74TH NACD ANNUAL MEETING REGISTRATION
NOW OPEN
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Registration for the National Association of Conservation Districts' (NACD) 74th Annual Meeting
is now open!
Hosted in partnership with the
Nevada Association of Conservation Districts
(NVACD), this year's annual meeting will be held in Las Vegas, Nev., from
Feb. 8-12, 2020,
at the Bally's Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. This year's meeting theme, “
Conservation Innovation: Working from the Roots Up
,” will explore innovative techniques and how they help deliver conservation on the ground.
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With support from
Agri Drain
,
NACD will be offering a limited number of first-time NACD annual meeting attendee scholarships, which will allow grant recipients a complimentary full meeting registration and a ticket to Tuesday night’s Appreciation Banquet.
The group hotel room rate is $159 for single or double rooms, not including taxes or resort fees. To reserve your room, click
here
, or call 702-967-4111 and say you’re with NACD. Reservations must be completed by
Friday, Jan. 17, 2020
.
Register online
and save $15! J
ust sign in to your NACD account to complete your registration (click “Forgot Password” to reset your password or check if you have an account).
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NACD ATTENDS ACS ANNUAL MEETING
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Last week,
NACD Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Peters and Pacific Region Representative
Ariel Rivers attended the
American Chemical Society (ACS) annual meeting in San Diego, Calif. As a professional society, ACS hosts several annual meetings for society members to meet and discuss trends in research and regulations across
several technical divisions.
Invited by District Manager of the Benton County Mosquito Control Board (BCMCB)
Angela Beehler, NACD actively participated in the
Agrochemicals Division Meetings (AGRO). Beehler and BCMCB collaborate closely with
NACD First Vice President Michael Crowder in mosquito management at Barker Ranch, where Crowder serves as the general manager.
Peters and Rivers also presented on NACD and various conservation tools used at Barker Ranch for mitigating mosquitoes and other pests while providing habitat for wildlife.
Many presenters in the AGRO sections discussed conservation as a method for mitigating or offsetting effects of pesticide use and the interactions between the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
Additionally, presenters provided information on water scarcity, including updates on the recent California drought, biostimulants as defined by the 2018 Farm Bill and their potential use in sustainable agriculture, and the economics of integrated pest management.
On Tuesday night, Peters and Rivers represented NACD at an outreach event, where they shared information on members' work across the nation. The meeting served as a productive introduction of NACD to a variety of new and potential partners.
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TOPIC CHANGE: SEPTEMBER U&C WEBINAR FOCUSES ON URBAN CONSERVATION
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The topic for the NACD Urban and Community (U&C) Conservation webinar, scheduled for
Sept. 19, 2019, from
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Eastern, has been changed. The webinar will now feature two of the NACD Urban Agriculture Conservation (UAC) grant recipients.
In “
Partnerships, Pollinators and Cover Crops in Urban Conservation,” the
Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in Ohio will discuss how it tackles partnerships and grant writing with a wide net, using real-life examples and stories.
The
Palouse-Rock Lake Conservation District (CD) in Washington State will feature the Endicott Community Garden initiative, an urban food-producing and demonstration space that also serves as a forum for outreach and technical assistance from the district and collaborating partners.
These popular webinars, held on the third Thursday of each month, are sponsored by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation in partnership with the NACD Urban and Community Resource Policy Group. There is no cost to participate, but space is limited. Registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
To register,
fill out this online form. If you have difficulty, please contact 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.
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NACD First Vice President Michael Crowder serves as one of the association’s Soil Health Champions in Washington State. With his Midwestern roots, Crowder manages farm operations in both Illinois and Washington, and serves as a partner at his third-generation family farm in Indiana.
In 2001, Crowder became general manager of Barker Ranch in West Richland, Wash., and in 2013, he became a full shareholder of the 2,000-acre ranch where he lives with his wife Gretchen.
