New Artwork Offers "Bird's-Eye" View of NCTC Campus
Pennsylvania artist and architect Steve Patricia delivered a fine-art style, aerial view illustrated map of the National Conservation Training Center to the center's production division on November 19. The original art -- a mixed-media illustration of watercolor and graphite -- will grace the center spread of the upcoming new NCTC marketing catalogue and will be prominently displayed as wall art in a public space on the Shepherdstown campus. "This is a great addition to NCTC's ability to serve our students and guests with improved orientation to the campus, and to all of the activities and services available on this 538-acre facility," says Richard DeVries, NCTC graphics chief.
-- published -- Nov 19, 2009-- photo credit -- Mike McAtee
NCTC Employee Joe Piehuta Dies
Joseph A. Piehuta, a thoughtful presence in the Fish and Wildlife Service whose skills as a mediator and esteemed counselor were sought by both the agency's highest managers and its rank-and-file employees, died November 14 in Washington, D.C. Piehuta, 74, had worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service for 26 years; he was an employee of the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, but based in Arlington, Virginia. In his role as program analyst and liaison between the training center and the agency's management, Piehuta served both functions, often called upon as a facilitator to stage national meetings and events at the Shepherdstown campus. His most recent assistance was provided during the Green Schools Alliance's 4-day Student Climate and Conservation Congress at NCTC in June 2009, where some of the Nation's brightest high school scholars convened to address environmental sustainability issues against the backdrop of global climate change. "Joe Piehuta will be dearly missed," says NCTC Director Jay Slack. "Joe was one of the most wonderful people I have ever had the pleasure to call a friend." Funeral services will be held on Friday November 20 at 11 a.m. at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C.
-- published -- Nov 17, 2009-- photo credit -- Ryan Hagerty
"Keep on Truckin' Down the Line ..."
Eastern Panhandle residents know well the value of America's Appalachian Trail, that 2,178-mile ribbon of wilderness from Maine to Georgia that skirts our border through Harpers Ferry. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, in partnership with the National Conservation Training Center, National Geographic Television, and the National Park Service, invites the public for a screening of the new documentary "America's Wild Spaces: Appalachian Trail" on Friday November 13. The film will be shown in NCTC's Byrd Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., as part of the Conservancy's board and stewardship council meetings. The special Friday evening screening could be just the motivation needed for a weekend outing on the AT amid the colors of a fall afternoon along the Potomac River. Additional information about the new film is available at http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/appalachian-trail-3591/Overview.
-- published -- Nov 2, 2009-- photo credit -- USFWS
Lights! Camera! Action!
France has its Cannes Film Festival. Robert Redford has Sundance. And Shepherdstown, West Virginia, has its own American Conservation Film Festival ... now set to begin its seventh season with more than 20 outdoor- and wildlife-themed films set to screen beginning Thursday November 5 in several local venues, including the National Conservation Training Center's 250-seat Byrd Auditorium. Highlights of this year's festival include the films "No Impact Man," "Food, Inc.," "Big Rivers," and "Running with Wolves". NCTC even stars in one new film -- videographer Robert Owens' "When Eagles Dream" -- about the American bald eagles that nest on the training center campus. In addition to NCTC on Shepherd Grade Road, films will be screened at the historic Opera House Theatre in downtown Shepherdstown and at Shepherd University. A full roster of films in the 2009 American Conservation Film Festival and schedule can be found at http://www.conservationfilm.org/schedule.htm.
-- published -- October 28, 2009-- photo credit -- ACFF
Texas Banker Donates Rare Artwork to Agency Collection at NCTC
Twenty or more pencil sketches by a renowned U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service artist that illustrated one of marine biologist Rachel Carson’s books have come home to the agency’s art collection on the campus of the National Conservation Training Center. Retired Texas banker Dial Dunkin donated pencil drawings by Service artist Bob Hines in September to the agency where Hines was employed as national wildlife artist between 1948 and 1981. The marine life sketches were used to illustrate the 50th anniversary edition of Carson’s first book, “Under the Sea-Wind,” first published in 1941 when she, too, was a Fish and Wildlife Service employee. “Through Mr. Dunkin’s generosity, our collection of Hines art and memorabilia grows and enriches our ability to interpret the life and work of this colleague of Rachel Carson’s,” says agency historian Dr. Mark Madison. “These pieces will prove exceptionally valuable to us as we approach 2012, the 100th anniversary of Bob Hines’ birth, when we hope to commemorate this chapter in the Service’s long history.” The Dunkin donation was arranged through Russell Fink of Lorton, Virginia, owner of Russell Fink Gallery, which specializes in fine wildlife art. Hines retired from the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1981 and died in 1994.
