On July 8, Agri-Pulse published an op-ed authored by NACD President Michael Crowder offering suggestions regarding defining conservation within the Biden Administration’s America the Beautiful plan. 

"With the Fourth of July this past weekend, we’re reminded of the lyrics in “America the Beautiful,” and it’s no wonder the Biden administration adopted this name for its ambitious 30×30 initiative to conserve 30 percent of the nation’s lands by 2030. Our diverse landscapes – from farm and forest lands to rangelands to tribal lands to urban areas – all need investment in conservation, and with increasingly prevalent and severe weather events, they’re under greater threat every day. While the President’s proposed budget allocated funding for its implementation, the America the Beautiful plan has yet to clearly define what it means to “conserve.”

In the original Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1935, Congress correctly identified, and President Franklin Roosevelt agreed, that “wastage of soil and moisture resources on farm, grazing, and forest lands of the Nation, resulting from soil erosion, is a menace to the national welfare and that it is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress to provide permanently for the control and prevention of soil erosion and thereby to preserve natural resources, control floods, prevent impairment of reservoirs, and maintain the navigability of rivers and harbors, protect public health, public lands and relieve unemployment.” Conservation districts would argue the 1935 law created a working definition for conservation that is as relevant today as when it was first enacted.

Active, local conservation is more than just preservation, and the America the Beautiful plan has an opportunity to accelerate conservation on America’s working lands as opposed to simply expanding acreage in national monuments or parks. Conservation programs funded through the conservation title of the farm bill, like the Conservation Reserve Program or the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, are not permanent – they are reevaluated periodically by local, expert conservation planning professionals to address the resource concerns on the land and to adapt these programs when needed."

Read the full op-ed for Agri-Pulse in NACD's Newsroom

It's not too late to join us in Chicago July 24-27 for NACD's 2021 Summer Meeting!

You won't want to miss out on this jam-packed agenda, which includes a full NACD board meeting, a 75th Anniversary Celebration event, a conservation forum plenary session and a set of walking, conservation-minded tours.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will provide remarks during the 75th anniversary celebration on Sunday, July 25. Other speakers include Colorado State Conservation Board (CSCB) Program Manager Cindy Lair, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Terry Cosby, RFD Radio Network Director Rita Frazer and GROWMARK, Inc. Chairman of the Board and President John Reifsteck.

Visit NACD's Summer Meeting page to learn more. Registration is available on-site for $300.

Register now for the National Conservation Foundation's (NCF) Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) webinar scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern on July 14, 2021. The webinar will provide program information and announce the opening of the application period for our second cohort of next generation leaders. Register for the webinar here.

The July 14 webinar will feature testimonials by the seven current cohort members on their experience in the NGLI program, as well as 2022 application information, the purpose of NGLI, program cost and time commitments, curricula and more.

The goal is to select one applicant from each of the seven NACD regions for the 2022 NGLI Cohort and to participate in training events throughout 2022.

More information on NGLI can be found at on NCF's website or by contacting NACD Northern Plains Region Representative Aubrey Evans or Ray Ledgerwood. Learn about our current on NCF's website

With Nebraska Forest Service reporting an 18 percent average loss in tree canopy across communities in the state, the Upper Niobrara White Natural Resources District (NRD) is reaching out to landowners and partnering with other agencies to replant its lost trees.

“It’s hard to identify a single cause. I’d call it a chronic problem,” Upper Niobrara White NRD General Manager Pat O’Brien said. “We’re re-educating producers about the value of windbreaks; we’re really working on trying to get as many trees and shrubs in on the ground as we can and working with producers to get things modified for them.”

In the past 15 years, wildfires have stripped more than 235,000 acres of forest just in the Pine Ridge area of the district alone. Fires in Niobrara Valley burned another 76,700 acres.

Add to that drought, early winter freeze killings, flooding – the west side of the state where Upper Niobrara White NRD is located typically is dry land – and disease, and the large ponderosa stands and other coniferous trees have been hit hard. The area is also still reeling from economic shifts a decade ago when commodities skyrocketed and many producers removed windbreaks and buffers to gain cropland and additional income.

Whereas the NRD at one time was planting approximately 700,000 trees annually through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and other cost-share programs, federal changes have dropped that to about 100,000 a year, O’Brien said.

Read more on NACD's Blog.

