| News & Info Brief
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.
LATEST ISSUE OF SOUTHERN FIRE EXCHANGE'S FIRE LINES NEWSLETTER
This issue of the 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
2015 FLORIDA LAND STEWARD CALENDARS STILL AVAILABLE
A few left - send an email to cdemers@ufl.edu with your mailing address if you’d like a copy. First come first serve while supplies last.
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
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/.
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?
HAVE AN EVENT OR RELATED NEWS TO SHARE?
Drop a line to Chris Demers, cdemers@ufl.edu
More news and info at the Florida Land Steward Blog
| *** | EAST FLORIDA (Madison County, east and south) | | June 30 | Annie's Project: Risk Management Education for Farm and Ranch Women, 4:30 to 7:30 pm, Alachua or Marion County Extension Offices. $50 fee. See link for details. To register & for more information call: UF/IFAS Extension Alachua County at 352-955-2402 or UF/IFAS Extension Marion County at 352-671-8400. | | June 27
July 1, 8, 15, 22 | Annie's Project: Risk Management Education for Farm and Ranch Women, The six-week course is offered from 5:30-9 p.m. Wednesdays beginning June 17 at the Extension office, 6700 Clark Road, Sarasota, and costs $50 per participant. A light meal will be served at 5:30 p.m. For more information or to register, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/annies-project-for-todays-farm-women-tickets-16701527719?ref=ecal or call 941-861-9900. | | July 15- 16 | 2015 Florida Bee Research Symposium (link), UF Austin Cary Forest Learning Center, 10625 NE Waldo Rd, Gainesville, FL. Provided by UF Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. Florida’s first ever Bee Research Symposium will bring together bee researchers from across the state and region to discuss topics related to the study of bees. See link above for details and registration. | | July 22-24 | Water Quality Tours, 9 am to 4 pm, Freedom Community Center, 7340 SW 41 Place, Gainesville, FL 32608. Provided by UF/IFAS Alachua County Extension. The tour will provide research-based information about water resources. The tour stops will include urban and springs watersheds, and agricultural operations. $40 includes lunches and bus fee. To reserve your seat, please pay in advance to the UF/IFAS Extension Alachua County Office, 2800 NE 39 Avenue, Gainesville, Florida. For more information about this program, please call (352) 955-2402. | | August 6 | Certified Pile Burner Course, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, West Central Florida Agriculture Center (Sumter County Fairgrounds) Bushnell, FL. $50 fee includes lunch and materials. Contact DarLinda Duteau at (352) 569-6865 or dduteau@ufl.edu for more information. | | August 20 | Forest Stewardship / Lake County CISMA Workshop: Invasive Exotic Species and Management (pdf link), 9 am to 3 pm ET, UF/IFAS Lake County Extension Auditorium, 1951 Woodlea Rd, Tavares, FL 32778. Provided by Florida Forest Stewardship Program and Lake County Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area. FDACS Pesticide CEUs approved: 1 Standards/Core, 2 Prvt App, 2 Forestry, 2 Nat Area Weeds, 1 Limited Wildlife Trapper. SAF CFEs approved: 3.5 Cat 1, .5 Cat 2. $15 fee includes lunch and materials. Register on-line at https://fsp-workshop082015.eventbrite.com/. You can also reserve a space by contacting Lake County Extension (352) 343-4101 ext. 2. | | August 27 | Invasive Plant ID Workshop, 9:30 am to 3:00 pm, UF/IFAS Suwannee Valley Agricultural Extension Center, 8202 CR 417, Live Oak, FL 32060. Sponsored by Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC) and North Central Florida CISMA through a Kathy Craddock Burks Education Grant. Free. Details and registration here | | August 28 | Invasive Plant ID Workshop, 9:30 am to 3:00 pm, UF/IFAS Taylor County Extension Office, 203 Forest Park Dr, Perry, FL 32348. Sponsored by Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC) and North Central Florida CISMA through a Kathy Craddock Burks Education Grant. Free. Details and registration here | | WEST FLORIDA (Jefferson County and west) | | August 29 | FAMU Grape Harvest Festival, FAMU Center for Viticulture and Small Fruit Research, 6505 Mahan Dr, Tallahassee, FL 32317. Grape wine samples, pick your own grapes, 5K run, live entertainment and more. For more information contact 850-599-3546 or extension@famu.edu | | September 24 | Forest Stewardship / Six Rivers CISMA Workshop: Cogongrass Identficiation and Control (pdf link), 9 am to 2:30 pm CT, UF/IFAS Walton County Extension Office, 732 N. 9th St, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433. FDACS Pesticide CEUs and SAF CFEs pending. $15 fee includes lunch and materials. Register on-line at https://fsp-workshop092415.eventbrite.com/. You can also reserve a space by contacting Walton County Extension (850) 892-8172 or haneyc@ufl.edu. | | WEBINARS, ONLINE TRAINING | | July 8 | Webinar: Forage Management for Livestock Production (link), 2 pm ET, See link for details. | | July 28 | Webinar: Silviculture for Non-foresters: Managing a Forest for Multiple Objectives (link), 2 pm ET, See link for details. | | August 4 | Webinar: Opportunities for Conservation in Organic Livestock Systems (link), 3 pm ET, See link for details. | | August 3-14
August 18-21 | S130/190 Basic Wildland Firefighter Training (link), Presented in a hybrid format, online and in person in Gainesville and Ordway Swisher Biological Station. See link above for details and registration. | | September 14 - October 22 | Natural Areas Training Academy: Collaborating to Manage Ecosystems (link), Presented in a hybrid format (a combination of online and in-person training), this workshop builds an appreciation of how to manage natural areas as part of a larger ecosystem, in coordination with neighboring land owners. See link above for details and registration. For more info email nata@ifas.ufl.edu or call (850) 875-7153. | *** |
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