-- published -- October 26, 2009-- photo credit -- USFWS
Campus Master Plan Focus of Public Meeting
A plan for the future management of the 538-acre National Conservation Training Center property that places a premium on biological diversity and the restoration and enhancement of ecosystems will be the focus of a public meeting on October 29, where neighbors and local citizens will be invited to contribute their ideas and suggestions. A new environmental assessment for the campus – a simplified version of what many people already know as an “environmental impact statement” – is being prepared to guide NCTC’s management and to aid in controlling pests and invasive plants and to promote the growth of native plants, which are all existing priorities of the center. A scoping document, available online at http://nctc.fws.gov/ea, presents various options for management, ranging from ceasing all land management activities to continuing the current level of oversight to introducing greater mowing and haying, planting of desired species, and use of prescribed fire or herbicides to control undesirable plants. The public meeting where comments will be invited will take place on Thursday October 29 at 6:30 p.m. in NCTC’s Byrd Auditorium. Comments can either be delivered at the meeting or by mail by November 13, 2009. A similar session for NCTC staff and employees, where they can contribute their ideas, will be held earlier in the day on October 29.
-- published -- October 26, 2009-- photo credit -- USFWS
Giles Lake Fish and Game Club Exhibit to Close
A re-created fishing and hunting camp from the backwoods of Canada will shut its cabin doors in December as the National Conservation Training Center’s conservation library ends its exhibit, “In the North Woods – Literary Treasures from Quebec’s Giles Lake Fish and Game Club”. The small display of rare books and memorabilia from the out-of-doors – under the watchful eye of a north woods moose – was created to highlight the donation of a significant number of literary works to the library’s “Classic Conservation Collection”. Fish and Wildlife Service employee Ben Harrison in Portland, Oregon, donated the contents of his family’s Canadian sporting camp library to the NCTC library, adding a number of first editions and other rare books by early Twentieth Century outdoor writers from Canada, Great Britain, and the United States to the growing reference and research collection. The display in the library’s foyer, set in a re-created cabin setting of the era, relates the story of Harrison’s extended family, whose summers were spent in western Quebec but whose genealogical roots extend back here to Berkeley County, West Virginia. NCTC students and guests are encouraged to come to Giles Lake before the exhibit ends in December; the Conservation Library is open daily, with evening hours until 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
-- published -- October 20, 2009-- photo credit -- USFWS
NCTC Annual Open House Slated for October 17
A menagerie of fins and feathers -- from bass to baboons, parrots to pollinators, all illustrating much of the work of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -- will highlight the 12th annual open house of the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown on Saturday October 17. Under the theme of "OH! Did You Know ...?" a range of activities for children and adults will be offered across the 538-acre walking campus, from fly rod casting and fly tying classes to archery practice with an Olympic champion to scavenger hunts in the NCTC museum. Animal showman Larry Battson will return with his amazing collection of fascinating creatures and youngsters will meet a genuine service dog used in the Fish and Wildlife Service's law enforcement investigations. There'll be a 50-foot-long fish tank for an up-close look at species in our Potomac River watershed, and useful tips for protecting those aquatic residents from "down-the-drain" pharmaceutical hazards as part of the agency's "Smart Disposal" campaign. "This is NCTC's yearly 'thank you' to the people of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, and we're going all-out to make this event a welcoming and an educational experience for our many friends and neighbors," says NCTC Director Jay Slack. "We take great pride in our work, and we love to talk about what we do!" The 2009 NCTC open house will be held -- rain-or-shine -- from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; admission is free and lunch will be available for purchase in NCTC's acclaimed tree-top dining hall. NCTC is located on Shepherd Grade Road, about 4 miles north of Shepherdstown.
The National Conservation Training Center is located at 698 Conservation Way, Shepherdstown, WV 25443. For driving directions please visit Getting to NCTC or call 304 876-1600.
