13 States to receive support.

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2015 - Targeted conservation work in the Mississippi River basin will unite the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), farmers and local organizations to help clean waterways that flow into the nation's largest river. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is investing $10 million this year in 27 new high-priority watersheds and 13 existing projects that will help improve water quality and strengthen agricultural operations. This investment is part of a commitment of $100 million over four years to address critical water quality concerns in priority watersheds while boosting rural economies.

"We know that when we target our efforts to the places most in need, we see stronger results," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. "These projects focus on watersheds in need, where we have opportunities to work with partners and farmers to get conservation work on the ground. "

NRCS worked with state agencies, farmers and other partners to identify high-priority watersheds that align with established state priorities and have strong partnerships in place ? and where targeted conservation on agricultural land can make the most gains in improving local and regional water quality. Conservation systems implemented in these areas will reduce the amount of nutrients flowing from agricultural land into waterways, curb erosion and improve the resiliency of working lands in the face of droughts and floods. This investment builds on $18.5 million already allocated to projects in the basin in fiscal 2015.

These projects are funded through the agency's Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI), which uses funding from several Farm Bill conservation programs, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), to help farmers adopt conservation systems to improve water quality and habitat and restore wetlands. Since MRBI's start in 2009, NRCS has worked with more than 600 partners and 5,000 private landowners to improve more than 1 million acres in the region. Through these partnerships, the initiative more than quadrupled the number of contracts addressing water quality concerns in targeted project areas.

New projects include :

• Lower South Fork Root River Watershed, Minnesota: NRCS will work with the Root River and Fillmore soil and water conservation districts, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, The Nature Conservancy, Minnesota Agricultural Water Resource Center, Monsanto and others to achieve a 40 percent reduction in sediment and associated phosphorus by 2020. NRCS plans to invest $39,000 in fiscal 2015 as part of a $1.2 million commitment in the watershed over four years.
• Headwaters-Big Pine Creek, Indiana: NRCS will work with the Benton and White county soil and water conservation districts, Big Pine Creek Watershed Group, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation Technology Information Center, Ceres Solutions LLC, Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, Indiana Soybean Alliance, Pheasants Forever and Indiana Department of Environmental Management to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment in this critical watershed to improve the conditions of waterways for recreational use and wildlife. NRCS plans to invest $50,000 in fiscal 2015 as part of a nearly $500,000 commitment over four years.
• Long Lake, Mississippi: NRCS will work with Delta F.A.R.M., Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to address water quality concerns in priority watersheds identified in the Delta Nutrient Reduction Strategy. NRCS plans to invest $710,000 in fiscal 2015 as a part of a total commitment of $4.3 million over four years.

See full list of watershed projects.

Projects will be funded in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

"These projects put to work some of our core conservation practices, which we know are having tremendous impacts downstream," NRCS Chief Jason Weller said. "Putting to work NRCS-recommended conservation practices helps clean and conserve water, makes agricultural operations more resilient, and stimulates rural economies as this work often relies on help from biologists, foresters, pipe makers, dirt movers, welders, engineers and many more different professions to implement."

Conservation systems include practices that promote soil health, reduce erosion and lessen nutrient runoff, such as cover crops, reduced tillage and nutrient management; waste management systems that treat agricultural waste and livestock manure; irrigation systems that capture and recycle nutrients back to the field; and wetland restoration that increases wildlife habitat, mitigates flooding, and improves water quality.

Findings from a 2014 report by the USDA's Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) show that conservation work on cropland in the Mississippi River basin has reduced the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus flowing to the Gulf of Mexico by 18 and 20 percent, respectively. CEAP models have also shown that the targeted approach of MRBI has enhanced the per-acre conservation benefit by 70 percent for sediment losses, 30 percent by nitrogen losses, and 40 percent for phosphorus losses, when compared to general program activities.

Meanwhile, watersheds prioritized by MRBI have shown clear successes in helping to improve water quality. For example, two stream segments in the St. Francis River watershed in Arkansas have been removed from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's list of impaired streams.

MRBI is one of many landscape-level efforts to address water quality; similar efforts are ongoing in the Great Lakes region, Gulf of Mexico region, Chesapeake Bay watershed and California Bay Delta region.

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ALAMEDA, Calif. - A fishing vessel trapped in Antarctic ice 900-miles northeast of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, for nearly two weeks is free following an international rescue operation that ended successfully Sunday at approximately 8 p.m.

The Antarctic Chieftain, an Australian-flagged fishing vessel, was rescued by the 150-person crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star. The rescue operation spanned more than 860 miles and required the crew to break through 150 miles of thick Antarctic ice and navigate around icebergs that were miles wide.

"We are proud of the commitment and dedication of the Coast Guardsmen aboard Polar Star, but most importantly, we are grateful they were able to safely reach Antarctic Chieftain and rescue 26 people in distress," said Vice Adm. Charles W. Ray, Pacific Area commander. "This was a complex and dangerous rescue mission; however, the crew rose to the challenge, and they exemplify the Coast Guard's Core Values of Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty and our service's commitment to excellence."

