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Join conservation district leaders from across the country traveling to Washington, D.C. this year to participate in NACD’s Spring Fly-In. Build relationships with congressional representatives and their staff, highlight the importance of locally led conservation, and advocate for strong federal conservation policies.
This Spring Fly-In is critical for conservation districts and our country’s conservation delivery system. Your members of Congress need to hear from you directly about the critical impact of conservation districts and the need to pass a Farm Bill. The process of moving this necessary piece of legislation through the chambers of Congress has already begun.
Join us on March 25, beginning at 8:00 a.m. ET in the Hart Senate Office Building with a Breakfast Briefing, followed by individually scheduled meetings with congressional offices. The day will end with a reception at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Schedule meetings with your congressional representatives and their staff and RSVP to let us know you will attend Spring Fly-In. If you need guidance on who to meet with, please reach out to Libby Wawro, NACD Director of Government Affairs.
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To prepare for the Spring Fly-In, the NACD Government Affairs team will hold two virtual advocacy training sessions next week, on March 16 and 19 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
During these trainings you'll have time to review NACD's priorities, learn some tips and tricks for meeting with representatives, and ask the Government Affairs team questions. The same information will be presented at both sessions. Register here for session one on March 16. Register here for session two on March 19.
Visit the Spring Fly-In page for more information, including the day's agenda and answers to your frequently asked questions.
| JOIN WEBINAR ON SOIL: WHERE IT ALL BEGINS EDUCATION PROGRAM | |
Next week, join NACD for the next Urban and Community Conservation Webinar, 'Soil: Where It All Begins,' on March 18, at 4:00 p.m. ET, covering NACD’s Stewardship & Education Programming! Register here.
Hosted in partnership with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, join to hear from Aimee Figgatt, NACD Stewardship and Education Coordinator, about NACD's conservation stewardship and education materials. With Stewardship Week just around the corner, this is your opportunity to prepare by getting familiar with this year's soil health themed education materials!
| WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON? GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE | |
The House Committee on Agriculture passed a Farm Bill with bipartisan support after nearly 24 hours of markup. The conservation title of the proposed Farm Bill largely mirrors what was introduced in 2024, though includes only a strict reauthorization of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Otherwise, the bill maintains the longstanding system of voluntary, incentive-based, and locally led conservation that producers and conservation districts rely on.
NACD urges you to engage with your congressional representatives during the Spring Fly-In on March 25, 2026, or beyond to share the importance of passing a bipartisan Farm Bill.
| SMALL TOOL, BIG IMPACT: DISTRICT SOLUTION FOR WEED BARRIER INSTALLATION | |
Every conservation district has those tasks that take more time and labor than we’d like. For many of us, installing weed barrier fabric during tree planting season is one of them.
For the Hutchinson Conservation District in South Dakota, one of the most physically demanding parts of the process was laying the fabric and installing the staples.
When you’re installing thousands of staples by hand, that means a lot of bending, sore backs, and worn-out hands. Some crews would throw staples to avoid bending, but accuracy wasn’t always there. Over time, the district knew there had to be a better way.
So, they built one.
Designed in the Shop, Tested in the Field
The Hutchinson Conservation District designed and prototyped a staple pusher in-house, using equipment in their own shop. After refining the design through a few prototypes, they partnered with a local machine shop to finalize production.
The concept is simple and practical. A staple slides into a slotted groove and is held in place by a magnet. The operator positions the tool over the fabric and pushes down. The weight of the tool helps drive the staple into the soil, with no repeated bending required. If the ground is firm, a second push sets it tight.
With the staple pusher, crews can now install staples accurately while standing upright and even keep pace with the tractor laying fabric ahead of them.
“We built this tool because labor is one of our largest expenses,” said Bryan Kludt, District Manager for the Hutchinson Conservation District. “Making the job faster and easier benefits our employees and our bottom line.”
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Why It Matters
Planting trees and installing a weed barrier are foundational conservation practices, especially for shelter belts, but they are also time-sensitive and labor-intensive.
By reducing bending and improving placement accuracy, the staple pusher increases efficiency and reduces strain. While anyone can benefit from it, Kludt noted that adults and older staff especially appreciate the reduced physical demand.
For conservation districts working with limited crews and tight seasonal windows, small improvements in workflow can make a big difference. This is a practical example of conservation districts doing what they’ve always done best: identifying challenges in the field and finding workable solutions.
| FRIENDS OF NACD SUPPORTS EIGHT NEW LOCALLY LED PROJECTS | |
At our Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, last month, we were thrilled to kick off another year of the Friends of NACD Grant program!
As NACD enters our seventh year of offering these grants, we are pleased to say we’ve now distributed over $115,000 to 47 districts across 29 U.S. states and territories. We had exceptionally high interest in these grants this cycle and received a record number of 61 applications. This made choosing the top eight proposals all the more difficult, but after working with volunteers from our District and Partner Relations Committee, we are pleased to announce the following awardees and their projects.