-- published -- October 7, 2009
-- photo credit -- Ryan Hagerty/USFWS
NCTC Decides "Any Bird Strike is One Too Many"
Of the 975 million birds killed annually in collisions with plate glass windows and other objects, some have been occurring right here at the National Conservation Training Center. And NCTC has decided that any bird strike is one too many, especially on a training campus where migratory bird education is a major part of the curriculum. The Shepherdstown campus is applying a film coating to windows that are especially prone to bird strikes that makes window glass opaque to birds on the outside, but transparent to people on the inside. The commercial product, called "CollidEscape", has recently been donated to NCTC by the American Bird Conservancy and is being applied to windows in one of its "Instructional East" classrooms to deter additional bird collisions. "My windows at NCTC were deadly to birds," says Jim Willis, the training center's deputy director, who sits in administrative offices in NCTC's "Instructional West" classroom building. "Since installing the film, I have not heard a single thud, nor seen dead birds below the window. The results are fabulous!" Birds cannot perceive reflective or transparent glass as a barrier to be avoided, especially in tall buildings during bad weather or structures that are lit at night. All bird fatalities that are discovered on the NCTC campus are recorded and the carcasses salvaged and frozen, for incorporation into study collections and into migratory bird classes at the Fish and Wildlife Service training facility.
-- published -- October 7, 2009
-- photo credit -- Dr. Alvin Freund - NCTC Volunteer/USFWS
Conservation Fund Addresses Environmental Impacts of Infrastructure Stimulus
As the United States pumps additional public funds into the upgrade of the nation's roads, bridges, waterways, and power supply, who worries about the environment? Corporate and conservation leaders addressed this question as The Conservation Fund, an Arlington, Virginia-based national conservation organization, held its "National Summit on Infrastructure and the Environment" at the National Conservation Training Center in late September. "During a time of national economic stress, we must seize the opportunity to increase domestic energy supplies and rebuild the nation's transportation and water infrastructure in a manner consistent with high environmental values," says The Conservation Fund. "The effectiveness of nearly a trillion dollars of public and private infrastructure investments hinges upon improved process and coordination." The conference was held on the Shepherdstown campus September 29 through October 1.
-- published -- October 7, 2009
-- photo credit -- Jim Willis/USFWS
September 11th Marked with Trees at NCTC
To an agency that lost one of its own employees 8 years ago, September 11th will always be a day of reflection for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2009, in a life-affirming, yet private, response to the tragedy of that momentous day, employees at the National Conservation Training Center and guests at the Shepherdstown facility marked this year's anniversary with trees. Several dozen employees and their new national agency director, Sam Hamilton, spent a morning hour on September 11 planting a diversity of native trees -- white, red and black oak; sugar maple; persimmon; redbud, American plum, grey dogwood, and tulip poplar -- to further the campus' reforestation program. While the timing of the tree planting project and the September 11th anniversary were coincidental, the morning gave participants the chance to restore a measure of new life to the NCTC property during the quiet endeavor. "This site was planted several years ago, but because of deer the tree growth proved unsatisfactory," says NCTC land manager Phil Pannill. "This time, some of our trees will be too tall for deer to browse; the smaller ones will be more heavily protected with 5-foot-tall tree shelters. In areas where shrubs will be densely planted, we'll protect them with temporary fencing."
-- published -- September 18, 2009
-- photo credit -- USFWS
Agency Director Sam Hamilton Broadcasts to Employees via NCTC Studio
Sam Hamilton, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's new national director, joined NCTC Director Jay Slack for his first televised broadcast to nearly 9,000 agency employees on September 10 from studios on the NCTC campus in Shepherdstown. Hamilton, a Mississippi native and veteran of more than 30 years with the Interior Department agency, was sworn in as director on September 1. In his discussion with Slack and employees of the agency, Hamilton outlined his vision and priorities for the Service, as well as discussed pending issues before the agency. To view Hamilton's complete broadcast or read a transcript of the proceedings, click on the links below.
Broadcast Archive Link: "A Conversation with FWS Director Sam Hamilton" - 09/10/2009
Transcript: "A Conversation with FWS Director Sam Hamilton" - 09/10/2009 
-- published -- September 10, 2009
-- photo credit -- Ryan Hagerty/USFWS
Native Plant Nursery Growing at NCTC
The National Conservation Training Center already has a day care. Now it is creating a nursery ... for plants, that is, in a locally-based project to bolster the variety of trees and native vegetation on the 538-acre training campus. Grading and construction of a plant nursery on a tenth-of-an-acre footprint on the property should be completed by October, where a number of hardwood and shrub species will be propagated for reforestation, landscaping, and habitat restoration. It's part of the overall plan to reduce non-native and exotic plants on the former farm, to restore native forest, and to encourage native herbaceous plants that are more resistant to white-tailed deer, says Phil Pannill, NCTC's land manager. The new nursery will expand upon an existing "mini-nursery" at NCTC where 12 different species of trees and shrubs have been raised and are due for planting this fall and next spring. The nursery project is a partnership between NCTC and the Conservation Corps of West Virginia, with assistance from Professional Landscape Management Services, a Maryland contractor.
