Get ready for back-to-school season with NACD's Stewardship and Education materials!

NACD’s education program is built around an annual conservation-focused stewardship theme that guides all K–8 materials for that year. The full sets of educational materials are designed for districts to use throughout the year in classrooms, community events, field days, and other outreach events. 

Availiable for free download on our Marketplace, NACD has years of education materials covering a range of conservation topics–including soil health, habitats, pollinators, and more. We recently unveiled our 2027 theme, "From Source to Sea: Every Drop Has a Journey." This theme offers students an opportunity to discover the incredible path water takes through the water cycle and across the landscape. From mountain streams and rivers to wetlands, lakes, estuaries, and the sea, every lesson explores another step along the way while demonstrating the important role each of us plays in protecting our water resources. 

The 2027 educational materials will explore watersheds, the water cycle, and the connections between healthy soils, forests, agriculture, wildlife habitat, urban conservation, and the many ways conservation districts help safeguard our nation's water resources. Select educational materials are already available for download! Stay tuned through the fall as additional materials are released.

The 2026 photo and poster contests are still accepting submissions though December 1! State education coordinators, please submit your state's winning posters depicting the theme "Soil. Where it All Begins."

NACD ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR AWARDS

NACD is accepting nominations for the 2026 Service Awards through August 31. Nominations can be made by an individual, organization, agency, or conservation district.

The Friend of Conservation Award recognizes an individual, business, organization, or agency outside the association/conservation district family for outstanding contributions to the conservation of our nation’s natural resources. Any individual, business, organization, or agency that is not directly associated with conservation districts at the local, state, or national level is eligible to receive this award.

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual within a conservation district, a state association, or NACD that has made outstanding contributions to the conservation and proper management of our nation’s natural resources. Nominees are individuals involved with districts or the association at any level — board members or staff and can be nominated posthumously.

Recognize outstanding conservation work by submitting a nomination for either of these service awards. Recipients will be honored at NACD’s Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, NV.

JOIN CONSERVATION COFFEE ON USFWS FARM BILL PROGRAMS

Join NACD's upcoming Conservation Coffee webinar on September 10 at 3:00 p.m. ET to hear about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Farm Bill programs and what USFWS can do for conservation districts and producers.

The USFWS's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and Coastal Program work with willing partners to conserve habitats that benefit fish, wildlife, and people. These programs also provide technical and financial assistance to landowners and agricultural producers and help them to access resources available through the Farm Bill conservation programs.

Presented by Elizabeth Freiday from USFWS's Farm Conservation Program, join to learn about opportunities that you or your conservation district customers may be missing out on.

Learn more and register here.

If you missed this month's Conservation Coffee on the Potential Impact of the Asian Longhorned Tick and Theileriosis on Cattle, presented by Dr. Cassandra Olds of Kansas State Univerity's Department of Entomology, you can watch the recording here.

WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON?

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE

Looking Ahead to September

Congress remains in August recess, with the Senate scheduled to return September 14. When Congress returns, the Farm Bill and FY2027 appropriations will remain the primary legislative issues to watch. The Senate Agriculture Committee's Farm Bill markup did not advance the legislation before recess, while the Senate-passed continuing resolution still needs to be reconciled with the House's version before the September 30 funding deadline.

USDA Proposes Rescinding Roadless Rule

On August 18, USDA announced that the U.S. Forest Service has proposed rescinding the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which restricts road construction and certain management activities in inventoried roadless areas on national forests. USDA said the proposal would give local forest managers greater flexibility to address forest health and wildfire risk, while emphasizing that rescission would not mandate timber harvest or road construction. The proposal and draft environmental impact statement are subject to public comment through September 21. NACD will monitor the proposal and its potential implications for forest management, wildfire risk reduction, and locally led conservation.

USFWS Reviews NAWCA Conservation Projects

On August 13, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s North American Wetlands Conservation Council met to review and approve projects for funding through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. The program supports partner-led wetland conservation and restoration projects across the country. NACD will monitor funding announcements for opportunities relevant to conservation districts and their partners.

Upcoming Important Dates

• August 24 - Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) 2026 project proposal applications: NRCS RCPP Funding Opportunity

• August 31 - Agriculture Risk Coverage & Price Risk Coverage financial assistance program: USDA FSA ARC/PLC Program

FROM LEARNING TO LOCAL ACTION: EXPLORING BIOCHAR

What if woody debris, crop residue, and other organic materials often treated as waste could instead become a tool for healthier soil, stronger crops, and more resilient farms? That possibility begins with a simple question: What is biochar? 

Biochar is a stable, carbon-rich material created by heating organic material, such as wood, manure, or other biomass, under low-oxygen conditions. Its porous structure can help improve soil structure, retain water and nutrients, and provide habitat for beneficial soil microorganisms. But biochar is not a one-size-fits-all product. Its performance depends on the material from which it was produced, how it was produced and prepared, the application method and rate, what it was blended with, and the existing soil and environmental conditions. 

Members of NACD’s South Central Region explored those questions during the 2026 Summer Conservation Forum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jessica Kusmiz, BioChar Specialist with American BioChar Company, led an informative discussion on how biochar is produced and how it can and has been put to work in agricultural production. 

Kusmiz’s extensive knowledge of the product moved the discussion beyond a general overview and helped attendees consider biochar use in their operations. Members learned about differences in biochar quality and consistency, granular and flowable products, field testing, application methods, current study plots, and the importance of properly blending or “charging” biochar with an amendment or nutrient source before application. 

“The Biochar presentation was truly eye-opening to the ongoing research being developed to assist the producers in improving their operations. I highly encourage conservation communities to solicit biochar companies within their area for presentation on the use, benefits, and costs with this product as it’s a potential game changer,” said Phil Campbell, NACD South Central Region Executive Board Member. 

Looking beyond the South Central Region meeting, conservation districts in other parts of the country are also finding ways to advance biochar. Their work shows that biochar can be more than a soil amendment; it can become part of a broader strategy for addressing woody debris, wildfire risk, disaster recovery, watershed health, and rural economic development.

In North Carolina, conservation district leaders are examining biochar production as part of the long-term recovery from Hurricane Helene. The 2024 storm left enormous amounts of hardwood debris across western North Carolina, creating public safety, wildfire, transportation, and landfill concerns. Through the Good Neighbor Authority and partnerships involving the U.S. Forest Service, state agencies, private industry, and local conservation districts, that debris could instead become a resource.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District offers an example of biochar production already succeeding at a smaller, landowner-focused scale. Following a heavy snowstorm that left woody debris and increased potential wildfire fuel, the district used an Oregon-style flame-cap kiln to demonstrate how that material could be converted into biochar. The kiln used in the demonstration was made by students at Cromwell-Wright High School, adding an educational and community component to the project. 

Photo proiveded by American BioChar

Taken together, the South Central Region session and the examples from North Carolina and Minnesota tell a larger story about how new conservation ideas move toward local action. Jessica Kusmiz and the American BioChar Company provided members with the technical foundation to understand biochar quality, preparation, application, and potential uses. North Carolina’s developing effort demonstrates the partnerships and long-term vision needed to pursue biochar at a larger scale, while Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District shows how a district can introduce the technology to producers through a practical, locally focused project. 

Read the full story on NACD's blog.