Last week, NACD held its 76th Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL. Joined by more than 600 conservation district representatives, partners, and conservation leaders, this year's meeting was an incredible success. We are excited by everything we accomplished and look forward to all the work we have ahead of us.

Are you looking for more information? Check out our 2022 Annual Meeting Hub for press releases, photos, daily digests, and much more! See all the photos from the meeting here. Share any other photos you have with us by tagging us on social media @NACDconserve.

We invite you all to take our 2022 Annual Meeting Survey here or by clicking the button below. We love your feedback, and it helps us gain insight on what you liked about this year's meeting and how we can make improvements in the future.

NACD’s 2022 Fly-In will be virtual and held on March 22. Issue papers will be available in upcoming editions of eResource.

NACD’s Government Affairs team will be hosting an advocacy training via Zoom at 3:00 p.m. Eastern on March 8 and March 10 for members and partners participating in the Virtual Fly-In. In addition to a review of the issue papers, the advocacy training will review what to expect when meeting with legislators, what to prepare, and the basics of connecting with policymakers. Participants will also have the opportunity to ask any questions about the upcoming meetings or NACD’s available resources.

Please contact NACD Director of Government Affairs Chris Young at chris-young@nacdnet.org if you have any questions about NACD’s Virtual Fly-In, the Zoom training, or if you need additional information. Stay tuned to future eResource editions for updates and more information on this year's Virtual Fly-In.

The Napa County Resource Conservation District (RCD) is carrying out a local man’s vision to expand a grove of Coast Redwoods into a community forest.

“We’ve been marginally involved the past couple of years – Paul’s (Asmuth) been talking with our forester – and last year we were brought in for this large volunteer event,” said RCD Community Engagement Project Manager Ashley Kvitek.

“Since, we’ve talked with him about his vision and how this community forest can fit in with the district’s mission and goals, but Paul’s still the driving force,” she said.

More than four decades ago, Asmuth, a St. Helena resident, visited the Big Basin State Park and fell in love with the Redwood. Eventually, he relocated to California, and based on a town of Graton’s effluent irrigation project in Northern California, he approached the then-mayor of St. Helena with a proposal.

He requested he be allowed to use a fallow spray field next to the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant to grow Redwoods that could be sustained by the effluent the plant released there. The city approved, and in 2012, after a failed first attempt, Asmuth planted 300 Redwood seedlings that today stand 30 feet tall.

With partners Napa County RCD and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Asmuth and other leaders plan for the grove to grow across 10 acres of fallow land and become the Napa Valley Community Forest.

“The next step is creating better access to green space for community members and linking up with the trails and parks that already are in existence with this wonderful community forest and giving better access to these beautiful community landscapes,” said Kvitek.

Plans include walking trails, watershed projects, native tree and shrub plantings, a riparian buffer, and eventually school and group educational events.

Read the full story on NACD's blog.

NACD welcomed Chris Young as the new Director of Government Affairs today, Tuesday, February 22.

Young comes to NACD from the Office of U.S. Senator Chris Coons, where he worked for four years in several positions. Most recently, Chris served as a Legislative Aide for the Senator and focused on environmental and agricultural policy.

Chris grew up in Southern Delaware and graduated from the University of Delaware in 2016 with a BA in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Legal Studies.

In his free time, Chris enjoys biking, playing soccer, and finding other excuses to be outdoors. He still has strong ties to Delaware and tries to travel back to the state as often as possible.

Young is based out of the Washington, D.C. office and can be reached at chris-young@nacdnet.org.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's (NFWF) Long Island Sound Futures Fund supports projects to fully restore the health and living resources of Long Island Sound. With potential funding of $10 million for environmental grants in the Long Island Sound Watershed (CT, MA, NH, NY, VT), NFWF is now accepting project idea proposals. Funding priorities for this program include:

Requests for proposals will open in March 2022 with a grant range from $50k - $1.5m. Submit a project idea with this form by April 22, 2022 to get feedback ahead of the grant application.

Is your local, state, or territory conservation district working on any exciting projects, events, or webinars? Share your conservation stories with us to be included in an upcoming edition of eResource!

NACD is the national voice for all conservation districts and state and territory associations of conservation districts. We want to help get the word out on the hard work happening on the ground in conservation districts across the country.

Reach out to NACD's Marketing Coordinator Carly Long at carly-long@nacdnet.org or your NACD region representative to share.

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