Welcome to the NACD Southwest Region newsletter, delivering announcements and news to NACD Board Members, conservation districts, state associations, and agency leaders across the Southwest. Please feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested - they can subscribe to the mailing list on the Southwest Region Webpage.
Josh Smith, Acting Chair of the Southwest Region, NM
Jim Berlier, Executive Board Member of the Southwest Region, NM
Please reach out to Rachel with questions and newsletter content ideas.
|
|
I’m back! That time on maternity leave really flew by!
A lot of exciting things are happening right now! The annual meeting is coming up in February in New Orleans. Early Bird pricing ends tomorrow, Dec 23, so hurry up and register if you haven’t already. The Southwest/Pacific Region meeting is already on the calendar - you can book your rooms now! More info on that is below. We also had another successful Region Sharing Session at the beginning of this month. Thank you to Mike Henn of Sublette County CD out of Wyoming for presenting. If you couldn’t make the sharing session live, you can view it using the link below. It’s also available on the SW page of NACD’s website.
If you tried to get a hold of me while I was out and I haven’t responded yet, please don’t hesitate to reach out again. I tried to follow up on everything in my inbox, but sometimes things fall through the cracks when there are over 1,000 emails to get through.
Wishing everyone a merry and bright holiday season! I hope you have a crackling fire (or at least a pup to snuggle) as most of us descend into some chilly weather.
|
|
Save the Date! SW/PAC Region Meeting |
|
The 2023 Southwest/Pacific Region Meeting will be hosted by Nevada in beautiful Lake Tahoe! The meeting will take place August 22nd-24th at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, with the ability to take advantage of the room block rate the Sunday and Monday ahead of the meeting. This is a great rate and over half off of what these rooms normally go for. You can make your reservation here.
|
|
December Southwest Region Sharing Session Recording Available |
|
A big thank you to Mike Henn of the Sublette County Conservation District in Pinedale, Wyoming, who presented on the district's collaborative approach that resulted in landscape scale management in the North LaBarge area. This collaborative approach covered a variety of practices, from wildfire recovery to virtual fencing. The recording is available on the Southwest portion of the NACD website and also here. Please stay tuned for the next Southwest District Sharing Session.
|
|
Congratulations to Dawn Salcito! |
|
Dawn Salcito of Arizona has been named the Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) participant for the Southwest Region. Please join me in congratulating Dawn!
What is NGLI? NGLI was formally launched in August 2019 as a year-long program to advance conservation leadership. Created in response to the high demand for leadership instruction for conservation district leaders facing the challenges of a changing world, NGLI was established to provide conservation professionals with the tools to become national leaders through personal, civic, and organizational leadership development.
The 2023 NGLI cohort participants were selected through a competitive national application process. This will be the third cohort for the program since its launch in 2019.
|
|
Register by Dec. 23 for the Annual Meeting Early Bird Rate |
|
Don't forget to register by Dec. 23, 2022 to take advantage of the early bird registration rate of $575 to attend the 2023 NACD Annual Meeting!
The meeting will take place in New Orleans, LA, from Feb. 11-15, 2023 at the New Orleans Marriott, not far from café au lait and beignets at the famous Café du Monde.
|
|
Upcoming 2023 Annual Meeting Deadlines |
|
Dec. 23, 2022 - Last day to register for the $575 early bird rate
Dec. 31, 2022 - Deadline to submit new resolutions for NACD's Policy Book using this online form
Jan. 20, 2022 - Last day to register online at the $625 rate, make any substitutions, or cancel a registration
|
|
2023 One Water Curriculum Guide Now Available |
|
This year, the guide is adaptable to any grade level. Students will observe how gravity affects water as it runs downhill. Students will also discover the effects of pollutants in a watershed.
|
|
Donate to the NCF Fall Fundraiser for Double the Impact
|
|
The first donations of up to $20,000 are being matched, so your support today can have double the impact!
|
|
NACD Awarded $3 Million for Historically Underserved
Farmer-to-Farmer Outreach
|
|
NACD has been awarded $3 million by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Gulf of Mexico Division to administer a competitive subgrant program within the non-Mississippi River Drainage Region. These areas are contained within the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida.
