Yesterday, U.S. Representatives
Angie Craig
(D-MN) and
Dusty Johnson
(R-SD) introduced the Feed Emergency Enhancement During Disasters (FEEDD) Act, encouraging additional plantings of cover crops in areas where high levels of prevent planting payments are expected to go out, which would otherwise potentially leave fields empty.
By allowing USDA some flexibility on when a cover crop could be utilized for haying or grazing, producers will have an added incentive to plant a crop and therefore help protect the soil from erosion over the next several months.
“Planting cover crops in a normal year is just the smart thing to do, as it not only helps protect soil from water and wind erosion, but can capture and produce needed nutrients for the following year’s crops,"
said NACD
President Tim Palmer
.
"Due to this unusually rainy spring, we are facing the potential for a large number of fields to not be planted, and therefore, it is even more important that producers protect their soil with cover crops over the next year. By providing flexibility for when a producer can utilize cover crop plantings, the Feed Emergency Enhancement During Disasters Act will encourage the adoption of this important conservation practice while adding forage options as an additional economic incentive.”
To read the full press release, visit Rep. Angie Craig's
website
.
|
FOUNDATION GRANTEES GATHER FOR ANNUAL MEETING IN ANNAPOLIS
|
Last week, NACD Government Affairs Manager
Eric Hansen
and Urban and Community Resource Policy Group Chair
Ron Rohall
attended the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation’s National Partners Network Meeting in Annapolis, Md. Hosted by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, the meeting was the annual gathering of all Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation grantees. At the meeting, grantees had a chance to network, learn about each other’s projects, and hear about the latest research Scotts Miracle-Gro has been conducting. Grantees also toured a large, urban wetland restorations site in Eastport, Md.
Since 2012, Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation has been funding a series of webinars at NACD on Urban and Community Conservation. These webinars share projects and partnerships from conservation districts across the country, focused on urban areas.
|
The next NACD Urban and Community Conservation webinar, scheduled for
June 20, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Eastern, will explore ways to "Reach and Engage Diverse Audiences." To register, email NACD Senior Advisor
Debra Bogar at
deb-bogar@nacdnet.org with your name, title, district or business name, state and email address. Information to access the webinar will be sent by email.
|
NACD SUMMER MEETING OFFERS TOUR OF HISTORIC TAOS
|
NACD's Summer Conservation Forum and Tour is quickly approaching!
In addition to engaging speakers, plenary sessions and informative concurrent sessions, the meeting will feature
three conservation-themed tours
on
Tuesday, Aug. 6,
from
9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
One of the three tours, the
Taos Historical/Cultural Tour
, will begin with
a stop at the historic San Francisco de Asis Mission in Ranchos de Taos. The mission was built in the early 1800s and has been artistically recorded by 20th century artists, including Georgia O’Keefe and Ansel Adams. It is said to be one of the most photographed and painted churches in the world.
Next, the tour will visit an acequia diversion recently restored by the
Taos SWCD
. The group will then head to the new Taos SWCD office building, which combines historical design, modern technology and native food producing, as well as medicinal and pollinator landscaping that utilizes every drop of precious water that lands on the property.
|
NACD LAUNCHES EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES WEBPAGE
|
NACD's Educational Resources page is now live and available to view
on our website!
Education is a critical element of the conservation effort at the local, state and national levels. Educating young people about the benefits of conservation helps to ensure the next generation will be wise stewards of America’s natural resources. NACD assists districts with their stewardship and education efforts by offering various materials and opportunities that can be used in classrooms with children of all ages.
Covering topics including soil health, wildlife, forestry and general conservation, NACD has provided information and classroom resources that are available on our partners' websites.
|
DOUGLAS COUNTY CD, KANSAS
|
In 2017, NACD, in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) awarded funding to the
Douglas County Conservation District
in Kansas to help create a guidebook and toolkit for implementing and participating in the Lawrence, Kan., community garden (photo right) and incubator farm program.
The Common Ground Community Garden Program, established in 2012, is a community gardening and urban agriculture program created by the City of Lawrence and overseen by the Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability Office and the Food Policy Council. The goal of the program is to transform vacant or under-utilized city properties into vibrant sites of healthy food production for city residents.
