NACD ANNOUNCES
KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR
2021 ANNUAL MEETING
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NACD is excited to announce that Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Acting Chief Kevin Norton will provide a keynote address during Tuesday's General Session.
Acting Chief Norton has been with NRCS for 39 years. Since December 2018, he has served as the associate chief for NRCS, providing direct support to NRCS Chief Matt Lohr, who stepped down in August.
Acting Chief Norton provides oversight of the agency's programs, technology and administrative operations, along with national direction and oversight for the agency's financial and technical assistance programs delivered through four deputy chief areas, in support of over 3,000 state and field operations across the United States and territories.
Prior to his current position, Acting Chief Norton served 12 years as the NRCS state conservationist in Louisiana. He began his NRCS career in 1981 as a range conservationist in Lawton, Okla., after graduating from Oklahoma State University. His career spanned multiple agency organizational levels within the Sooner State, prior to moving to Louisiana.
Acting Chief Norton has also served in key positions and support roles for NRCS and in support of producers' and partners' adoption and delivery of voluntary, field-based conservation. Additionally, he supported House and Senate Agriculture Committee members and staff in designing the 2014 and 2018 conservation titles of each farm bill during lengthy agency details.
We hope you will join us virtually from February 1-10, 2021 as we come together to celebrate NACD's legacy and recognize our origins through the meeting theme "NACD's 75th Anniversary: A Diamond Out of the Dust."
Register now for only $50! This price will gain you access to both the business meetings from February 1-5 and the convention programming February 8-10. PLEASE NOTE: each registrant must have their own unique email address.
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NACD SENDS LETTER TO DOI AND EPA TRANSITION TEAMS |
"NACD encourages the incoming Biden Administration’s EPA to recognize conservation districts as local partners in our nation’s efforts to protect water quality," said Palmer and Crowder in the letter to the EPA review team. "Our country’s almost 3,000 conservation districts, and their respective state and territory associations, look forward to working with the incoming Administration in the coming years to prioritize locally-led conservation."
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SOUTHEAST STATES HOLD VIRTUAL MEETINGS |
Last week, the Alabama Association of Conservation Districts (AACD) and Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (VASWCD) held separate virtual meetings with over a hundred of their members and partners from across each state.
VASWCD held their annual business meeting on Dec. 7. The Zoom meeting featured reports from areas, committees and VASWCD President Giannina Frantz and Executive Director Kendall Tyree, Ph.D. Members adopted a non-discrimination policy and reviewed their 2021 legislative agenda and policy book. Virginia’s NACD board member Steven Meeks and Southeast Region Representative Candice Abinanti shared national updates with participants. Meeks was later honored with the Wilkinson Award for his service to conservation districts. The meeting closed with a moment of remembrance and reflection, including for Wilkie Willis Chaffin, Ph.D., former VASWCD President who was inducted into the NACD Southeast Region Conservation Hall of Fame in 2012.
NACD President Tim Palmer helped kick off the AACD 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting on Dec. 9 with an NACD update, followed by partner updates from the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Alabama Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils, Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Committee and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Outgoing AACD President and NACD Southeast Region Vice Chair Micky Smith addressed participants and welcomed President-elect Johnny Lee to the helm. The meeting concluded with a presentation of awards, including the Alabama 2020 State Conservation Education District of the Year Award to Walker County SWCD.
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NCF #FUTUREFOCUSED Q&A WITH EMILY MOBERG, PHD
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Emily Moberg, PhD, is an Envirothon alumna and currently works at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in D.C. She also runs the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation, an organization that seeks to educate U.S.-based informal and formal science educators on how to effectively communicate climate science to the American public.
Moberg recently spoke with NACD about NCF and Envirothon, their goals and their legacy. Below are some of her answers.
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Why is supporting NCF and the Envirothon program important to you?
