The 75th Annual Meeting will be held virtually February 1-10, 2021 and will celebrate our legacy and recognize our origins through the theme "NACD's 75th Anniversary: A Diamond Out of the Dust."

We've reconfigured our meeting dates to provide maximum quality content while minimizing session duration to better accommodate your schedule and time zone. The first week of programming will consist of business meetings, while the second will feature informative breakout sessions, inspiring speakers, conservation district and district official recognition, and national updates in a virtual convention format. Check out the meeting agenda on NACD's 2021 Annual Meeting hub. This is the platform we'll utilize to host the meeting and all of its related resources.

Stay tuned for ongoing developments - we anticipate announcing our 2021 Annual Meeting general session and breakout session lineups in the coming weeks. Please contact us at events@nacdnet.org if you have any questions.

Last week, NACD sent a letter to President-Elect Joseph R. Biden, congratulating him on his election to the presidency.

NACD President Tim Palmer and NACD President-Elect Michael Crowder co-authored the letter on behalf of America’s conservation districts, state and territory associations and the district officials who lead them.

“Our nation’s conservation districts serve diverse communities across the country and work in partnership with federal government agencies,” they said. “Together, we strive to better manage our nation’s soils, waterways and habitats, and to address a wide range of natural resource concerns, including soil health, wildfire and mitigating the effects of a changing climate.”

NACD and its members serve as the connection between the local level and federal agencies charged with natural resources protection. It is vital for any incoming administration to recognize this trusted conservation delivery model so conservation districts have the best opportunity to continue addressing our nation’s natural resource concerns on public and private lands in rural, suburban and urban communities.

“We look forward to working with you and members of your transition team in the weeks and months ahead,” Palmer and Crowder said. “NACD congratulates you on your election as the 46th President of the United States of America, and we look forward to working with your Administration in the coming years.”

Read the press release at NACD's Newsroom.

On Friday, Nov. 13, Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary David Bernhardt issued a secretarial order regarding implementation of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) that will require the express, written approval of state and local governments prior to federal land acquisition projects. 

DOI Secretary David Bernhardt issued the secretarial order on Friday, Nov. 13, which will require the express, written approval of state and local governments prior to federal land acquisition projects.

“Conservation is best led locally by experts familiar with the needs of each specific landscape,” NACD President Tim Palmer said. “Requiring state and local government approval before further adding to the federal lands portfolio will pave the way for more responsible conservation efforts.”

The LWCF is funded at $900 million annually, with $360 million designated for federal land acquisition. NACD’s Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations requests asked Congress not to fund future LWCF land acquisitions, but to instead focus on the maintenance backlog for federal lands.

“NACD appreciates the Secretary’s recognition of prioritizing local and state input,” Palmer said. “Locally-led decision making is crucial to the proper management of our natural resources.”

NACD’s Natural Resource Policy Specialist Mary Scott authored a blog analyzing the GAOA in August – click here to read more.

Phil Campbell, a 2020 Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) Cohort Member, grew up in Spencer, Okla. After serving in the Air Force for 30 years, Campbell began farming with his family in Luther, Okla.

Supporting NCF as an organization is the key to their success. If they don’t receive the resources or the commitment from those that would support it, we have the potential of stepping back, as opposed to moving forward. With support from various entities, we are able to move and carry that message a lot further, faster and ultimately, we have an even greater impact. I would highly recommend that everyone support NCF.

I think that individuals should dedicate their time, energy and efforts to conservation for the simple fact that it impacts everyone and everything that you do. There is not a component or facet of life that is not affected by conservation, as well as our natural resources. Everyone needs water, preferably clean water, and we all need healthy soil, because it’s those healthy soils that ultimately feed us. It doesn’t matter what you eat, what you wear, or where you are from, everything comes from the soil.

There are a lot of things that we can spend our resources on. If you’re going to make a sacrifice, and you want that sacrifice to have a greater impact, there’s no better entity than NCF to make that sacrifice and to put those contributions toward.

To read the full interview, visit NACD's blog. Please help support conservation leaders like Phil by donating to the #FutureFocused campaign! As we prepare for a new 2021 NGLI cohort and the rescheduled 2021 NCF-Envirothon competition in Lincoln, Nebraska, set to be held in July 2021, your financial support is needed to help keep these programs moving forward.

