"Dig It!" soil exhibit event January 3rd

You might remember a few years ago when the Smithsonian Museum, with support from the Soil Science Society of America, created "Dig It!", an exhibit about the complex world of soil. Well, now, the exhibit is on display right here in Minnesota at the Bell Museum of Natural History on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota.


The exhibit will run through July, but don't put off your visit. Several events are planned around it including “Big Thursday” when subject matter experts are on hand to guide visitors through the exhibit. The next one is Thursday, January 3rd, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. when Caryl Radatz (NRCS State Soil Scientist) and her colleagues will lead the gallery conversation.

More information is at the Bell Museum website http://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/ForAdults/Exhibits/DigIt/index.htm

And here's a pdf flyer you can use to promote it to your colleagues, friends, and family: http://minnesotaswcs.org/Activities/dig_deeper_2.pdf

CEU opportunity: MAPSS tour of Dakota County

The MN Association of Professional Soil Scientists (MAPSS ) presents their summer field tour Friday, July 27th, 2012 in Farmington, MN. The expert list of speakers will talk about Dakota County geology and soils, fracturing sands, and nutrient management issues. The tour is worth 6 CEUs. Agenda and registration form are at http://minnesotaswcs.org/Activities/MAPSS2012SummerTour.pdf

The Perfect Storm of Soil Events

MN SWCS members:
Check out the message below from the  Minnesota Association of Professional Soil Scientists (MAPSS) describing a never-to-be-repeated confluence of soil celebrations. Sign up for the email list at the end of the message to stay informed of associated events.

Dear Colleagues and Friends of Soils in Minnesota,


These are exciting times for soil in Minnesota, maybe the most exciting times any of us can remember. To help coordinate activities related to several soil related events happening in Minnesota, the Minnesota Association of Professional Soil Scientists (MAPSS) has formed a committee called the Perfect Storm Committee (PSC). Why did we call it the Perfect Storm Committee? See the list of events below, we can’t recall a time when more soil related activity was going on.

· 2011: The Soil Science Society of America 75th Anniversary;

· 2012: The 150th Anniversary of the USDA, the anticipated arrival of Dig-It, the Smithsonian Soils Exhibit to the Bell Museum in the fall and our successful effort to establish Lester as the Minnesota State Soil

· 2013: The 100th Anniversary of the Univ. of MN Department of Soil Water and Climate and the 40th Anniversary of MAPSS

To keep people informed about happenings associated with these events, MAPSS has created and is maintaining an informational e-mail list to be used to inform people about Minnesota soils and soil related events. This list will be maintained by MAPSS and will not be sold or given to others. If you or others you know would like to receive information from MAPSS about soil related events, please use the link below to sign up for our mail list. You can add one or as many different e-mails as you like to our list. Later on, you can use this same form to change your e-mail address or to remove yourself from our list at any time you like. Note, for members of the list, if you have soil related events you want to tell list members about, send your message to mapss@mnsoilscientist.org – we will review it and if appropriate, we will forward it to the list members.

Sign up for the MAPSS Informational Mail List here:
http://www.mnsoilscientist.org/main/mapssinfo.html
Thank you for your interest in Minnesota Soils!

Can we have intensive agriculture AND environmental performance?

MN SWCS members:

Check out Dr. Kenneth G. Cassman's lecture this Thursday on "Can We Guide Agriculture towards Sustainable Food Security?".  Then post your reactions below.
Here are the event details:
Dr. Kenneth G. Cassman,
Robert B. Daugherty Professor of Agronomy, and
Chair, Independent Science and Partnership Council of the CGIAR
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

Thursday April 19, 2012
2:00-4:30 PM
335 Borlaug Hall
University of Minnesota
St. Paul, MN

This event is free and open to the public. Please feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested. There will be light refreshments following the seminar in the hall outside 335 Borlaug. Live web-streaming available at https://umconnect.umn.edu/emergingissues/

Abstract at: http://minnesotaswcs.org/Activities/Emerging%20Issues%20in%20Soil%20&%20Water%20Lecture%202012.pdf

Chapter President's message

Well, here we are with my first blog message as Chapter President.  I’ve been thinking for quite a while about what makes a person join any organization.  The likely first thought is that people join organizations that they feel a connection to, which represents much of the same values they do.  Ours is a professional organization, and it brings with it some differences from other types of organizations.  Being a conservation society we generally represent a non-partisan view.  The political winds of change move constantly and we have seen much of that over the past 30 years.  The understanding of conservation in our society has grown continuously, the more we learn, the more conservation becomes embedded as a societal value being passed on to succeeding generations.  Our organization represents a group of people concerned with conservation of natural resources, because the resources can’t speak for themselves, we must speak for them.  We provide a forum where discussions about natural resource conservation can take place in a positive, non-partisan way that hopefully leads to common sense solutions to the challenges we face in the world today.

I don’t necessarily believe the old saying: “if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem”.  However, that old saying does have a point.  Apathy to issues likely allows them to persist rather than be dealt with.  For all of those who share a kinship with me in conservation, thank you for your commitment.  Perhaps you know someone who isn’t a member and just needs to be asked.  I would suggest that they would benefit greatly from joining our society, and we would also benefit greatly from their insight.  Very much a win-win proposition.  I hope to share my thoughts regularly over my two-year term as Chapter President.  As a reminder, the entire Executive Committee is available for the membership.  We have an outstanding leadership group for the chapter, so give us your feedback. 

Yours in conservation, Dave

Save the Date: March 29th Precision Conservation Conference and MN SWCS annual meeting

The MN SWCS annual meeting will be held March 29th, 2012 in conjunction with the Freshwater Society's day-long conference: “Precision Conservation: Technology Redefining Local Water Quality Practices.”  Precision conservation effectively and efficiently targets scarce resources to the spots on the landscape where they will do the most good. Learn about the latest technology -- much of it based on LiDAR scanning – that pinpoints “sweet spots” where runoff, erosion and pollution are disproportionately severe and the potential for improvement is disproportionately great. Speakers include NRCS Chief Dave White; Dr. David Mulla, University Soil Scientist and a pioneer in employing modern LiDAR-based technology in the service of conservation; Dr. Gerald Van Amburg, president of the Buffalo-Red River Watershed Board; and several other Minnesota expert conservationists sharing rural and urban examples. The event will be at Silverwood Park in St. Anthony, MN. Visit the Freshwater Society web site for a current agenda and registration information. The Chapter annual meeting will follow the conference.

Awards nominations and scholarship apps due soon

Nominations for Chapter Awards and Student Scholarships are due March 2, 2012. Take advantage of this opportunity to honor the great individuals and organizations contributing to conservation in Minnesota. Students may nominate themselves for scholarships.
Applications for national SWCS scholarships for students and professionals are due February 12th, 2012.
Forms for the chapter award nominations and the chapter student scholarships are available on the Chapter website.
Further information about the national scholarships is on the SWCS website.