-- published -- August 25, 2009
-- photo credit -- USFWS
NCTC Rocks ...!
Geologists, engineers, land use planners, and average citizens from West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and beyond will gather at the National Conservation Training Center in September for another regional workshop on the management of karst -- the unique limestone carbonate topography in West Virginia typified by sinkholes, caves, and rock outcroppings that makes residential and commercial development an especially sensitive and tricky proposition in this area. "Growing Communities on Karst 2009" will focus on the mapping, protection, and remediation of environmentally-sensitive karst landscapes and will feature a half-day field trip to some of the Eastern Panhandle's more prominent karst areas. Portions of the workshop will focus on groundwater contamination, sinkhole probability mapping, and the growing problem of "white-nosed syndrome" in bats. The session is open to the public and will be held September 14-15 at NCTC; two-day registration costs $120, and student rates are available. "Growing Communities on Karst 2009" is sponsored by the Potomac Headwaters Resource Conservation and Development Program and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, with assistance from Potomac Professional Services, Triad Engineering, and NCTC. Additional information and registration details are available by calling 304/267-8953, ext. 5, or by e-mail at: phrcd.6003@verizon.net
-- published -- August 20, 2009
-- photo credit -- Nancy Heaslip/New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation
"Georgia on My Mind ..."
-- published -- August 18, 2009
NCTC Unveils New Strategic Plan
A new strategic plan that will guide the work of the National Conservation Training Center through the year 2013 has been released to the public. The report defines the mission of the training campus as it enters its second decade of service, and it lists goals and objectives that NCTC employees will focus on in coming years. "This strategic plan is our blueprint for the future," says NCTC Director Jay Slack. "It has been drafted by the men and women of NCTC with input from the thousands of customers and partners with whom they interact daily. It is a simple document that lays out the basis of what we do." A series of strategic plans and documents guided NCTC from its conception in 1990 through its construction and opening in 1997. "As NCTC has matured, the need for a more formal strategic plan became more apparent and work started on an updated plan under our former director, Rick Lemon, and now under our new director, Jay Slack," says NCTC Deputy Director Jim Willis. "Our vision under this new plan sums it up: 'A home for inspiring conservation excellence through learning and collaboration.'"
An electronic version of the 14-page NCTC strategic plan is posted at http://nctc.fws.gov/documents/NCTCStrategicPlan.pdf
-- published -- August 17, 2009Deer Hunt to Resume at NCTC in October
An expanded package of deer hunting opportunities will be offered to the public again this fall on the grounds of the National Conservation Training Center, according to NCTC land manager Phil Pannill. Urban bow hunting will be held on October 3 and 10, followed by youth shotgun on October 31, general shotgun and bow hunting on November 28 and December 5 and 12, and muzzleloader and bow hunting on December 19. Says Pannill, "Last year 31 deer were harvested in our deer hunt, about average for our past 5 years. We want to increase that number to bring the deer population more into balance with available habitat, so in 2009 we're increasing the number of days of hunting and adding bow hunting to the program." This management hunt program is open to all licensed West Virginia and out-of-state hunters and hunter safety-certified individuals, including hunters with disabilities. NCTC expects to host 120 hunters during the 7 days of hunting during the 2009 season. "As stewards of these 535 acres that comprise the NCTC campus, we welcome our conservation partners in the hunting community and in the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources in our annual deer hunt," says NCTC Director Jay Slack. Application deadline is August 28; forms and regulations appear on the NCTC Web site at http://nctc.fws.gov/DeerHunt.html, or via NCTC's land management office at 304/876-7347
-- published -- August 17, 2009New Course Notebooks Take on a "Green" Cast
Vinyl student notebooks in NCTC's nearly 200 course offerings will soon be replaced with a greener, more environmentally-friendly version, as the Shepherdstown training campus introduces additional innovations to minimize its environmental impact. New binders made from 100 percent post-consumer waste that are 100 percent recyclable and contain no volatile organic compounds will be phased in over the next month, eventually replacing the more than 6,000 course notebooks that are produced at NCTC each year. Corporate Image, the supplier of the new green notebooks, is a certified printer by the Forest Stewardship Council, and will be using soy-based inks for the screen-printed covers for the binders.
-- published -- August 17, 2009
“NCTC Journal” Moves to Electronic Format
“NCTC Journal,” the newsletter of the National Conservation Training Center, is now online, delivering more information about events and activities on the Shepherdstown campus in timelier fashion. The news service will present information of interest to students, guests, and neighbors on a continuously-updated basis, from the opening page of the NCTC Web site.
