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June 16, 2009
NACD Testifies Before House Agriculture Committee
Last week, NACD Second Vice President Earl Garber testified
before the House Agriculture Committee regarding climate
change legislation. The marathon hearing lasted more than
six hours and focused on USDA’s role in an offset program and
other concerns over the roles for agriculture and forestry
and potential costs. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
indicated the Department would utilize any authority given
to them by Congress, but fell short of requesting that USDA
be put in charge of the program. NACD and others testifying
before the committee advocated for USDA to run an agriculture
and forestry offset program. Under the American Clean Energy
and Security Act (ACES) now pending in the House of
Representatives, the Environmental Protection Agency is
given sole authority to operate an offset program.
Significant support was expressed by members of the
Committee for a USDA leadership role in an offset program.
ACES established caps on emissions and creates a cap and
trade program where capped emission sources could purchase
offsets to meet emissions levels. Agriculture and forestry
operations are the potential sources for those offsets as
landowners undertake activities to sequester carbon.
Conservation districts in several states are already
participating in voluntary carbon markets and verifying
carbon sequestration contracts. Click here to view NACD’s testimony.
Climate Adaptation Funding Recommended for State and
Private Forests
NACD joined 30 organizations in signing a letter last week
to the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committees
recommending that funding be made available to fund
adaptation activities on state and private forested lands.
The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009,
currently being debated in the House of Representatives,
provides for climate adaptation funding on national forests
and national grasslands but does not recognize the other two
thirds of the nation’s forests–those on state and privately
owned lands. Adequate adaptation funding will help adjust
for changes in forest composition and distribution as a
result of altered precipitation, temperature, wildfire
patterns and pestilence anticipated by changes in climate.
A copy of the letter is available on NACD's website.
House Subcommittees Clear Appropriations Bills
Last week, the House Agriculture Appropriations and Interior
and Environment Appropriations subcommittees approved bills
for fiscal year 2010 spending. Both bills passed easily from
subcommittee with no amendment.
Included in the Agriculture bill is an increase in spending
for Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Conservation
Operations account, as well as restored funding for many of
the proposed cuts to conservation programs. Farm Bill program
spending was fully restored to all programs with the
exception of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program
which remains $200 million below levels approved in the Farm
Bill. The bill also restores funding for Watershed
Operations and the Resource Conservation and Development
program.
The Interior and Environment Bill also contains significant
funding for key conservation programs; the State and
Private Forestry programs under the U.S. Forest Service,
and the 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Grants under the U.S.
Environmental Protection agency.
Both bills go before the full House Appropriations Committee
on Thursday, June 18. A live webcast will be available at
11 AM and can be viewed on the Committee website.
NRCS Leadership Team Members Appointed
Last week, NRCS announced leaders for a number of key
positions. Appointments include Ginger Murphy for the
position of NRCS Associate Chief, Leonard Jordan for the
position of Regional Conservationist-East, Diane Gelburd for
the position of Regional Conservationist-West, and Tom
Christensen for the position of Regional
Conservationist-Central. A few individuals have been
selected to serve in an acting capacity for positions
including California State Conservationist Ed Burton as
Acting Deputy Chief for Programs until further notice.
NACD congratulates these leaders on their appointments
and looks forward to working with them in their respective
roles.
Secretary of Interior Presents Nominations
Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar recently announced that
President Obama intends to nominate Bob Abbey to be Director
of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Sam Hamilton as
Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Both
BLM and FWS are agencies within the Department of Interior.
Abbey retired from the federal government in 2005 after
serving as the BLM Nevada State Director. In his previous
position, Abbey was instrumental in implementing the Nevada
Public Lands Management Act and supported the Great Basin
Restoration Initiative.
Hamilton, who has been with FWS for 30 years, currently
directs the ten-state FWS Southeast Region in Atlanta, GA.
In that capacity, he oversees and manages over 350
threatened and endangered species with responsibility for
128 wildlife refuges.
NACD congratulates both Abbey and Hamilton on their
nominations and looks forward to working with them upon
confirmation. Additional information about the nominations
is available at http://www.doi.gov/news.html.
Department of Interior Announces Payments to Local
Governments
Payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) are federal funds sent to
local governments to help offset the loss of tax revenue
from nontaxable federal lands within their boundaries. The
Department of Interior recently announced that $381.6
million will be distributed in 2009 to about 1,850 local
governments. The total 2009 PILT is about four percent
greater than 2008. PILT funds are generally sent to counties
to provide services related to public safety, housing,
social services, transportation and environment. PILT
payments are calculated using a formula based on number of
acres of nontaxable federal lands and population within the
county. Some of the federal lands used in the computation
include the National Forest System lands, National Park
System lands, and lands managed by the Bureau of Land
Management, Bureau of Reclamation and Corps of Engineers.
For specific PILT information by state and county, visit
http://www.nbc.gov/pilt/pilt/search.cfm.
Online Environmental Education Courses Available
Are you looking for leadership development or training on
working with culturally diverse audiences or program
evaluation? Check the fall 2009 online courses from
Environmental Education and Training Partnership and the
University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. Available courses
include Leadership Development in Natural Resources:
Strategic Planning and Implementation; Making Environmental
Education Relevant for Culturally Diverse Audiences; Applied
Environmental Education Program Evaluation and Fundamentals
of Environmental Education. Scholarships are available with
specific criteria for the courses. Scholarship deadline is
August 7, 2009. Visit http://www.uwsp.edu/natres/eetap/index.aspx for course descriptions and scholarship information.
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