After five years of the joint NACD and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Urban Agriculture Conservation (UAC) Grant Initiative, it is no surprise that grantees sometimes run into issues with their projects. However, most grantees quickly pivot their programs when they run into challenges, and often create even better projects than they originally planned.

The Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District (ASWCD) in Ohio is one such grantee; they were awarded a 2020 UAC grant, and needed to quickly redesign their project in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While their original proposal was filled with hands-on, in person education and outreach events, including in-classroom programming at their local Head Start centers, stormwater workshops, community-based project installations and a new rain barrel art and awareness project called Rain Beat on Main Street, COVID-19 restrictions changed those plans, but not necessarily in a bad way.

Monthly in-classroom programming for 107 students quickly transformed into weekly #TeachMeTuesday videos that were viewed by thousands of students and families from across the region as families and educators adjusted to remote learning.

In-classroom Arbor Day programs became community-wide drive-thru events. Trips to downtown areas to visit beautiful rain barrels painted by local artists became a welcome escape from stay-at-home orders. As restrictions began to lift, in-person rain barrel and rain garden workshops and installations of raised bed garden installations at local Head Start centers and a rain garden at the county fairgrounds took place.

While ASWCD wasn’t able to offer in-person programming for Head Start parents, they provided windowsill gardens to over 100 Head Start families, along with instructions for starting, maintaining and utilizing herbs from their gardens, as well as videos on incorporating fresh herbs into kid-friendly meals.

Ashland SWCD looks forward to continuing to work with Head Start centers to utilize new resources and expand their programs. Demand for additional urban stormwater workshops continues to rise, and the most popular part of their grant, Rain Beat on Main Street, has experienced a 50 percent growth in participation for 2021 and continues to generate additional funds for stormwater education in the county.

Read more about all grantees through NACD’s Urban Agriculture Conservation Initiative online in our ArcGIS StoryMap Shortlist. 

Join us August 8-10, 2021 as the NACD Southeast Region gathers at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Ala. for the annual Southeast Region Meeting. Three days of great meetings, speakers and tours are planned, including the Southeast Region Conservation Hall of Fame Luncheon on Monday, August 9.

To learn more, please visit this webpage to book lodging at the group rate by July 16, and register before July 23 to take advantage of the $385 rate.

NACD and the Pollinator Partnership (P2) are soliciting nominees for the 2021 United States Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award, recognizing an individual or family in the farm and ranch community who has contributed significantly to pollinator species protection and conservation.

The recipients of the 2021 award will be recognized during an award ceremony that opens the 21st Annual North American Pollinator Protection Campaign Conference on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.

The deadline to submit nominations is this Friday, July 16. Learn more about the award and how to submit a nomination here.

With support from a 2021 Friends of NACD District Grant, the Duval SWCD in Florida launched a Start Farming Mentorship Program this year. The program supports new farmers by providing tours of diverse farm operations and onsite workshops in sustainable practices.

Fifteen beginning farmers have already participated in two workshops on composting and permaculture (pictured above), with another workshop planned soon on water conservation.

The Friends of NACD District Grants Program provides funding to help conservation districts like Duval SWCD conduct new activities or test novel approaches to their operations. Help NACD reach our goal to award $20,000 in Friends of NACD District Grants Program funding to eight conservation districts in 2022 by becoming a Friend of NACD. For a limited time, donations at the $75 or above level will receive a free NACD 75th Anniversary cap!

Now is the time to send in your nominations for the 2021 NACD Service Awards. This opportunity offers national recognition to outstanding individuals and organizations for their work and leadership in soil and water conservation. Winners will be honored at the 2022 NACD Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla. on February 15.

The Friend of Conservation Award recognizes an individual, business, organization or agency outside the association 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 NACD Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual within the association, a conservation district or a state association who has made significant contributions to the conservation and proper management of our nation’s natural resources. Nominees can be involved with districts or the association at any level, including past NACD officers. Nominations are also accepted for individuals posthumously.

Visit the NACD website to nominate your conservation leaders now through August 31, 2021. To view previous award winners, visit the NACD Awards Archives.

The newest episode in the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education’s (SARE) “What is Sustainable Agriculture?” series provides a simple and short introduction to efficient water use strategies and is intended to complement more detailed training materials.

The video, titled "Water Conservation," illustrates how efficient water management can help farmers and ranchers increase the resilience of their operations while improving the health of their crops and livestock.

Click here to view the video.

Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day or more on NACD's Calendar of Events!