mail todrmiller10@msn.com.

2006 NRCS Golf TournamentThe annual NRCS Golf Tournament

will be held August 18 at the Fox RidgeGolf Course located on the edge ofDike. There will be a shotgun start at 9a.m. with individual flag events.

The gold course is well suited forgolfers of all skill levels.

The entry fee is $40 per person,which includes the 18-hole green fee,golf cart, lunch and prizes.

Each of the past two years there hasbeen a hole-in-one. Will it happenagain?

Primitive campground sites areavailable.

For more information or to register,contact Dana Holland at 641-753-8677 o rJim Allen at 641-648-3463 by A u g u s t 4.

Name Title Grade Action Eff Date DeptSandquist, A. Soil Consvst 09 Promotion 2/19/06 Area 2 FO NewtonFrerk, Rodney Soil Consv Tech 05 Career-Cond Appt 3/5/06 Area 1 FO PocahontasSandstrom, Jean Civil Engineer 12 Conv to Reins-Career 3/5/06 Eng Staff Des MoinesEhlers, Loren F Soil Consv Tech 07 Promotion 3/19/06 Area 1 FO Rock RapidsMcMichael, Julie Soil Consvst 09 Conv to Career-Cond Appt 3/19/06 Area 1SSO Storm Lake Koenig, Chad M Natrl Res Speclst 11 Promotion 3/19/06 GIS Staff Des MoinesZimmerman, M Soil Consv Techncn 05 Conv to Career-Cond Appt 4/2/06 Area 1 FO Primghar Pruitt, Kevin Soil Consvst 07 Career Intern Appt 4/2/06 Area 1 FO Sergeant BluffByers, Ann M Soil Consvst 09 Reassignment 4/2/06 Area 1 FO Spencer Woodrich, Karen A Supvy Soil Con 13 Promotion 4/2/06 Area 2 AO Fort Dodge Jung, Jay J Soil Consvst 11 Promotion 4/2/06 Area 5 FO KnoxvilleHoskins, Phoebe M Soil Consv Tech 04 Conv to Career-Cond Appt 4/2/06 Area 5 FO Washington Lawson, Robert D Soil Consvst 09 Promotion 4/16/06 Area 3 FO Elkader Page, Cynthia O Phys Sci Tech 05 Conv to Career-Cond Appt 4/30/06 Area 2 SSO AmesLewis, Steven L Soil Consv Tech 07 Promotion 4/30/06 Area 4 FO Audubon Allen, Steven D Soil Consv Tech 07 Promotion 4/30/06 Area 4 FO Corydon Rohlf, David Ag Engineer 12 Retirement 5/3/06 Area 2 FO AnkenyFopma, Curtis G Civil Engrg Tech 09 Promotion 5/14/06 Area 2 FO Newton Drewelow, R P Soil Consv Tech 07 Reassignment 5/14/06 Area 3 FO West Union Carper, Ronald E Civil Engrg Tech 09 Promotion 5/14/06 Area 4 FO Audubon Johnson, Douglas Soil Consvst 11 Reassignment 5/14/06 Area 5 FO Muscatine Dixon, Joseph W Soil Consvst 07 Reassignment 5/14/06 Area 5 FO Wapello Brinkman, Steven Natrl Res Mgr 12 Promotion 5/14/06 Eco Sci Staff Des MoinesKoenighain, Jean Clerk Typist 05 Retirement 5/31/06 Area 5 RC&D WilliamsburgWeese, Judith Office Asst 06 Retirement 6/3/06 Area 4 RC&D CrestonOwen, Hillary Soil Consvst 07 Conv to Career-Cond Appt 6/11/06 Area 3 FO Allison Harris, Lori J Soil Consvst 12 Promotion 6/11/06 Area 3 FO Maquoketa Biggs, Angela L Soil Consvst 11 Promotion 6/11/06 Area 4 FO Harlan Gundlach, David Soil Scntst 09 Promotion 6/11/06 Area 4 SSO Atlantic Niedermayer, Lisa Soil Consvst 07 Resignation 6/12/06 Area 4 FO Winterset

Helping People Help the Land Summer 2006 Page 6

Personnel Actions

Conservation Planning for New Employees, a two weekcourse put on by the Ecological Sciences Team, washeld in Marshalltown in late April and early May.Instructors and students were, left to right, dairy farmerand tour host Kevin Blood; Paul Vondra, Epworth;Patrick Cory, Mt Ayr; Valerie Johnson, Rock Rapids; JonMatz, Algona; Hani Nguyen, Fairfield; Jennifer Stewart,Oskaloosa; Courtney Myers, Burlington; Tina Cibula,

Malcom; Nichole Webb, LeMars; Stacy Schlader, Albia;Kelly Heather (back row), Carroll; Karla Horihan (mid-dle); Leon, Christine Louisias (with dog), Clarion; JoeDixon, Muscatine; Jennifer Anderson-Cruz, Des Moines;Wyatt Sperry, Centerville; Steve Brinkman, Des Moines;David Carter, Malvern; Deanna Rohrer, Iowa Falls; BarbStewart, Des Moines; and Dana Holland, Marshalltown.