A USDA press release announced Thursday the intention of Agriculture Secretary Ed Shafer to establish a new USDA Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets.  The Secretary intends to name Sally Collins director of the new department; Collins has served as Associate Chief of the USDA Forest Service for the past 8 years. The release also announced the creation of a federal government-wide Conservation and Land Management Environmental Services Board to "assist the Secretary in the development of new technical guidelines and science-based methods to assess environmental service benefits which will in turn promote markets for ecosystem services including carbon trading to mitigate climate change."