Barker Ranch is a unique property with the majority of the property enrolled in the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) easement, which aims to ensure year-round habitat for migratory waterfowl like ducks, geese and sandhill cranes. Barker Ranch incorporates both flash grazing of cattle and no-till practices in wildlife food plots for soil health and vegetative management.
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With his ranch receiving an average annual rainfall of six to eight inches, Crowder is constantly monitoring the soil moisture and irrigation to gauge what it needs to produce higher yields and be more efficient with the moisture that exists in non-irrigated acres.
In their conservation efforts to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl, Crowder and his partners on Barker Ranch conduct outreach with many groups, engaging them in various activities on the ranch. As NACD First Vice President, Crowder has been able to take his message of soil health to a national level.
For more information on Michael Crowder and Barker Ranch, please visit
his profile on the NACD website. If you or someone you know would like to become a member of the NACD Soil Health Champions Network, please contact NACD North Central Region Representative
Beth Mason at
beth-mason@nacdnet.org.
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LAST CHANCE:
Submit Breakout
Session Proposals
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- District Operations and Partnerships
- Natural Resources Policy and Protection; and/or
- Stewardship and Outreach
If your company or organization would like time at the meeting to present to NACD members about your innovative products or services that support the work of America’s conservation districts, please contact NACD Director of Development
Laura Demmel at
laura-demmel@nacdnet.org.
To learn more and submit a proposal, visit NACD's Breakout Sessions
webpage. If you have any questions, please contact NACD Government Affairs Manager
Eric Hansen at
eric-hansen@nacdnet.org.
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NRCS Releases Next Round of RCPP Projects
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This morning, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Announcement for Program Funding (APF) for the next round of RCPP projects, with a deadline of
Dec. 3, 2019
.
Conservation districts across the country have been successful participants in RCPP, and we encourage all districts to
view the announcement
to see if this program will help address natural resource concerns in your area.
NRCS will hold webinars with more information in the coming weeks. For a breakdown of the changes made to RCPP in the 2018 Farm Bill, please visit
NACD’s website
.
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NACD Holds Northeast Region Meeting
in Connecticut
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Last week, NACD’s Northeast Region held its annual region meeting in Mashantucket, Conn., where
NACD President Tim Palmer and Northeast Region Representative
Eric Hansen joined leaders from across the region. The meeting took place at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, which is owned by the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, a
2019 NACD Technical Assistance (TA) grant recipient.
Located along the Long Island Sound, Connecticut provided the perfect opportunity for participants to get out on the water, learn about water quality challenges, and see the work that conservation districts are doing to address these challenges. One of the tours took attendees out on a working oyster boat (pictured above) to learn about the region's important aquaculture industry.
On the final day of the meeting, many of the participants stayed for a working session on the Northeast Region Capacity Building Pilot. Last year,
region leaders met in Tarrytown, N.Y., to discuss the Northeast’s strengths as a region and brainstorm future projects. This session updated the project list and laid groundwork for progress in the year ahead.
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Submit Your Nomination for Hugh Hammond Bennett Award
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The 2020 Hugh Hammond Bennett Award for Conservation Excellence will honor an outstanding producer and an outstanding conservation planner for their dedication to conservation planning and implementation.
To make a nomination, notify your respective NCPP state partner leader.
Submit nominations to
Nominations must be received using
NCPP's nomination packet, outlining how the producer or individual has met the award criteria.
If you have questions, please contact NCPP Coordinator
Stacy Koch at
Stacy.Koch@usda.gov or 570-925-5531.
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NACD Thanks Friend
Tim Riley
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NACD would like to thank
Tim Riley
(pictured) for renewing his Friend of NACD membership. Riley has been a Friend of NACD since 2015.
Riley is with the
Kent Conservation District
in Dover, Del., and served as past president with the National Conservation District Employees Association (NCDEA).
Interested in becoming a Friend of NACD? Learn more on
NACD’s website
.
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Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day or more on NACD's
Calendar of Events!
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