Additionally, the incubator farm provides land-to-local entrepreneurs looking to start or scale-up their food production business. Gardeners and garden managers can further support their community by donating produce to local organizations and by hosting workshops and classes, community workdays and volunteer events to engage community members in their local garden.
A series of stakeholder meetings were held with county and city staff to conduct an internal report and program evaluation of the common ground program. The toolkit has provided a blueprint and foundation for future guide updates. The Lawrence Sustainability staff took charge of managing and updating the toolkit. Presentations about the program, including updates and changes, will be made annually to county commissioners.
|
A demonstration high tunnel (photo above) and education garden were installed at the county fairgrounds, which will be managed and maintained by the county’s Master Gardener program. Care and maintenance of the garden and high tunnel will be the responsibility of the county Master Gardner program and Kansas State University Research and Extension staff. Staff hope to utilize the garden for future research, field trials and food donations.
The grant team conducted a series of workshops focusing on urban agriculture conservation practices and a workshop designed to help individuals with the process of permitting and erecting a high tunnel within city limits. Participants were also given education opportunities through visits to other regional urban agriculture programs, attendance at the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) conference, participation at the American Planning Association conference, and presentations at the Urban Food Systems Symposium.
Learn more about Douglas County Conservation District's Urban Agriculture Conservation project
on NACD's website.
|
CHECK OUT NACD'S AUGUST RECESS GUIDE
|
Last week, NACD released an
August Recess Guide to Grassroots Engagement, designed to assist districts with how to set up a local meeting with their Member of Congress. The guide also provides aspects of a successful meeting to consider during planning, as well as strategies for how to reach out to your elected representative.
|
IDAHO CONSERVATION DISTRICTS HOLD 2019 SUMMER MEETING
|
Like many states in the U.S., Idaho is sizeable and diverse. To adequately address the resource concerns across such a large area, the
Idaho Association of Soil Conservation Districts (IASCD) divides the state into five divisions, with one member of the state Board of Directors representing each division. These five board members met with the IASCD president and executive director in Burley, Idaho, on June 7-8, 2019, for their annual summer meeting.
The Board of Directors planned a thorough agenda for the two days, with review of their annual budget for the coming fiscal years, updates about the
NCF-Envirothon and the
Idaho District Employees Association (IDEA). The group also discussed IASCD's recent successes engaging with state policymakers. In 2016, IASCD began hosting a legislative social each winter to help raise the profile of conservation districts. The attendance at these socials has continued to grow year-to-year and has opened continued dialogue with state legislators and strengthened the organization’s relationship with the office of the new governor of Idaho,
Brad Little.
|
NRCS and NACD also provided partner updates. At the Idaho state level, NRCS is currently identifying pathways to reorganize. As a direct result of this summer board meeting, NRCS will include stronger district representation on local NRCS working groups. Idaho also received renewals of three NACD technical assistance grants, which highlight the NACD-NRCS partnership in the state. IASCD and NACD continued to plan a listening session to be held at the IASCD annual meeting in Boise, Idaho, in November 2019.
|
|
Making Conservation Connections in Michigan
|
The
Michigan Association of Conservation Districts
held their 2019 Summer Conference in Bay City, Mich., on June 3, with the theme "Conservation Connections."
NACD North Central Region Representative
Beth Mason
led a breakout session “NACD Soil Health Champions Network: Advancing Soil Health,” highlighting the program and inviting two Champions,
Larry Lee
from Laingsburg, Mich., and
Blaine Baker
from Clayton, Mich., to share their stories. During the session, the question and answer time allowed the attendees to dig deeper into the on-farm experiences of these soil health focused producers.
To learn more about the NACD Soil Health Champions Network, please contact
NACD
North Central Region Representative
Beth Mason
at
beth-mason@nacdnet.org
or visit the
NACD website
.
|
2019 Southeast Region Meeting Registration Now Open
|
Registration is now open for the 2019 Southeast Region meeting! This year's meeting will take place in
Gatlinburg, Tenn., from
Aug. 11-13, 2019.