It is important to me because I think that Envirothon is one of the few avenues for younger students to learn about the environment – not just “go outside and look around you,” but in a really meaningful “what does environmental science actually mean and what does it influence” sort of way. Environmental science is not taught in most high schools, so organizations and competitions like Envirothon have stepped in to introduce students to this fundamentally critical topic.
I think Envirothon and NCF are filling a hole that our society fundamentally needs. I think it is such a wonderful opportunity for students to learn skills like teamwork, to be engaged in competition with people who are coming from different backgrounds and know fundamentally different things, and to go to different states to learn about what issues are important there. In addition, the competition also provides scholarships to students who are successful, helping them attend colleges and universities where they may choose to study these topics.
How does diversity strengthen conservation as a field and as a community?
I believe diversity brings in both new ways of seeing the world and new ways of solving problems. One of the really powerful ideas that I have come in contact with is the idea of a frame. What is the frame in which you are seeing a particular issue? That can differ both within a person or across people. It is very easy to see an issue just from one lens, and then not see either the different problems that exist or the different types of solutions that might exist. We have many global issues, and we really need everyone at bat to help. That means across sectors, that means across nations, that means across different groups who are affected by environmental degradation – to understand what those problems look like and what solutions might be. Historically, some groups have been excluded from this work and disproportionally impacted by environmental harms, and I believe we need to fight every day to change that.
To read the full interview, visit NACD's blog. Please help support conservation leaders like Emily by donating to the #FutureFocused campaign! As we prepare for a new 2021 NGLI cohort and the rescheduled 2021 NCF-Envirothon competition in Lincoln, Nebraska, set to be held in July 2021, your financial support is needed to help keep these programs moving forward. Every contribution matters, and your support will be matched dollar-for-dollar throughout the campaign. |
NACD PAST PRESIDENT BRENT VAN DYKE SPEAKS ON CLIMATE SOLUTIONS IN AGRICULTURE |
The nonprofit organization Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO), in partnership with the Office of Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján, recently hosted a virtual event focusing on the ways in which agricultural and community stewardship can help mitigate and adapt to climate change.
NACD Past President Brent Van Dyke spoke about ways agriculture can serve as a climate solution. "I truly believe that agriculture is one of the keys tools in the toolbox that can help alleviate some environmental problems that we're facing in America, but we've got to have that next generation willing and eager to enter that career,” he said.
Van Dyke also spoke about reducing tillage, incorporating cover crops, and utilizing rotational grazing as sustainable solutions. “We've got to be able to reduce tillage, because every time you turn the soil, you're exposing that soil to evaporation, and if we're going to mediate drought, we've got to keep as much moisture in the soil as we possibly can,” he said.
Other speakers included Assistant Speaker Luján and Kenny Salazar, chairperson for the Santa Cruz Irrigation District. The full recording is available to view here. |
RCDS PLAY KEY ROLE IN FOREST HEALTH INCENTIVE PROGRAM |
In California’s North Bay, resource conservation districts (RCDs) have partnered with Rebuild North Bay Foundation and the Clear Lake Environmental Research Center to form the North Bay Forest Improvement Program (NBFIP) to help non-industrial forest landowners with less than 500 acres implement fuels treatments and forest restoration projects on their properties.
NBFIP is being launched with $1.5 million from a CAL FIRE Wildfire Resilience and Forestry Assistance grant, which will provide three years of funding to develop an incentive program and award projects to mitigate fire and improve forest health in the highly fire-prone region.
Sonoma, Mendocino and Napa County RCDs are forming a steering committee to begin structuring an incentive program similar to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Project application and selection will follow with on-the-ground landscape work carrying through 2023. RCDs will be contributing about $277,000 in matching dollars.
“We view it as a pilot project, and we’re excited to build and refine a regional strategy for identifying and funding forest health and fire resiliency projects in partnership with CAL FIRE,” said Lucas Patzek, project steering committee member and Napa County RCD district manager.
“Everyone knows we can’t do it alone,” Patzek said. “We all need to collaborate, and local folks with local knowledge and relationships really are able to accelerate things.”
