NACD is excited to invite you to participate in the Pack-A-Book event at the 2025 NACD Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City! You can purchase a book from the Pack-A-Book Amazon Wish List or from your favorite local bookseller to donate. In celebration of this year’s Stewardship Week theme, Home is Where the Habitat is, we’re highlighting a collection of habitat-themed books!

Participating is easy! Simply follow the link to the wish list, select your book, and choose how you’d like to contribute:

• Pack it to Bring: Order it to be shipped to you and bring it along to the meeting.
• Ship Directly: Ship it to NACD and ensure your book arrives in Salt Lake City to be proudly displayed on the donation shelf.

Each donated book will feature a donor sticker on the inside jacket. You can donate a book anonymously, from yourself, your conservation district, or in memory of a loved one, mentor, or favorite librarian or teacher. This is a wonderful way to honor those who nurtured your love for knowledge!

Reading is a powerful tool that opens doors to knowledge and understanding. By participating in the Pack-A-Book event, you’re not just donating a book - you’re helping to foster a love of reading, literacy, and conservation in young minds. Every book donated will benefit schools, public libraries, and conservation-based education programs through the local conservation district in Salt Lake City.

Let’s come together to inspire the next generation of conservationists through the joy of reading! Contact stewardship@nacdnet.org with any questions.

APPLY FOR A FRIENDS OF NACD DISTRICT GRANT

NACD is still accepting applications for the 2025 Friends of NACD District Grants Program!

This year, NACD and Scotts Miracle Gro are partnering to award the 2025 grants. Now in its sixth round of funding, the Friends of NACD District Grants Program is an initiative of the NACD District and Partner Relations Committee. The 2025 program will award top-ranking applicants up to $2,500 each to conduct new activities or test novel approaches to their operations.

Requests for proposals are open through November 30, 2024.

Past grantees have implemented projects that have helped to enhance their visibility within their communities, reach new clients, and grow their partnerships. Examples include an Arbor Day tree-planting partnership event hosted by the Rio Grande Conservation District, a 2024 grantee in Center, CO; an educational outreach program to increase invasive species awareness led by the Clark County Soil and Water Conservation District in Indiana, a 2022 grantee; and the Start Farming Mentorship Program started by the Duval Soil and Water Conservation District, a 2021 grantee in Jacksonville, Florida.

Consider becoming a member of the Friends of NACD network to further support this important grassroots effort!

Learn more about Friends of NACD and the District Grants Program and apply on NACD’s website. Any questions about the program can be directed to Caleb Griffin at caleb-griffin@nacdnet.org.

WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON?

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE

Last week, Donald Trump was elected to serve as the 47th President of the United States, and Republicans will gain control of the U.S. Senate with 53 seats. It could take several additional days to determine which party holds a majority in the House of Representatives, but Republicans are currently favored to retain control of the chamber. NACD was established in the 1940s and is a trusted, bipartisan organization. We look forward to continuing to work effectively with the outgoing and incoming administrations and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to support voluntary, locally led conservation. As Congress and the new administration work to fill leadership positions, NACD will be focused on connecting with new leaders.

On Monday, President-elect Trump nominated Representative Lee Zeldin (R-NY) to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Lee’s appointment and other federal agency leadership positions will require U.S. Senate confirmation.

The congressional agriculture committees are working to pass a farm bill in the lame duck session. While possible, meeting that deadline will be difficult and require immediate, sustained action, paired with resolution of several policy disagreements related to overall funding, the nutrition title, and commodity programs. NACD’s top farm bill priority is to integrate the remaining Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) conservation funding into the conservation title of the farm bill and pass it into law this year to make that funding permanent.

Congress must pass a full bill or an additional extension before the end of the calendar year to prevent an arcane law from increasing commodity prices. Following the passage of a budget extension last month, Congress has until December 20 to pass a full Fiscal Year 2025 spending bill or an additional extension. NACD’s top appropriations priority is to increase funding for NRCS Conservation Operations, which supports conservation technical assistance.

FOURTH GRADERS PADDLE DOWN THE KANKAKEE RIVER AND GAIN A BOATLOAD OF KNOWLEDGE

By Linda Schwab, LaPorte County SWCD

Recently, on the banks of the Kankakee River, busloads of local 4th graders came together to learn about the beauty and history of the river and the importance of watershed stewardship. Their final test and reward? Paddling on the Kankakee in 24-foot replica Voyageur canoes!

The LaPorte County Soil & Water Conservation District (LPSWCD) presented its annual Kankakee River Days at the Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife Area at the end of September. As the river knows no political boundaries, LPSWCD collaborated with neighboring county soil and water conservation districts, including Lake, Newton, Porter, and Starke, which share the Kankakee River Watershed, at the Grand Kankakee Marsh the following week, extending those stewardship lessons and canoeing enjoyment to even more 4th graders.

During this day-long field trip, students visited land-based learning stations to learn about the history of Indigenous peoples along the river, historic fur traders and explorers, microplastic pollution and its impact on natural resources, wildlife carrying capacity and migration, watershed stewardship, and water quality biotic indicators, including benthic macroinvertebrates (ask your local 4th grader what that means). The students then paddled in teams along the river, connecting lessons to place.

For many students, this was the first opportunity they had to paddle. While most embraced the challenge, some did have their reservations. Those concerns were soon alleviated when the professional boat captains took the helm and encouraged their crew to paddle hard and enjoy their serene surroundings on the river. By connecting with the river, students learned to appreciate it as a valuable resource for humans and nature and understand it is more than a line on a map, or something crossed on a bridge. This program teaches students about the importance of protecting and conserving the Kankakee River and fosters stewardship in the younger generation.

Read the full story on NACD's blog.