Thursday, June 25, 2015

FLORIDA LAND STEWARD UPDATE 6/26/15

USDA SEEKS PARTNERS TO PROTECT AND RESTORE WETLANDS IN FLORIDA        USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announces the availability of $17.5 million in financial and technical assistance nationwide to help eligible conservation partners voluntarily protect, restore and enhance critical wetlands on private and tribal agricultural lands. Funding will be provided through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP), a special enrollment option under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program’s Wetland Reserve Easement component, created through the 2014 Farm Bill. WREP was formerly known as the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program. Under WREP, states, local units of governments, non-governmental organizations and American Indian tribes collaborate with USDA through multi-year cooperative and partnership agreements. Partners are required to contribute a funding match for financial or technical assistance. These partners work directly with eligible landowners interested in enrolling their agricultural land into conservation wetland easements.

Wetland reserve easements allow landowners to successfully enhance and protect habitat for wildlife on their lands, reduce impacts from flooding, recharge groundwater and provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities. The voluntary nature of NRCS' easement programs allows effective integration of wetland restoration on working landscapes, providing benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program, as well as benefits to the local and rural communities where the wetlands exist.

Proposals must be submitted to NRCS state office in Gainesville by July 31, 2015. Contact information can be found on Florida NRCS website.  Visit NRCS’s ACEP webpage to learn more about  wetland conservation options.

NEW ISSUE OF SOUTHERN FIRE EXCHANGE'S FIRE LINES NEWSLETTER
This issue of our bimonthly newsletter contains articles focused on fire and weather, including a summary of two recent research articles that explored interactions among climate, weather, and large fires. You'll also find the following articles, along with fire-related events and news:   
  • 2015 Joint Fire Science Program Funded Projects
  • Cohesive Strategy: Models for Action
  • Video Series: Minimizing Smoke Impacts of Prescribed Fire
  • FEIS: How to Get the Fire Effects Information You Need
Current and back issues here:
http://www.southernfireexchange.org/SFE_Publications/Newsletter.html

SOMETHING BUGGING YOUR TREES?
Do you have pests or a disease in your trees? Leaves or needles wilting, and you don’t know why? Sawdust falling out of your trees, and you don’t know how to save them? There is help: ask your question at the free Forest Health Diagnostic Forum: http://sfrc.ufl.edu/treehealth/forum/.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP VIDEOS  - VIEW AND SHARE!
All the latest videos are on the Florida Forest Stewardship Program home page:
http://sfrc.ufl.edu/forest_stewardship

GOT AN INVASIVE SPECIES PROBLEM?
Go to floridainvasives.org for information, assistance and partnership opportunities.

LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON A PARTICULAR TOPIC?
Check the vast array of extension publications available through UF/IFAS on the EDIS publication site:  http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/  Wow, there’s a publication about that?



ONGOING SERVICES, INITIATIVES, PROGRAMS:
______________________________________________________________________


FWC REQUESTS REPORTS OF WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS:


UF/IFAS SCHOOL OF FOREST RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION EXTENSION PROGRAMS
See http://sfrc.ufl.edu/extension


FORESTRY AND NATURAL RESOURCES WEBINARS
For a calendar of upcoming webinars in a variety of land management topics see:
http://www.forestrywebinars.net/webinar-calendar/month#.T-zLkBhgZys.blogger


UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA CONTINUING FORESTRY EDUCATION CLASSES
See http://conted.warnell.uga.edu/ for the latest offerings.


ALABAMA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION FORESTRY WEBINARS
See http://www.aces.edu/natural-resources/forestry/
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Monday, June 15, 2015

NATIONAL POLLINATOR WEEK, JUNE 15-19


Making a Home in Florida: Monarchs, the Regal Pollinators

Celebrate National Pollinator Week June 15-19

 

By M.J. Williams, PhD

agronomist/plant material specialist

Natural Resources Conservation Service

 

 

Gainesville, Fla., June 15, 2015 – Many people have heard about the amazing migration of North American monarch butterflies to Mexico. But did you know Florida has a breeding population that doesn’t migrate?

 

A warm climate and continuous growing season keep the species hanging around throughout the year in southern Florida. And monarchs migrating from Canada and the northeast, like many tourists, come and stay, bolstering the population. Although the north and central Florida cold winter temperatures can kill them, monarchs from south Florida and those migrating from Mexico repopulate the area.  

 

But some of the north Florida population join the eastern US migratory population that fly over the Gulf of Mexico. Watch them muster in October at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, one of the top five viewing sites for Monarch migration in the United States. 

 

Monarchs as pollinators play an important role in maintaining biological diversity. Habitat loss, disease, parasites and environmental contaminants have all contributed to the decline of many pollinators.

 

Monarch larvae feed almost exclusively on milkweed plants. About 20 or so milkweed species can be found in Florida. All are native except tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica.  The tropical milkweed is commonly found at retail nurseries and big box stores in the state. It is not the best food plant for monarch larvae, is somewhat invasive and should not be planted.

