Release No. 0514.96

                                         Tom Amontree (202) 720-4623
                                         Diana Morse  (202) 720-4772

ROMINGER HONORS CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY WINNERS OF THE FIRST NATIONAL WATERSHED
  AWARDS

     WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 1996-- Agriculture Deputy Secretary Richard E.
Rominger today recognized, at the first National Watershed Awards today, three
community groups and the Monsanto Company for their contributions to protect
water quality.

     "Each of today's winners has shown that, with local partnerships and
participation by the community, we can, as a nation, improve water quality
through innovative, non-regulatory methods.  Finding new, successful ways to
protect freshwater is a must for today and for the future.  Our thanks to CF
Industries for helping focus national attention on this critical need,"
Rominger said in ceremonies held here at USDA headquarters.

     The awards were established by CF Industries, one of North America's
largest interregional farm cooperatives, which is headquartered in Long Grove,
Ill.  The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit organization, which is
headquartered in Arlington, Va., administers the program.

     The awards program is an outgrowth of recommendations by the National
Forum on Nonpoint Source Pollution, which was co-sponsored by the Conservation
Fund and the National Geographic Society.  USDA and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency were major supporters of the awards program.

     The winners are:

     French Creek Watershed Advisory Group, California -- The group was
recognized for reducing sedimentation and improving water quality within the
2,500-acre French Creek watershed in northern California.  Its efforts have
significantly improved streams which are critical to coho salmon, steelhead,
and Chinook salmon.

     Cheney Watershed Program, Kansas -- Farmers through the five-county
region voluntarily developed a program to improve water quality in the Cheney
Reservoir, which supplies most of the drinking water for nearby Wichita,
provides essential habitat for wildlife, and serves as a center for outdoor
recreation.

     Boquet River Association, New York -- The association organized
landowners, farmers, businesses, industries, and local governments to
voluntarily prevent pollution to the wild, scenic, and recreational Boquet
River in the state's steepest watershed.  Through voluntary partnerships,
the association helped control erosion, improve waste disposal systems,
reforest streamside corridors, and improve fishery production.  The Boquet
River has its headwaters in the Adirondacks and empties into Lake Champaign.

     Monsanto Company, St. Louis, Mo. -- The company was recognized for its
Operation Green Stripe to help reduce sedimentation and improve stream
quality.  Through that program in 14 states, Future Farmers of America (FFA)
members participate in a program to plant grassy buffer strips along streams,
lakes, and sinkholes on farm property.  With the cooperation of growers and
farmers, FFA members with 550 chapters in the project states, are encouraged
to turn the grassy strips into wildlife habitat areas.  The program partnership
includes nine agricultural retail businesses that provide free grass seed.

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