This report covers the first quarter of the fiscal year and is also my first report as the director of the East National Technology Support Center. I have started reaching out to the state conservationists in the East Region to talk first hand, share training ideas, and to seek the training/direct assistance needs of the states. I look forward to communicating with and meeting as many of you as possible in the coming weeks. With the current budget constraints, travel funds have been impacted; however, we plan to continue existing and seek new ways to assist you with training and technical assistance. Webinars .....VTC training .....the new Science and Technology Training Library at ConservationWebinars.net all come to mind.

Now a little about me... I am a second generation SCS/NRCS'er. Prior to becoming ENTSC Director, I served five and a half years as an NRCS Science and Technology national discipline lead in Headquarters. In this capacity, I provided national technical leadership for environmental engineering functions and policy guidance in the agency. Prior to that, I served on the Central National Technology Support Center core staff for three years. I held various positions at the state, area, and field levels throughout Oklahoma (1991-2004), and worked for two independent consulting firms in Texas and Oklahoma before joining the agency. My college degrees (BS, 1983; MSCE, 1991) are from Oklahoma State University.    

There is much enthusiasm and work ongoing with the development of the Agency's Soil Health Management Implementation plan; new CNMP training curriculum; captioning services for 508 compliant webinars, and several technology workshops, such as for writing conservation practice standards. Training and technical assistance to the states remains our highest priority. Please feel free to contact our specialists or me with your technology and training needs and share your ideas about how we can best serve you.  

Darren Hickman, Director

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Contact Holli Kuykendall, ecologist, for more information.

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• GIS in the Field: LiDAR Makes Sense - February 27 
• How and What Social Media is Being Used in Natural Resource Outreach - March 13

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Technical Assistance Delivery 

In the first quarter of FY2013, the Center provided assistance on 55 requests, of which 28 were direct assistance to states, 9 were regional, and 19 were national activities. In addition to direct assistance to the states, the Center supported 17 training events to a combined audience of more than 1,050 participants. Assistance by state is shown in the East Region NTSC service area map at right.

Visit the Science and Technology Training Library at ConservationWebinars.net (or on the NRCS SharePoint) for training materials, webinar replays, and to view our upcoming webinar calendar. Contact Holli Kuykendall, ecologist, or Anthony Burns, national technology specialist, for more information.

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Saying Hello, Saying Farewell  

Steve Boetger is our new ENTSC agronomist on the Core staff. He was raised on a wheat farm in Eastern Colorado and has a BS degree in Agronomy from Colorado State University. Steve has 25 years of experience with SCS/NRCS with 24 of those years spent in Florida. There, Steve was a soil conservationist, district conservationist and most recently the state agronomist. His expertise has been in erosion control models, nutrient management, integrated pest management, and conservation practice standards. Steve is a certified crop adviser with the American Society of Agronomy.

Lynn Knight is our new ENTSC agricultural economist on the Core Staff.  She has an undergraduate degree in animal science and masters in agricultural economics. Lynn joined NRCS in 1992 as the Vermont state economist. She has since served in Headquarters as a senior economist for the Resource Economics and Social Sciences Division and as program analyst for the Resource Economics, Analysis and Policy Division. Lynn also worked for USDA as lead economist for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. She left federal service in 2005 for about four years to work as a private consultant to American Farmland Trust, Winrock International, and Farm Pilot Project Coordination, among others.

From Bill Boyd... "During my career, I moved my family from Tennessee to Missouri, Nebraska, Florida, Arkansas, and North Carolina, and my work took me to every state except Rhode Island and Alaska. It was on a Wednesday when I finally drove home to Tennessee, so I went to worship that evening, and the closing song was, "I Feel Like Traveling On." I had a hard time putting my heart into that one. I was proud to work with so many excellent and capable individuals, but it was a humble sort of pride that made me want to struggle to be worthy of them. You do not get to keep much when you retire, but you can keep your faith, and you can keep your family."

From Michael Hall... "My career with the agency provided opportunities to interact and learn from those who were deeply committed to caring for the land. They were the kind of people who always give more than they get in return. My work also strengthened my respect for those who make their living from the land; the ones for whom we all ultimately work. Any success that I might vainly claim in my career rests on the backs of those men and women." Editor's note: After all of the miles and military assignments, we're happy Michael made it home safely to South Carolina.

From Elvis Graves... "I have been associated in some way with the ENTSC since November 2004, and it is one of the best places that I have worked in my entire career. One of the reasons is the location. I have been fortunate to live and work in my hometown. That is a blessing that I do not take lightly and many of you know of my affinity for God's country (aka, Browns Summit). I have only known getting up and going to work for SCS/NRCS (more than 36 years), and I am sure Monday mornings will be different from now on - but I welcome the change."

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