Through this grant, NACD will invest in local partnerships and collaborations. Subrecipients will work directly with historically underserved farmers on novel or innovative techniques, methods, or approaches that reduce nonpoint source pollution and increase the adoption of resilient and sustainable agricultural operations. Funded projects will include water quality, habitat restoration, and/or sustainable forest management initiatives.
A request for proposals will be released in 2023. Sign up here for updates to be notified when new resources and information become available.
|
|
Members of NASCA gather at their annual meeting in Nashville in October |
|
There’s a proverb that the only constant in life is change and that is certainly true of the National Association of State Conservation Agencies (NASCA). As we look to 2023, our organization is looking very different than it did when we all flipped our calendars to 2022.
While NASCA’s services to their members, the trainings, policy guidance, etc., will continue, supporting your state agencies across the nation, we are also looking forward to new opportunities as well.
At NASCA’s 2022 annual conference in October in Nashville, we said “Happy Trails” to our wonderful, long-time Executive Director, Mike Brown. We will miss his bright disposition, his strength in partnerships, and institutional knowledge but wish him all the happy hunting to come during his retirement. The annual conference was a great success, with more than 50 state field staff attending the two-day staff sharing session and many state directors in the leader's meeting.
In true conservation world fashion, good folks are all around, and we were very lucky to catch a knowledgeable conservation partner to take Mike Brown’s place. Mike Beacom has been learning all about NASCA’s inner workings and navigating the state perspectives of the partnership. In 2023, we are excited to see him grow in his new position as NASCA’s Executive Director.
Another exciting change is that we have a new Southwest Regional Director on NASCA (starting January 2023), Jim Bowcutt, from Utah. We welcome Jim and are excited for him to represent this great region on NASCA’s board. I will be serving as NASCA’s secretary and will continue to be involved in the organization.
NASCA continues to work through national policy and partners with NRCS and NACD on the emerging opportunities of funding and projects that are coming our way. The next few years will be one of our greatest opportunities: for funding, for highlighting our relevance, and for conservation districts to really shine! This is an opportunity for all of our partners (Federal, State, Local, Non-governmental organizations, etc.) to show folks what we have known for over 85 years; Conservation Districts are no longer a secret. Let’s share all the good work you folks do and how much we can accomplish together. There’s no better example of leveraging funds and completing projects than the long history of our partnership. While the plans and processes start rolling out, we will be ready.
-Nikki Brinson, outgoing NASCA Southwest Representative, incoming NASCA Secretary
|
|
Colorado Soil Scientist Interviewed for Podcast |
|
Parick O'Neill, of Soil Health Services and supervisor on the Mosca-Hooper Conservation District out of Alamosa, Colorado, was interviewed for an episode of Voices from the Field, the National Center for Appropriate Technology's ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program. Patrick discusses projects, including consulting with farmers on cover crops systems, volunteer work with the Rio Grande Farm Park, and a conservation district project that focuses on fungal-dominated compost. |
|
Southwest Featured on Down to Earth: Planet to Plate Podcast |
|
Listen to Gary Paul Nabhan, author, scientist, and activist, as he discusses sustaining agriculture in the Southwest. |
|
Jefferson Conservation District is Hiring! |
|
Jefferson Conservation District in Colorado is hiring a Marketing Specialist. Learn more about the position here.
|
|
Press Releases
Letters and Comments
|
|
Dec. 31, 2022 - Deadline to submit new resolutions for NACD's Policy Book using this online form
Jan. 20, 2022 - Last day to register online at the $625 rate for the 2023 NACD Annual Meeting and make any substitutions or cancel a registration
|
|
April 30 - May 7, 2023 - 68th Stewardship Week: Watersheds: "One Water"
July 13-18, 2023 - 2023 NACD Summer Conservation Forum and Tour | Bismarck, ND
July 23-29, 2023 - 2023 NCF-Envirothon Competition | Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
