This week, NACD held the 2023 Summer Conservation Forum in Bismarck, North Dakota. Hosted in partnership with the North Dakota Association of Soil Conservation Districts, this summer's meeting gathered conservation leaders from across the country to discuss natural resource concerns and innovative solutions.
Monday’s events began with a Conservation Forum which opened with a presentation of colors by the North Dakota Veterans Color Guard, and the national anthem, sung by Bismack local, Monica Gardner. During the forum, attendees heard from North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Tammy Miller, North Dakota Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Tom Bodine, Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux, Natural Resource Conservation Service Chief Terry Cosby, and a panel of conservation leaders who discussed grazing management and conservation grazing. The panel included Burleigh County Conservation District Supervisor David Bauer, North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition Chairman Jay Reiser, and Administrator Ducheneuax.
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During the luncheon on Monday, attendees also heard remarks from U.S. Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven. Senator Hoeven spoke about the importance of voluntary, locally-led conservation, partnerships, and an approach that is not one size fits all. “Don’t make farmers and ranchers fit the program,” said Hoeven, “make the program fit the farmers and ranchers.”
Throughout the meeting, attendees were able to hear from conservation leaders who shared their experiences addressing changing natural resource challenges in their regions. Keynote speakers, panelists, workshop presenters, and board members addressed the importance of partnerships for delivering successful conservation now and in the future.
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WORKSHOPS EXPLORE CONSERVATION LEASING AND CLIMATE-SMART MARKETS |
Over the weekend, meeting participants and partners, both established and new, convened over three conservation workshops. |
The first two workshops were held on Saturday, July 15. In the Eco-Harvest Program workshop, hosted with a longtime NACD partner, the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC), Alana Pacheco, director of partnerships and project development for ESMC and Meg Leader, NACD’s director of conservation programs, introduced participants to ESMC’s Eco-Harvest program. The program rewards agricultural producers for beneficial environmental outcomes from regenerative agriculture, and generates carbon, greenhouse gas, and water quality credits. During the workshop, participants discussed a variety of topics, from the global organization that sets the standards for all carbon markets, to the requirements and issues with collecting years of historical data for carbon models to determine the benefits of practice changes.
In the Regenerative Grazing on Public Lands and Conservation Leasing workshop , Errol Rice, senior policy advisor with the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Libby Wawro, NACD’s natural resources policy specialist, led an interactive discussion on regenerative grazing on public lands and conservation leasing. Participants learned more about BLM’s proposed rule on incorporating conservation into the multiple-use framework for public lands, and NACD’s comments to the proposed rule. The two-way discussion provided BLM with feedback, and helped strengthen participants’ knowledge of conservation leasing opportunities on public lands with BLM and how these leases can support regenerative grazing, landscape scale conservation and mitigation, and healthy ecosystem services. |
On Sunday, July 16, a diverse and engaged group of participants discussed equitable pathways to market with a new partner, Forum for the Future's “Growing our Future" to scale regenerative agriculture. Led by Forum for the Future’s senior sustainability strategist Michelle Stearn and principal for food and regenerative agriculture Latha Swamy, and NACD’s equity and outreach program analyst, Loutrina Staley, Ph.D., attendees of the Equitable Pathways to Market workshop about ways to facilitate the participation of underserved producers in emerging climate-smart markets, and how conservation districts can help support this.
The workshop brought together food producers, coalitions, and farm support organizations from across the country to discuss the barriers to accessing climate smart markets for regenerative products— and to illuminate the solutions already in progress. Participants highlighted the need for trust building, transparency, representation and collaboration from NACD, as well as stakeholders at 1890s institutions, food retailers, and agribusinesses. Breakout groups outlined their recommendations to facilitate equitable pathways to market: effective communication, outreach to community based organizations, stewarding responsible data management, creating accessible shared infrastructure, and addressing exclusionary practices surfaced as some of many foundational elements to enhancing buyer seller relationships—and creating networks of support for producers who are working to embody the principles of regeneration on their farms and ranches.
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CONSERVATION IN ACTION: SUMMER MEETING TOURS EXPLORE NORTH DAKOTA |
On Monday, July 17, attendees of the Summer Meeting had an opportunity to join a field tour of the Black Leg Ranch in McKenzie, North Dakota. Black Leg Ranch, owned and operated by the Doan Family, showcases the impact that healthy soils can have on wildlife, water quality, and quality of life on the ranch. After a tour of the fields, the group visited the ranch and brewery, where they heard from a panel of local producers for their perspectives on grazing and conservation in North Dakota.
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On Tuesday, attendees were able to take a tour of two examples of conservation in action in North Dakota. The first stop was the Area 4 SCD Cooperative Research Farm, a partnership with the USDA-ARS Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory. This farm serves as a focal point for improving sustainability of dryland cropping systems through a team-focused, systems-orientated research and technology transfer. While there they learned about a study started in 2019 researching alternative land management practices including mob grazing with cattle, multi-species grazing with cattle and goats, and prescribed fire for land management.
Next, the group visited the Burleigh County Soil Conservation District's Menoken Farm, a 150 acre demonstration farm located just east of Bismarck. Menoken Farm also recently, they produced a documentary titled “Future of Food” about the history of agriculture and taking a look forward to the future of food production with the 5 soil health principles as a starting point and a path forward.
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NACD Signs MOA for TA Funding with CNMI Districts |
During the Sunday Board of Director's Meeting, three conservation districts from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Technical Assistance (TA) 2022 funding. The funding will be used to expand capacity by returning the conservation districts to active status.
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Board of Directors Gather in Bismarck |
The NACD Board of Directors had several days full of productive meetings in Bismarck, opening on Saturday with updates and reports from President Kim LaFleur, CEO Jeremy Peters, and Secretary Treasurer Mark Masters.
"We need to make room for new chairs at the table to continue to grow voluntary, locally-led conservation in communities across the nation with partners both long-standing and new," said President LaFleur in her address.
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On Sunday, the board of directors heard from conservation leaders during a partnership roundtable. Speakers included representatives from NRCS, the National Association of Resource Conservation & Development Councils, the National Association of State Conservation Agencies, and the National Conservation District Employees Association. |
See photos from the event! |
Have you been taking photos during the 2023 NACD Summer Meeting? We want to see them!
Email them to us at nacdnews@nacdnet.org, tag us using @NACDConserve or #NACDSummerMeeting on social media to share your photos!
Check out all of our photos from the meeting here. |
NCF-Envirothon Competition Next Week in New Brunswick, Canada |
The 34th Annual National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon Competition will be held July 23-29 in New Brunswick, Canada. The NCF-Envirothon Competition challenges students in the five areas of study: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and this year’s current issue.
The 2023 NCF-Envirothon will spotlight the ecology and natural resources of New Brunswick, with a special focus on this year’s current issue of “Adapting to a Changing Climate.” Students will learn about factors contributing to a changing climate, the effects of these changes on the environment and natural resources, and the unique challenges facing natural resource dependent communities.
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Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day, or other events on NACD's Calendar of Events!
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