Registration for the National Association of Conservation Districts' (NACD) 76th Annual Meeting is now open!

 

Hosted in partnership with the Association of Florida Conservation Districts, this year's annual meeting will be held in Orlando, Fla., from Feb. 12-16, 2022, at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista at Disney Springs Resort.

Conference registration includes entry into the Conservation Expo, NACD General and Concurrent Sessions, Monday’s Leadership Lunch and Live Auction, and NACD Training Sessions and Workshops. Early bird registration for the discounted price of $470 is open from now until Dec. 16, 2021.

The group hotel room rate at the Hilton is $222 per night plus tax. To reserve your room, click here, or call 407-827-4000 and say you’re with NACD. Room reservations must be booked by Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.

Do you qualify for free registration? Conservation districts that have paid their dues at a platinum or diamond level this year are entitled to registration discounts as part of their membership benefits! Platinum level members receive a 2nd regular registration free, and Diamond level members are eligible for a 2nd regular registration at half price. New Lifetime Members of Friends of NACD are also eligible for free registration. Please consider making a donation to the Friends of NACD program to qualify.

Visit NACD’s Annual Meeting webpage to learn more, register and reserve your room. 

Last week, over 50 conservation district representatives and partners joined together in Jackson Hole, Wyo., for the joint Pacific and Southwest Region meeting.

Water is an ongoing issue for both regions, so representatives from conservation districts, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality presented on efforts through the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) to address impaired water bodies through voluntary conservation efforts. As part of NWQI, conservation districts and their partners have contributed to reducing Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria and sediment, among other resource concerns, in local watersheds.

Southwest Region Representative Rachel Theler moderated a panel on marketing for conservation districts, with presentations by Phoebe Coburn on successful outreach programs at Teton Conservation District, and by Laura Meyer and Doug Rushton on the Washington State Conservation Commission’s Marketing Toolkit. This panel set the stage for a workshop on the second day of the conference, during which attendees could start developing their own outreach plans for their district or association.

Several local policymakers, including Governor Mark Gordon, also presented on key federal issues like the 30x30 initiative. The event wrapped up with a tour of several local projects conducted by Teton Conservation District. The event provided excellent fodder for both regions as they continue with their own strategic planning efforts related to marketing and engaging policymakers and others in 2022.

To learn more about NACD region meetings, visit this webpage.

Dale Parker and Richard Hartman both had successful careers in the brewing industry when they decided to move back to the Parker family farm in 1993. The ranch had been in the Parker family for over 130 years, and it was just a matter of time for Parker before she made the move. The main reason for such a career and lifestyle change was to spend more time with their young children without the stressors of their current positions. Parker and Hartman farm both irrigated land and dryland acres, and their cow-calf operation maintains between 250 and 270 pairs.

The couple was also inspired to make improvements to their operation to have a positive impact on climate change. While Parker acknowledges their impact is small, they are doing what they can. This includes installing solar panels to help provide their electricity and building healthy soils to sequester carbon.

To improve their soils, Parker and Hartman have worked with their local conservation district and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to enroll in programs that provide both technical and financial assistance. Programs such as the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) help farmers and ranchers offset some of the expense in trying new conservation practices and receive the technical assistance or guidance to get started.

To learn more about Parker and Hartman’s operation and their soil health efforts, go online to read their "NRCS Profiles in Soil Health” or visit the NACD website to read their NACD Soil Health Champion Profile.

If you or someone you know would like to join the NACD Soil Health Champions Network, please visit the NACD website or contact Beth Mason, NACD North Central Region Representative, at beth-mason@nacdnet.org.

Don’t let the opportunity pass you by – submit your nominations for the 2021 NACD Service Awards by Friday, September 10. Through this awards program, NACD provides you an opportunity to give national recognition to outstanding individuals and organizations for their work and leadership in conservation.

All nominees receive a certificate of honorable mention and the winners will be honored at the 2022 NACD Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla. on February 15, 2022.

The 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 NACD Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual within the association, a conservation district or a state association that has made significant contributions to the conservation and proper management of our nation’s natural resources.

Visit the NACD website to nominate your conservation leaders now through September 10. To view previous award winners, visit the NACD Awards Archives.

The National Conservation Foundation (NCF) invites state and territory associations to recruit a candidate for consideration for the 2022 Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) Cohort. Applications must be received by September 24, 2021.

NGLI will train seven applicants over the course of 2022 to equip them for leadership at the local, state and national level through several in-person trainings focused on personal, civic and organizational leadership development.

To learn more about the program, click here and for testimonials from the 2020 Cohort members, see this video.

NACD is offering a free, two-part skills webinar series to guide conservation district staff and members on how to create compelling videos. Tell your story effectively using the equipment you already have: your mobile phone, webcam or camcorder.

Learn key video production best practices and troubleshooting tips from a seasoned video professional with experience in your industry, Tanya Spann Roche. She has interviewed numerous farmers, conservation district representatives, feed industry experts and other soil health stakeholders, and she has also edited 100 episodes of the popular PBS show “Maryland Farm & Harvest.”

The first webinar will be held Thursday, September 30 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern; register here for free. The second installment will be held Thursday, October 28 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern; register here for free.

Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day or more on NACD's Calendar of Events!