Dear Family Farm Alliance Members and Interested Parties:
1/11/07
Here is a registration form and agenda for the February 22-23 annual meeting in Las Vegas.

On Tuesday, a small group of Western water and power representatives was briefed via teleconference by Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) officials in Washington, D.C. on “Managing for Excellence”. Earlier today, the Bureau of Reclamation announced the completion of its new “Managing for Excellence” website, which provides a more user-friendly means of accessing information associated with this process. The following provides a quick overview of these developments.

General

 “Managing for Excellence” is Reclamation’s response to Managing Construction and Infrastructure in the 21^st Century Bureau of Reclamation, a comprehensive report completed earlier this year by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Executing the action plan is a primary initiative for Reclamation this year. This process provides an important opportunity for western water users to find further ways to improve transparency in Reclamation decision-making and make the organization as efficient as possible.

Action Item Update

Reclamation has made progress in recent months towards completing action items. Many reports and products will be generated during the “Managing for Excellence” project, and Reclamation is soliciting comments on these documents. When these products are ready for your review and comment, they will be placed on Reclamation’s website (http://www.usbr.gov/excellence). You can send a comment by using the "Comments" link or send an email to: excellence@do.usbr.com.

Team 35 is seeking feedback and comment on their summary and recommendations regarding a charter for the Science and Technology Program Steering Committee.

http://www.usbr.gov/excellence/Drafts/Team35Summary&Recommendations.pdf

Comments are due by January 15, 2007.

Team 24 has made a contracting repository available online at www.usbr.gov/mso/aamd that is a resource center of acquisition and financial assistance information for use by all employees of the Bureau of Reclamation and the public.

Teams 20-23, Project Management have posted their final recommendations on the "final products" webpage:

http://www.usbr.gov/excellence/Finals/Team20_23FinalRecommendations.pdf.

The Sacramento Public Meeting Summary is available at http://www.usbr.gov/excellence/Sacramento/sacsum.pdf

Next Public Meeting

The next public meeting hosted by Reclamation is scheduled for February 27 (1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) and February 28 (8:00 a.m. to noon) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Registration information will be posted on the website by week’s end. In order to qualify for the reduced $70 hotel rate at the Albuquerque Marriott (2101 Louisiana Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico), reservations must be made by February 5^th. For more information, go to http://www.usbr.gov/excellence/albpm.html.

More M4E

We hope you will join us at the 2007 Family Farm Alliance Annual Meeting and Conference in Las Vegas, where a panel of Reclamation leaders and stakeholder representatives will focus in depth on “Managing for Excellence”. Attached is a registration form and agenda for the February 22-23 event.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this matter.

Dan Keppen

Family Farm Alliance