GLICKMAN NAMES CAREER CONSERVATIONIST AS CHIEF OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Release No. 0072.98

				Tom Amontree (202) 720-4623
					tom.amontree@usda.gov
				Brad Fisher (202 720-4024
					brad.fisher@usda.gov

GLICKMAN NAMES CAREER CONSERVATIONIST AS CHIEF OF NATURAL RESOURCES
CONSERVATION SERVICE

       WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 1998--Secretary of Agriculture Dan 
Glickman today named Pearlie S. Reed, a 28-year USDA conservation 
professional, as chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 
Natural Resources Conservation Service, effective March 1, 1998.  

       "Since December 1996,  Pearlie has been the leader of our civil 
rights efforts at USDA.  I owe him--and every USDA employee and customer 
owes him--a debt of gratitude for his commitment to USDA and for his 
never-ending energy to create a positive civil rights atmosphere at this
Department," said Glickman.  "I have said many times that Pearlie is my 
civil rights enforcer.  And, under his leadership we are making a difference."   

       "Pearlie's first love, however, has always been conservation and 
the work of NRCS.  I know he is eager to return to the agency that he has 
considered home," he added.     

       NRCS works directly with private landowners to help them implement 
conservation measures, and with a broad array of state and local groups to 
sustain and enhance environmental quality.  With Reed's appointment the 
position of NRCS chief will once again be held by a career civil servant.  
       
       "His knowledge and experience will be invaluable as the agency
continues to implement the programs of the 1996 Farm Bill and its National
Conservation Buffer Initiative," said James R. Lyons, under secretary for
natural resources and environment.  "He'll also be a powerful voice for the
agency's commitments to the watershed approach to conservation as well as
for local conservation leadership." 

       "In my years of service to the agency, I have seen the need and demand
for its services grow," Reed said.  "The work done by NRCS has become vital
to the well-being and prosperity of the Nation.  I look forward to making
sure that important work continues."

       Reed has served as acting assistant secretary for administration since
February 28, 1997.  Among his accomplishments in this position, he provided
leadership to more than 300 employees  who have worked to put 85 of the 92
recommendations of the Civil Rights Action Team in place.   Glickman created
that team in December 1996 to advise him on USDA civil rights issues, both
inside and outside of the Department.     

       He previously held a variety of positions with NRCS at its local,
state, and Federal levels.  He served as associate chief under previous NRCS
Chief Paul Johnson and as state conservationist in California and Maryland.

       In 1996, he received the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award--the
highest award that can be bestowed upon a career Senior Executive Service
member.  That same year he received two USDA Honor Awards, one as an
individual and the other as a group leader for developing and implementing
the most comprehensive reorganization in the agency's history.  He also
received a USDA Honor Award in 1993 for his commitment and leadership in
equal opportunity and civil rights.

       Reed is a native of Heth, Ark.  He graduated with honors from the
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff with a B.S. degree in animal husbandry
and agricultural business.  He received a Master of Public Administration
degree, with honors, from American University in Washington, D.C. 

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