The meeting will celebrate the theme
Conservation – Gateway to Our Future and will include tours, the 2019 Southeast Region Conservation Hall of Fame Luncheon, a showing and discussion of the film “Hidden Rivers” and more.
This year, NACD will also host a
listening session for the Southeast Region on
Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, at 1:00 p.m.
The listening session will give members the opportunity to provide feedback on our programs and ways we can improve our value as a national association. Lunch will begin at 12:30 p.m. prior to the listening session. Please visit
NACD's website to register.
|
Final October Conservation Planning Boot Camp Session Added
|
Due to the high demand for NACD's Conservation Planning Boot Camp, a final session for 2019 has been tentatively added for
Oct. 7 - Nov. 7, 2019
. Space is limited, so register today!
NRCS Conservation Planning Boot Camp is a three-week, intensive training course for technical employees that covers current conservation planning policy, procedures and guidelines as outlined in the National Planning Procedures Handbook.
|
U&C RPG Seeks Webinar Topics, Speakers
|
Is there a conservation topic you would like to learn more about? The NACD Urban and Community Resource Policy Group (RPG) invites your input for the urban and community (U&C) webinar series beginning in October 2019.
Help us design webinars that help you! Offer to give a presentation by sending a brief paragraph describing the program or project you would like to showcase or tell us the urban and community conservation topics/issues and/or speakers you would like to have covered.
Email your proposals and topic/speaker ideas to NACD Senior Advisor
Debra Bogar
at
deb-bogar@nacdnet.org
by
July 1, 2019.
|
Reminder: Conservation Leader Award Nominations Are Open
|
There's still time to nominate an outstanding conservation leader in your community! Show your appreciation for their work and dedication by sending in a nomination for one of NACD’s national conservation awards.
The
NACD 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. The award recipient will be honored at the 2020 NACD Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nev., this coming February. Nominations are due
Aug. 31
.
The
NACD Distinguished Service Award
honors 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. The award recipient will be recognized at the 2020 NACD Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nev. Nominations are due
Aug. 31
.
All nominations will receive an honorable mention certificate from
NACD
President Tim Palmer
in appreciation for their service to conservation. Winning nominations will receive a complimentary meeting registration for the 2020 NACD Annual Meeting, a complimentary Appreciation Banquet ticket, a plaque, and national recognition online and in NACD’s publications.
|
Deadline Approaches: NAPPC Seeks Nominations for 2019 Awards
|
NACD and Pollinator Partnership are currently seeking nominations for the
2019
Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award
.
The award recognizes an individual or family in the farm and ranch community who has contributed significantly to pollinator species protection and conservation.
The winner(s) of the 2019 Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award will be recognized at a VIP reception during the 19th Annual North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) Conference hosted at the US Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.
|
Mark Your Calendar: Farm Bill Implementation Program Deadlines
|
As USDA continues implementing the 2018 Farm Bill, multiple program application and comment deadlines are approaching:
Please visit
NACD’s farm bill webpage to stay up-to-date on 2018 Farm Bill implementation, deadlines, sign-ups and more.
|
EPA Seeks Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee Nominations
|
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Office of Pesticide Programs is
seeking nominations for membership on the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC), a stakeholder-comprised committee that advises the EPA on pesticide-related issues.
The due date for nominations is
June 27. To learn more and submit a nomination, visit
PPDC's website or contact PPDC Designated Federal Officer
Shannon Jewell at
jewell.shannon@epa.gov.
|
Save the Date: BLM Webinar Seeks Input from Local and State Partners
|
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is rewriting its Planning Regulations and is seeking input from local and state partners. These regulations directly impact resource management plans, as they serve as the template for ensuring lands are productive without negatively impacting the environment. Local governments are at the forefront of the planning process, so it is essential to have the input of county governments and conservation districts early and often.
Please follow
this link to register for the “Engagement on BLM Planning Regulations” webinar on
Friday, June 14 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. This session will provide local officials the opportunity to share your ideas and expertise with the agency as the rule is developed.
|
Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day or more on NACD's
Calendar of Events!
|
|