Every contribution matters, and your support will be matched dollar-for-dollar throughout the campaign.

No one agency is equipped to meet the needs of the nation's forests, nor do the challenges that forests face stop at any one boundary.

Solutions require a multitude of partners assessing the needs of the nation's forests at a landscape scale. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and other agency partners have relied on cross-boundary programs for years to meet this challenge, but more recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has contained it to one strategy called Shared Stewardship.

Conservation districts are among the partners state forestry agencies will call on to deliver the objectives set within Shared Stewardship agreements. In the latest special edition of NACD's Forestry Notes, you'll learn more about Shared Stewardship and how conservation districts are getting involved.

To read the latest Special Report, as well as past editions of Forestry Notes, visit NACD's website.

NACD recently updated the conservation district directory maps and contact information on its website.

To ensure we have the latest contact information, please check your district's webpage and contact NACD Communications Coordinator Lucy Sears at

lucy-sears@nacdnet.org for any updates.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) recently announced signup periods for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the CRP Grasslands in 2021. Signup for general CRP will be open from Jan. 4-Feb. 12, 2021, and signup for CRP Grasslands will run from March 15-Apr. 23, 2021.

Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest private-lands conservation programs in the U.S. The CRP currently has room under the acreage cap of about three million acres with about 2.5 million acres in general CRP scheduled to expire at the end of FY 2021. The most recent round of sign ups added 3.4 million acres of general CRP and 1.2 million acres of CRP Grasslands.

For more information on CRP, visit FSA's website or contact your local FSA office.

You can help NCF and donate a portion of your purchases from Amazon by linking your account here and using the search term "National Conservation Foundation."

In the first video of the series, farmers and experts discuss soil health, its impact on climate change, and the role of cover crops in modern farming systems. To watch the video, visit Agri-Pulse TV's website.

In the second video, you'll learn more about the process of adopting cover crops into production systems and how carbon is measured in the soil. Watch it here.

Get your Thanksgiving shopping done early this year and equip yourself with the latest outdoor gear and clothing. From beanie hats to Yeti mugs, explore our selection of accessories, apparel and tools at NACD's Marketplace.

Platinum, diamond and gold level NACD members making a single purchase of $100 or more from the Marketplace can benefit from 20 percent, 15 percent and 10 percent discounts, respectively. To learn more about NACD's membership incentives and levels of discounts, please visit NACD's Membership webpage or email us at stewardship@nacdnet.org.

The Eaton Conservation District (CD) in Charlotte, Mich., in partnership with the Michigan Department of Agricultural and Rural Development (MDARD), recently launched a newly updated website for the Michigan Water Stewardship Program (MWSP).

Established in 2010, this program is funded by MDARD's Groundwater/Freshwater Fund. Eaton CD facilitates this statewide program, which aims to educate the public about the nation's water resources and the voluntary steps they can take to conserve them. The website has great information for homeowners on a variety of topics, from septic system maintenance to stormwater management and sustainable landscaping. It also features water-related lesson plans for educators and students.

Conservation districts and their state associations are encouraged to use this website in their programming and outreach efforts. To learn more, read the full press release. Visit the newly updated website here.

Held monthly, these webinars showcase best practices and lessons learned from REPI partnerships nationwide that support military missions and accelerate the pace of conservation. All webinars begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. The next webinar, scheduled for this Wednesday, Nov. 18, will identify challenges that military installations are facing due to changing environmental conditions and highlight best-practices learned from ongoing projects in order to equip installations and partners with the knowledge necessary to execute successful REPI resilience projects.

To learn more about each webinar and register, visit DoD’s website.

NACD Soil Health Champion Jack Boyer of Reinbeck, Iowa, was recently named Field to Market’s 2020 Farmer of the Year.

As a fourth-generation corn and soybean farmer, Boyer was recognized as a farmer and leader committed to advancing sustainable agriculture through stewardship of his own operation, as well as in sharing those practices with his peers.

Boyer has also conducted on-farm sustainability research, with a focus on building soil health and resiliency, which could help mitigate environmental challenges. Through his science-based research and dedication to community outreach, Boyer’s impact is demonstrated not just on his farm, but throughout the Iowa landscape.

For more information on Jack Boyer, visit his NACD Soil Health Champion profile and the Field to Market 2020 Farmer of the Year video.

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