- Guam – Southern Guam Soil and Water Conservation District, Restoring Resilience – A Community Invasive Species Project in Southern Guam
- Louisiana – Rapides Soil and Water Conservation District, Project Greaux CenLA
- Maine – Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District, Lamoine Beach Park Dune Restoration
- Maine – Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District, Nature-based Techniques for Shoreline Stabilization Demonstration
- Michigan – Alger Conservation District, Tree Sale Workshops and Conservation Speed Dating
- Michigan – Allegan Conservation District, Ecological Treatment and Restoration Strike Team
- Puerto Rico – Distrito Caribe de Conservación de Suelos y Agua, A Tree in Your Life – Gabia Forest
- Washington – Kitsap Conservation District, Planting Seeds, Harvesting Community
Read more about each of the new projects in NACD's latest blog post.
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Since 2020, this program has awarded up to $2,500 to districts for conservation initiatives. The Friends of NACD District Grants Program is our only grant program supported by direct contributions to the organization, and our only grant program that is open exclusively to dues-paying members.
Those who contribute to the program—including NACD’s board members, past presidents, district officials and employees, and our supportive partners—know they are providing meaningful opportunities for local districts to impact conservation in their communities.
Can we count on you to help fund more of these projects in 2027? We need your support to continue awarding these grants to districts with impactful conservation ideas. For a limited time, we are offering an 80th anniversary t-shirt to anyone who donates $100 or more!
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NACD sends condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of John Peterson who passed away last week.
John was a pillar of Virginia's conservation community and a friend and mentor to many across the country. He served as chair of his local conservation district, the Northern Virginia Soil & Water Conservation District, and represented Virginia on NACD's Board of Directors. Over his career, he received many accolades, including being honored in NACD's Hall of Distinction.
John was a strong advocate for assistance to help with the rehabilitation of dams, particularly those which are the responsibility of conservation districts. Over his career, he worked for USDA-NRCS, the National Watershed Coalition, International Erosion Control Association, Kemps Consultants, and served in many volunteer roles.
Celebrate John's life and read more about his conservation legacy here.
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NACD also sends condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Thomas Francis Quink.
Tom worked with local and national conservation districts, including serving as a member of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Board of Directors, and he was the primary editor from 1991-2003 of Forestry Notes, a month newsletter of the NACD Forestry Committee.
Celebrate Tom's life and read more about his conservation legacy here.
| Help Improve Soil Health Tool, Receive Personalized Report | |
Farmers and ranchers in the Southwest, South Central, Southeast, and Northeast regions are invited to participate in a project to help improve the national Soil Health Assessment Protocol and Evaluation (SHAPE) tool that aims to improve soil health benchmarking across the country.
Participating landowners will receive:
• Compensation for their time (~ 1 hour) for helping.
• A personalized soil health report of their fields.
• A copy of a book called “Probing Our Country's Soil Health,” which illustrates soil health across the country and the project outcomes.
Conservation districts, please share this opportunity with farmers, ranchers, and organizations near you that might be interested.
Farmers and ranchers interested in participating will need to:
• Sign up for a one-hour Zoom Meeting where a facilitator will lead you through a management survey for 2 or 3 fields.
• Grant access to fields for hand-probe soil sampling 2 or 3 sampling sites from each field.
To enroll as a participant, click on this booking page to schedule an appointment.
To learn more about this project, see the short video, Probing Our Country’s Soil Health.
This project is mainly sponsored by NRCS with contributions from other public and private partners.
| Build Skills at NWC Spring Workshop | |
The National Watershed Coalition (NWC), Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts, and the Kentucky Energy & Environment Cabinet - Division of Conservation, are hosting a Spring Workshop, "Tools for Protecting and Preserving Our Watershed Investments."
The workshop will take place in Bowling Green, KY, on April 7 to 9, 2026. View the agenda here and register by March 23 on NWC's website.
| Sign up for Farm Force 2026 | |
Conservation district employees nationwide are invited to join Farm Force 2026, a Vermont–Virgin Islands workforce development collaboration designed to help you become a Certified Conservation Planner or achieve NRCS Job Approval Authority.
The program includes an intensive in-person bootcamp on May 2 to 9, 2026, in St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, plus monthly virtual sessions, hands-on field projects, peer support networks, and practical training in conservation planning, grazing systems, agroforestry, soil health, and small-scale engineering practice design and implementation.
With food and lodging included, financial aid available, and a focus on building local capacity, strengthen your technical credentials and expand your district’s conservation delivery capacity.
This training will prepare participants to work towards Conservation Planner Certification or NRCS Job Approval Authority.
Learn more and sign up here.
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Don’t forget that access to our Members Only section is a benefit for dues-paying members at any level!
This hub of district resources is full of guides and instructional information to help you enhance your district’s operations.
We also have information on NACD’s advocacy efforts, like our most recent policy book and an archive of the Congressional and Executive Action updates that our CEO and Government Affairs team have been producing since February 2025.
If you need help accessing the Members Only page or have recommendations on the development of future resources, please reach out to us!
| Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day, or other events on NACD's Calendar of Events! | |