Kennedy, Brinkley Address Student Congress at NCTC in June
Environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Rice University professor Dr. Douglas Brinkley, author of a new book on Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation legacy, The Wilderness Warrior/Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, addressed the first “Student Climate and Conservation Congress” at NCTC in late June. The four-day session brought 90 students from the Green School Alliance’s network of 3,000 schools throughout the United States to NCTC for sessions with environmental and economic leaders, with an emphasis on sustainable change in local communities and greater understanding of the interrelation between human economies and the natural environment.
-- published -- July 23, 2009Corporate Leadership Forum Explored Climate Change in June at NCTC
How will wildlife adapt to the realities of global climate change? Executives from conservation and corporate America began to answer this question in June at NCTC, with a “Conservation Leadership Forum” on climate change adaptation by fish, wildlife, and plants. “We’re giving the conservation community a chance to identify core biological principles that can be carried forward to the public and to the new Administration,” says Rowan Gould, acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Education Outreach Building at NCTC Gets Makeover
There’s a new “inner beauty” to NCTC’s Division of Education Outreach. While the exterior of the campus education building remains the same, the interior’s main floor is getting a complete makeover in an effort to increase the efficiency of office space, which formerly housed about 13 employees in a single open area divided by office cubicles. The renovations subdivide the space into smaller work areas and will widen aisles. Additional sound paneling will be installed on the ceiling to adsorb noise, and the heating and air conditioning systems will get a long needed overhaul. The work is expected to be completed by mid-summer 2009.
-- published -- July 23, 2009
-- photo credit -- Dave Cooper/USFWS
Training Needs Prompt New Survey of Employees in June
Training needs in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the next 10 years prompted a survey of 1,200 agency employees in June, as the National Conservation Training Center seeks to determine the type and manner of delivery of new courses in the second decade of the Shepherdstown training center's life. The assessment will have two phases – the short, focused survey already completed by employees, followed by structured interviews with the leadership of all Service regions and programs. Results will be posted on the NCTC Web site. "The outcome will be NCTC training and support that meets the needs of the agency in the future, enabling NCTC to better focus and prioritize its programs and services," says NCTC’s Chief Learning Officer, Dr. Rollie Jacobs.
Move to Greener Infrastructure Means Changes on NCTC Campus
How does a green campus grow greener? Many environmentally-sensitive design and construction concepts were built into the National Conservation Training Center campus when ground was broken in 1994. Its passive solar heated flooring, sunshades on south-facing windows, biodegradable dining utensils, and a worm farm for cafeteria table scraps are among the many NCTC features that have been embraced by the move toward greener operation of major Federal facilities. "The 'Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design' system of certifying a site or building -- popularly know as LEED standards -- did not exist when NCTC started," says NCTC deputy director Jim Willis. "But it's now one of the most recognized green standards, and NCTC plans improvements that will attain that certification. We will spend $5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds in 2009 specifically for green infrastructure at NCTC." Look for these changes, among others: new water-saving toilets and plumbing fixtures; energy-saving hand dryers in restrooms; non-leaching, stainless steel chiller tanks that will minimize the leaching of zinc into the Potomac River; new air-conditioning and heating technology that enable both systems to "talk" to each other, preventing costly waste of energy during spring and fall temperature fluctuations; and alternative energy generation on campus that will cut the use of non-renewable power.
-- published -- July 23, 2009NCTC hosts C-SPAN, author Douglas Brinkley, for Theodore Roosevelt Discussion
C-SPAN aired a two-part interview with Rice University professor and author Douglas Brinkley on June 21 and 28 about his forthcoming book on the conservation legacy of Theodore Roosevelt. C-SPAN host Brian Lamb conducted the interview on his weekly "Q & A" evening program; NCTC’s Roosevelt living room in its “Commons” building provided the setting for the April 30 taping, which focused on Roosevelt's creation of the National Wildlife Refuge System and other Federal land management systems, all of which are examined in Brinkley's new book, "The Wilderness Warrior/Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America." The interview highlighted many of NCTC's historical and archival objects found in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service collection, based at the Shepherdstown campus, and included interview with NCTC employees Steve Chase and Dr. Mark Madison, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s national historian.
-- published -- July 23, 2009NCTC e-Journal Images
Images for the NCTC e-Journal are selected by Photo Editor Jeannie Gales.
698 Conservation Way
Shepherdstown, West Virginia 25443-4024
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