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Washington State


Oregon Farmer Uses Conservation to Grow Farm, Giant Pumpkins

October 30, 2014 Spencer Miller, Natural Resources Conservation Service

Oregon organic farmer David Brown didn’t start off growing 400-pound pumpkins, but every fall they hold a prominent place on Brown’s Mustard Seed Farms. Starting out as a 26-acre farm in Marion County, Oregon, Brown has grown his diverse, organic operation to 80-acres while also achieving large...

Conservation

Farm to School: The Taste of Washington State

October 21, 2014 Deborah Kane, National Director, USDA Farm to School Program

Students at Conway Elementary School, in Mount Vernon, Wash., learned a few things about carrots last week. First, they don’t start out as “babies” in bags; they grow in the ground and have green tops. And second, as the third grade boys can attest, they’re good for an impromptu sword fight. Bugs...

Food and Nutrition Farming

Conventional Tillage Harvests a Haboob, Unhealthy Soils

October 14, 2014 Jim Armstrong, Spokane County Conservation District, Washington

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and state Soil and Water Conservation Districts has partnered for decades on protecting, restoring and enhancing private lands across the United States. Jim Armstrong is communications and special projects coordinator with the Spokane County Conservation...

Conservation

Conservation Groups, Farmers Protect & Restore Precious Puget Sound Estuary

September 22, 2014 Kirk Hanlin, Assistant Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service

When many people think of Washington State, they imagine rain, coffee and apples. My view is much more complex and nuanced, thanks to our team at NRCS who showed me diverse agricultural landscapes, including the state’s major estuary - Puget Sound. During my visit, I was greeted by an idyllic...

Conservation

At a Washington Ranch, It's for the Birds - and Elk

September 08, 2014 Jennifer Van Eps, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington

Most landowners would give up when faced with the challenges on Nine Pine Ranch near Chewelah, Washington, but not Glen Hafer. After trying for 40 years to farm his piece of land in the Colville River Valley, Hafer decided to convert it back to its original glory – wetlands. Historically, the land...

Conservation

Building Organic Partnerships: Sound and Sensible Certification Projects

September 05, 2014 Miles McEvoy, Deputy Administrator of the National Organic Program

This is the seventeenth installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. Making organic certification accessible, attainable, and affordable involves collaboration with many partners across the country and around the globe. To advance this work...

Conservation

Get Back, Give Back: Federal Retiree Begins New 'Career' with US Forest Service

August 25, 2014 Bob Steelquist, Volunteer, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Service

After nearly 32 years of combined federal and state natural resource management public service, I retired. I have been blessed with a rewarding career. But before that final day working in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary arrived, I...

Conservation Initiatives Forestry

"Seeding" the Next Crop of Scientists

August 12, 2014 Jan Suszkiw, USDA Agricultural Research Service Information Staff

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. 2014 marks the eighth year of “Pumping Up the Math and Science Pipeline: Grade School to College,” an innovative science...

Research and Science

States Use Regional Partnership, Innovation to Protect Rivers and a Way of Life

August 11, 2014 Astor Boozer, Northwest Regional Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service

The Pacific Northwest is known for its picturesque lakes, cascading streams and dramatic coastlines. The many rivers of the Pacific Northwest—the Yakima, the Snake, Snohomish, Willamette, Klamath, Boise, and others—are part of the cultural, economic and environmental foundation of the region. These...

Conservation

Community Combats Pollution in Inlet, Succeeds in Restoring Oyster Populations

August 01, 2014 Kirk Hanlin, Assistant Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service

Two years ago, the Nisqually Shellfish Farm south of Belfair, Wash. didn’t have a chance. Runoff from surrounding homes and dairy farms polluted Henderson Inlet, and the state declared the water unfit for raising shellfish for human consumption. Worsening the problem, the place was overrun with an...

Conservation
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