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Donate to the NCF Auction Today! |
The National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Auction is a great opportunity to support conservation, and this year, it is even easier to be a part of the excitement. The 2021 NCF Auction will be going virtual!
NCF will host their auction during the 2021 NACD Virtual Annual Meeting to support the NCF-Envirothon, the Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) and conservation education. The online format will include item descriptions and photos and will allow a bidder to track each item for the duration of the auction. This year, bidders will have an extended period of time to participate. The 2021 NCF Virtual Auction will open at 1:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Jan. 29, 2021 and will close at 1:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday Feb. 10, 2021.
Items are now being accepted for donations to the 2021 NCF Virtual auction! This year with the online format, we are asking that contributors hold onto items until after the auction and ship their donations directly to the winning bidder. Any and all items are welcome. For more information, please contact NACD South Central Region Representative Keith Owen at keith-owen@nacdnet.org.
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FSA Announces Updated Payment Rates for CRP |
On Dec. 9, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced updated payment rates for certain Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) practices by increasing the Practice Incentive Payment (PIP) for certain practices from five percent to 20 percent. Additionally, producers will receive a 10 percent PIP for water quality practices on land enrolled in CRP’s continuous signup.
NACD has previously pushed to increase these incentive payments, and this increase will get these payments closer to the 50 percent cap allowed in the 2018 Farm Bill to further incentivize the enrollment of land that has particularly high conservation benefits.
Continuous enrollments are accepted on a rolling basis, while General CRP applications will be accepted between Jan. 4-Feb. 12, 2021.
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2021 NRCS Soils Planner Now Available |
The 2021 Soils Planner is now available! This year, the planner is back to its traditional size and features “Soils in the Geologic Record.”
Better known as “buried soils,” the featured soils contain secrets of the climate, ecosystem, and fossils of the Earth’s prehistoric past. Each month displays a geologic age and tells the story of the Earth’s soils through pictures.
You can learn more about the 12-month planner and order it here.
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Richland SWCD Releases Pollinator Conservation
Educators' Guide
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Looking for more educational resources on pollinators? The Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in South Carolina recently published a pollinator conservation educators’ guide for teachers, informal educators and parents to use with students in grades 1-6.
The guide includes instructions and printable resources for hands-on activities that teach students about the process of pollination and flower anatomy, animals that pollinate and their physical adaptations, and environmental threats to pollinators and what can be done to help them.
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Register for Webinar
on Invasive Species
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The North American Invasive Species Management Association is co-hosting a webinar on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 12:00 p.m., Mountain Time, to launch the Invasive Species Data Mobilization Campaign.
The campaign is a collaborative effort between Western Governors' Association (WGA), invasive species data experts, land managers across federal, state and local levels, private landowners and non-governmental organizations. The webinar will feature WGA’s Bill Whitacre alongside representatives of the four major data integrators, EDDMapS, iMapInvasives, BISON and USGS NAS.
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NFWF Seeks Proposals for 2021 Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Program
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The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USDA Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), FedEx, Southern Company and BNSF Railway, are currently seeking applications for the 2021 Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration program.
This program will award approximately $1.5 million in grants nationwide.
The Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration grant program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships focused on improving water quality, watersheds and the species and habitats they support.
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SARE Outreach Funding
Now Available
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A Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Outreach grant of up to $5,000 is now available to fund efforts that address sustainable agriculture information gaps experienced by farmers or ranchers.
Proposed outreach or educational activities should extend or support the extension of research-based, and/or SARE-funded research about sustainable agriculture practices. Requests should document an applicant’s historical capacity for reaching the intended audience at the national and/or trans-regional levels. If remote learning will be used, applicants should include specific strategies for overcoming the challenges remote learning pose for the intended audience.
The application deadline is Dec. 25, 2020. Projects must be completed by July 31, 2021.
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Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day or more on NACD's Calendar of Events!
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