Last week, NACD welcomed over eight hundred conservation professionals to the 2025 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hosted in partnership with the Utah Association of Conservation Districts, this year's meeting explored the theme, "Bee the Change: Reaching New Summits in Conservation." We are excited to share a recap of the meeting in this special edition of eResource!

To explore the daily newsletters, see photos, read press releases, revisit presentations, and more, see the meeting's media page.

Did you attend the meeting? We want to hear from you! Complete the Annual Meeting feedback form to let us know your favorite and least favorite moments from the meeting - and everything in between.

NEW LEADERSHIP ELECTED

A new slate of NACD Officers and Executive Board members were elected and sworn in during Annual Meeting.

Gary Blair was sworn in as NACD President. Blair has served NACD in a number of roles since 2015, including as a board member, executive board member, and as an officer in the roles of Secretary-Treasurer and First Vice President. Based in Starkville, Mississippi, he also serves on the board of his local conservation district, the Carroll County Soil and Water Conservation District. Blair is a former president of the Mississippi Association of Conservation Districts and Mississippi Forestry Association.

The NACD Board of Directors also elected the following officers: Mark Masters of Georgia as First Vice President; Ryan Britt of Missouri as Second Vice President; and Karl Jensen of South Dakota as Secretary-Treasurer. Immediate Past President Kim LaFleur of Massachusetts and NACD Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Peters round out the association’s officer team.

ATTENDEES ENCOURAGED TO "BEE THE CHANGE"

The NACD Annual Meeting’s general sessions featured an array of inspirational and informative speakers from within Utah and across the country. Utah Department of Agriculture Commissioner Craig Buttars spoke about agriculture, conservation, and partnerships in Utah, while the Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape Director Marisa Weinberg shared how the newly designated Sentinel Landscape is one of 17 across the country where conservation, working lands, and national defense interests converge. 

The new President of Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, Carrie Vollmer-Sanders, spoke about Field to Market’s work uniting the supply chain to deliver sustainable outcomes for agriculture and the organization’s future.

NRCS Acting Chief Louis Aspey spoke to NRCS’s commitment to provide services to producers and conservation districts across the country, working together as a partnership to stay dedicated to our roots in voluntary, locally led conservation.

We must "look out ahead, and lead in continuing the nearly 90 years of voluntary, science-based, incentive-driven, and locally led conservation," said Acting Chief Aspey.

Participants were especially inspired by keynote speaker Erik Weihenmayer. Weihenmayer is a blind athlete, author, and Co-Founder of the nonprofit organization No Barriers. No Barriers’ programs aim to empower people with disabilities to break through barriers and elevate their lives and communities. Weihenmayer spoke of his own experience seeking new heights kayaking, mountaineering, and rock climbing, and encouraged us to enthusiastically dive into the learning process and reach for our own new challenges and summits.  

“The culmination of these journeys isn’t the summit, but when you come back down the mountain and share the gifts and lessons,” said Weihenmayer. “What’s within us is stronger than what’s in our way.” 

Attendees also heard from NACD leadership, including an update from NACD CEO Jeremy Peters and an address from NACD Immediate Past President Kim LaFleur, who encouraged employing our principles as a compass to guide how we spend our time. The general sessions came to a close with NACD’s newly elected President Gary Blair’s first presidential address, where he spoke about his goals and aspirations for NACD during his term.

"Conservation flows through the strength of our strategic plan," said Blair. "We have to remain focused on our mission. Hope is in our partnership."

As conservationists, we work together to creatively problem solve, support one another through challenges, and celebrate our accomplishments. Stories from Weihenmayer and other speakers encourage us all to "Bee the Change" and break through barriers to reach new summits for ourselves, for others, and for conservation. 

WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON?

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE

NACD's Resolutions Committee oversaw the organization's annual resolutions process during the Annual Meeting.

Each resolution underwent debate, amendment (if necessary), and a formal vote by Resolutions Committee members. Resolutions receiving unanimous approval were placed on the Consent Calendar for streamlined ratification, while those amended or passed with objections were forwarded to the NACD Board of Directors for further evaluation.

The process concluded with the Board’s final review. The Consent Calendar, containing all unanimously approved resolutions, was ratified in full, bypassing additional debate. The Board also individually approved all policies forwarded from the hearings, finalizing the adoption of all resolutions. Notably, policies included in the Sunset Consent Calendar, a subset marking items that received challenges to their expiration, were retained in the policy book. Additionally, all policies scheduled to sunset in 2025 that did not receive challenges during the hearings will now be eliminated, as no amendments or objections were raised to extend their terms.

The NACD Government Affairs team would like to express appreciation for all who participated in this year’s policymaking process, a successful policymaking process would not be possible without your effort and collaboration. Resolution Committee members consistently underscore the NACD’s commitment to clarity, efficiency, and rigorous governance.

Impacted by EOs and Funding Freezes?

Tell us how your producers, communities, and local conservation district employees are impacted by recent Executive Orders and funding freezes by completing this survey. All responses are anonymous, and the survey should take 5-10 minutes to complete.

If you would like an NACD staff member to contact you for a follow up discussion, please select the option at the end of the survey and provide your contact information.

NACD has also created this letter template to assist conservation districts and their associations in sharing their stories and impacts with elected officials. Your voice matters!

NGLI PASSES TORCH

TO NEXT COHORT

The 2024 cohort of the National Conservation Foundation’s (NCF) Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) graduated at this year's leadership luncheon. The NGLI program prepares cohort members for conservation leadership roles. The graduating cohort members, who completed over 80 hours of instruction, a full day of legislative visits, and a capstone project to benefit their home districts, are: Kelli Bowen of North Dakota, Kirk Daniel of Tennessee, Excell La Fayette, Jr. of Oklahoma, Glenn Takai of Guam, and Vincent Thompson of Kentucky.

The incoming 2025 cohort also met for the first time throughout the week. The 2025 cohort participants are:  Patricia Brown of Louisiana, Carmen Bruner-Still of Oklahoma, Stacey Conly of Louisiana, Sadie Lister of Arizona,  Josh Myers of North Carolina, and Randy Smith of Minnesota.

UACD LEADS LOCAL CONSERVATION TOURS

The Annual Meeting came to a close with three local tours hosted by the Utah Association of Conservation Districts.

One tour visited the Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. Another group explored Summit County, including a visit to the Kohler Creamery to explore their innovative automated milking system and enjoy an award-winning cheese tasting. This was followed by a stop at the Alf Engen Ski Museum in Utah Olympic Park, where they learned about skiing, ski jumping, and snowboarding through interactive exhibits on snow science and weather patterns. A third group learned how two farms are advancing urban agriculture and sustainability through creative solutions and community engagement.