 

Pollinator plantings for the monarch should include both milkweed plants for the larvae to feed on and a wide range of other types of nectar plants for the adults. Unfortunately, most of the native milkweed species are not commercially available. The following species of native Florida milkweed are currently listed as available on the Association of Florida Native Nurseries website as plants, or you might contact your local native plant society to see if local seed of other species is available. 

 

These links take you to the University of South Florida Plant Atlas website that shows pictures of the plants and the range of the species in the state.

 

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), likes wet sites, central Florida south.  Seed available online, but not Florida ecotypes.

 

Aquatic or Swamp milkweed (Asclepias perennis), likes wet sites, central Florida north.

 

Fewflower milkweed (Asclepias lanceolata), likes wet sites, throughout Florida.

 

Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), likes middle-of-the-road to dry sites, throughout Florida.  Both Florida ecotype and other sources are available as seed online.

 

Learn more about how you can help pollinators and find resources on USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service website. For technical and financial assistance available through conservation programs, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted or your local USDA service center.

 

 
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Friday, June 12, 2015

FLORIDA LAND STEWARD UPDATE 6/12/15

CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE FROM USDA GULF OF MEXICO INITIATIVE
Apply by June 19
Farmers and ranchers in the Escambia River, Blackwater River and Middle Suwannee River watersheds can apply for financial assistance until June 19 to reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Gulf of Mexico Initiative for fiscal year 2015. Parts of Suwannee, Madison and Lafayette counties are included in the Middle Suwannee River watershed, and five new focus areas have been added to where landowners can apply for financial assistance. Parts of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are included in the Escambia and Blackwater river watersheds, where eight new focus areas have been added to where producers can apply for assistance.
 
Landowners can view maps to see if their property lies within one of the designated areas.  Financial assistance is available through Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
Practices include: Installing grade-control structures to stabilize eroding gullies; implementing precision agriculture to reduce chemical application overlap and protect sensitive environmental areas; adopting residue and tillage management, cover crops and conservation crop rotations to reduce sheet and rill erosion and improve soil organic matter, which results in cleaner runoff and improved water quality; planting grass and trees to stabilize eroding areas; installing cross-fences and watering facilities to facilitate grazing distribution; controlling cattle access to streams to improve water quality and stream bank stability; planting and managing native plant species to improve wildlife habitat and assist with restoration of a multitude of declining species; promoting energy conservation by eliminating the need for annual mechanical removal of sediment from split ditches; implementing grazing management; installing heavy-use area protection pads. For more information about signing up for the initiative, contact your local NRCS office. 

USDA PORTAL ENABLES FARMERS, RANCHERS TO REQUEST CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE ONLINE
Farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners can now do business with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through a new online portal.  The Conservation Client Gateway allows producers to work with conservation planners online to access Farm Bill programs, request assistance, and track payments for their conservation activities.  Conservation Client Gateway enables farmers, ranchers and private landowners to securely:

·         Request NRCS technical and financial assistance;
·         Review and sign conservation plans and practice schedules;
·         Complete and sign an application for a conservation program;
·         Review, sign and submit contracts and appendices for conservation programs;
·         Document completed practices and request certification of completed practices;
·         Request and track payments for conservation programs; and
·         Store and retrieve technical and financial files, including documents and photographs.

Conservation Client Gateway is available to individual landowners and will soon be extended to business entities, such as Limited Liability Corporations. It is part of the agency’s ongoing Conservation Delivery Streamlining Initiative, which will feature additional capabilities in the future.

For more information about Conservation Client Gateway, visit: www.nrcs.usda.gov/clientgateway
 
 
SOMETHING BUGGING YOUR TREES?
Do you have pests or a disease in your trees? Leaves or needles wilting, and you don’t know why? Sawdust falling out of your trees, and you don’t know how to save them? There is help: ask your question at the free Forest Health Diagnostic Forum: http://sfrc.ufl.edu/treehealth/forum/.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP VIDEOS  - VIEW AND SHARE!
All the latest videos are on the Florida Forest Stewardship Program home page:
http://sfrc.ufl.edu/forest_stewardship

GOT AN INVASIVE SPECIES PROBLEM?
Go to floridainvasives.org for information, assistance and partnership opportunities.

LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON A PARTICULAR TOPIC?
Check the vast array of extension publications available through UF/IFAS on the EDIS publication site:  http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/  Wow, there’s a publication about that?



ONGOING SERVICES, INITIATIVES, PROGRAMS:
______________________________________________________________________


FWC REQUESTS REPORTS OF WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS:


UF/IFAS SCHOOL OF FOREST RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION EXTENSION PROGRAMS
See http://sfrc.ufl.edu/extension


FORESTRY AND NATURAL RESOURCES WEBINARS
For a calendar of upcoming webinars in a variety of land management topics see:
http://www.forestrywebinars.net/webinar-calendar/month#.T-zLkBhgZys.blogger


UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA CONTINUING FORESTRY EDUCATION CLASSES
See http://conted.warnell.uga.edu/ for the latest offerings.


ALABAMA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION FORESTRY WEBINARS
See http://www.aces.edu/natural-resources/forestry/
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