The crew navigated through difficult weather conditions during the five-day rescue operation including heavy snow fall, high winds and extreme ice conditions. Coast Guardsmen aboard the Polar Star reported whiteout snow conditions early in the operation, and they were required to break through ice that had built up over several years making it extremely thick.

"I doubt any medium icebreaker could have made the rescue since we had to go on turbine to get through the multiyear ice that appeared to be as thick as 20 feet in places. The amount of icebergs in the region suggested that the area was extremely hazardous to navigation," said Capt. Matthew Walker, the commanding officer of Cutter Polar Star. "This rescue demonstrates the importance of our nation's only active heavy icebreaker in the Polar Regions."

Antarctic Chieftain damaged three of its four propeller blades in the ice, which required the Coast Guardsmen aboard Polar Star to tow the vessel through about 60-miles of ice into open water. Towing the 207-foot fishing vessel through heavy ice placed varying strain on the tow line, which broke three times during the rescue mission. Once in open water, the Antarctic Chieftain was able to maneuver under its own power. The crew of the fishing vessel Janas will escort the Antarctic Chieftain to Nelson, New Zealand.

"There were some very happy sailors aboard Antarctic Chieftain upon our arrival," said Walker.  "The ice conditions that we found the fishermen in were dire, more so if Antarctic Chieftain had to stay much longer."

Coast Guardsmen reached the crew of the fishing vessel Friday after traveling across more than 150 miles of ice. The fishermen requested assistance from Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand Tuesday evening after becoming trapped in the ice. RCC New Zealand requested U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, homeported in Seattle, to respond to the Antarctic Chieftain's request for assistance. The crew of Polar Star was deployed to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, as part of Operation Deep Freeze, which provides military logistical support to the U.S. Antarctic Program managed by the National Science Foundation.

The crew of Polar Star will continue their journey home to Seattle. The Polar Star is the nation's only heavy icebreaker capable of operating in the thick Antarctic ice for a mission such as breaking out the Antarctic Chieftain or clearing McMurdo Sound for the annual resupply of McMurdo Station. The 399-foot cutter is one of the largest ships in the Coast Guard and one of the world's most powerful non-nuclear icebreakers.

For photos of the rescue, please click here - https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/antarctichieftain

For video and photos of Polar Star's recent operations in support of the National Science Foundation's Antarctic program in McMurdo Sound, please click here -

https://www.dvidshub.net/portfolio/1099389/george-degener

To read the cutter's blog posts about their, journey please click here - http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/tag/operation-deep-freeze-2015/.

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Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today after the House voted on the Keystone Pipeline.

"I have long subscribed to the belief that the best course of action regarding energy policy is to move from fossil fuels to renewable forms of energy as quickly and as feasibly as possible. I understand the concerns about the potential impact of the Keystone XL pipeline proposal. At the same time, any decision such as the one regarding Keystone is hardly a simple or easy one to make. Environmental concerns are important, but so are other factors.

"In my mind, one of the most important reasons is the infrastructure jobs that will be created due to the construction of the pipeline. I am fully aware of the short-term nature of the 40,000 plus jobs that will be created by this project. But I cast my vote today in favor of creating these jobs that can't be shipped overseas and for the countless hardworking men and women who put their hard hats on every morning so that they can put food on the table and help their children pay for college. We have seen Wall Street recover, yet working folks across Iowa and America continue to wait their turn. Our focus must continue to be on improving the economy, getting Americans back to work, and moving our country forward. It is unfortunate that Republicans have refused to move any comprehensive jobs legislation to keep jobs from going overseas.  A good first start would be an immediate consideration of a long-term transportation bill so American workers can get back to work and the U.S. economic recovery can be further enhanced.

"Additionally, today's vote marks only the beginning of the work Congress must do on energy policy during the next session and in the years beyond.  First, we must do all we can to reduce carbon at its sources and ensure that polluters bear the costs of their action.  This can be done by imposing a carbon fee on the pollution emitted by the use of fossil fuels, with the revenue generated returned to households.  We also must extend the Production Tax Credit to continue to spur the generation of wind power, extend the Investment Tax Credit to incentivize the development of solar power, and continue other policies to enable the increased use of other renewable forms of energy. These policies will both protect our environment and create hundreds of thousands of jobs across America. These efforts will continue to move our nation on a path that practically and affordably moves us farther from reliance on fossil fuels and towards significantly more use of renewables."

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The National Weather Service is predicting that late this afternoon and tonight a fast moving Alberta Clipper Storm System will move into Scott County, Iowa. The snow may be heavy at times producing several inches of snow a short amount of time.  The bulk of the snow will occur overnight with snowfall totals of 3 to 8 inches expected.   Heavy snow with blowing and drifting will make travel hazardous overnight and into tomorrow.  Travel on rural Scott County Roads is not recommended until County Road crews have a chance to clear them tomorrow morning.

 

Further inquiries can be directed to the Sheriff's Office at 563-326-8225 or County Engineer at 563-326-8640