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July 28, 2009
NACD Board Convenes for Eventful Summer Meeting
The NACD Board welcomed new CEO Doug Loudenslager during an
eventful 2009 Summer Board Meeting in Washington, D.C. The board
tackled many topics, including the Resource Conservation Act (RCA),
Clean Water Restoration Act and climate change, as well as addressed
association management issues. NACD Founding Committees also held
work sessions, allowing board members to go into greater detail about
NACD services and priorities.
The District Operations/Member Services committee discussed
USDA computer security and management, access to information, an
Older Worker Career Program for district support and NASCA updates
to the District Officials State Training Program.
The Stewardship and Education Committee dug into the 2010
Poster Contest, “Conservation Habits=Healthy Habitats.”
The Communications Committee recapped developments on NACD’s
website, eNotes and The Resource and devoted lengthy discussion to
communicating NACD’s value to members.
NACD’s Legislative Committee and Natural Resources Policy Committee
focused on preparing for NACD’s role in the RCA process and finalizing a
proposal on water and climate change for the full Board’s approval.
For more information about the board meeting, please contact
your NACD Board Member within your state or territory.
2009 Legislative Conference Offers Valuable Opportunity to Join Conservation Policy Debate
More than 100 conservation district leaders from across the country
met last week in Washington, D.C. to engage in policy discussions,
welcome incoming NACD CEO Doug Loudenslager and hear from
regulatory agency leaders and Congressional staff members. Attendees
also had a unique opportunity to discuss conservation challenges and
opportunities during the Resources Conservation Act (RCA) listening
session. NRCS Chief Dave White and Farm Services Agency Administrator
Jonathan Coppess facilitated the session, during which dozens of district
leaders highlighted conservation issues and recommended solutions.
Additional conference speakers included the Anne Castle, Department of
the Interior Assistant Secretary of Water and Science; Ned Farquhar,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management; Larry
Elworth, Agriculture Advisor to the EPA Administrator; Paul Ries, U.S. Forest
Service Director of Cooperative Forestry; Anne Simmons and Eldon Boes,
Senior Professional Staff for the House Agriculture Committee; and Bill
Hohenstein, USDA Global Change Program Office Director. In addition,
USDA Deputy Chief of Staff Carole Jett and USDA Natural Resources and
Environment Deputy Under Secretary Ann Mills delivered luncheon remarks.
On Tuesday, NACD members converged on Capitol Hill, visiting with their
representatives in Congress during formal meetings and at NACD’s
3rd Annual Congressional Reception.
NACD’s post conference website, complete with speaker presentations,
http://nacdnet.org/events/legconference/.
Congress Continues Work as August Recess Approaches
Congress is working to advance several priorities before the month-long
August recess, scheduled to begin August 7.
The House and Senate continue to work on fiscal year 2010 appropriations.
The Senate must still complete work on appropriations bills, including the
Agriculture and Interior bills which fund NACD’s priority programs:
Conservation Technical Assistance, State and Private Forestry and
319 Nonpoint Source Grants. The Senate is expected to take up Agriculture
spending before the recess. All appropriations bills must be complete before
September 30 when the current fiscal year ends.
Work remains in the Senate on the Climate Change bill. A climate bill remains
a high priority for Congressional leadership and various committees have held
hearings to formulate priorities and clarify the bill’s provisions. Last week, the
Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing with officials from the Administration
and stakeholder groups on the role of agriculture and forestry in the climate bill
and implications for farmers and ranchers. A focus during the hearing was on an
analysis released by USDA which found that economic benefit to agriculture would likely
outweigh costs of a cap and trade program. NACD remains engaged in the debate to
ensure that agriculture and forestry provisions are included in the bill.
The August recess is a good time to host your lawmaker(s) meetings or tours.
Download NACD resources today to help your district plan, including current
NACD issue papers and NACD’s guide to Establishing and Maintaining Relationships with Lawmakers.
NACD Supports FLAME Fund
NACD has joined 77 other organizations in support of wildfire suppression
funding measures included in the Federal Land Assistance, Management and
Enhancement Act, or FLAME Act (S.561). As a member of the Partner Caucus on
Fire Suppression Finding Solutions, NACD endorsed testimony delivered on behalf
of the Caucus at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on
July 21. The FLAME Act establishes a fund to be used for large, complex wildland
fire suppression on lands administered by the Department of Interior (DOI) and
USDA-Forest Service (USFS). The FLAME Fund will “reduce depletion of the other
agency programs to pay for [wildfire] suppression and provide a more established
funding source than the current emergency supplemental funding,” according to
the Caucus testimony. The FLAME Act (HR.1404) passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 412 to 3 in March.
Sign Up Announced for Conservation Stewardship Program
The Conservation Stewardship Program, recently released by NRCS,
encourages farmers and private forest landowners to improve their
conservation activities by providing them with financial and technical
assistance. Payments may be used to compensate producers for installing,
improving and maintaining conservation activities, as well as participating
in proven conservation methods like crop rotations and on-farm conservation
research.
Participation in the program is voluntary and eligible to all tribal lands,
private agriculture and non-industrial private forestland throughout the
country. Producers must meet the stewardship threshold for at least one
resource concern, while addressing at least one additional priority resource
concern by the end of the 5-year conservation stewardship contract.
The program’s assets will be focused on natural resources that are of specific
concern for each individual state or geographic region; applications will be ranked
according to resource challenge and evaluated relative to other applications
addressing similar priority resource concerns. More information on this program is
available at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/new_csp/csp.html. The program runs
from August 10 to September 30, 2009.
NACD Policy Group Highlights Urban and Community Conservation
Members of the NACD Urban and Community Resource Policy Group met last week in
Washington, D.C. to advance the Association's ongoing efforts to assist districts. They
met with various partners, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)
Smart Growth staff, to ensure that conservation districts are recognized throughout
EPA’s and the Administration’s sustainable communities initiatives, and with NRCS to
reiterate the need for technical resources for small acreage and community resource
issues. Policy group members also met with NACD CEO Doug Loudenslager to brief him
on districts’ work in developed and developing lands, and with their own Congressional
representatives about small acreage issues and community conservation.
EPA Toolkit Promotes Environmental Education
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has partnered with six other federal agencies to
encourage middle school-aged students to become stewards of wildlife and ecosystems.
The Climate Change, Wildlife, and Wildlands Toolkit was developed in collaboration with
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and
Bureau of Land Management. The kit includes case studies and activities based on climate
science, environmental education and stewardship information. Toolkit materials and an
overview video are available at http://www.globalchange.gov/resources/educators/toolkit.
SWCS Meeting Focuses on Current Conservation Issues
Five hundred conservationists recently converged on Dearborn, Mich. for the
64th International Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) Annual Conference.
This year’s program offered attendees the opportunity to hear from national leaders,
participate in oral and poster presentations and attend symposia, workshops and tours.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack was the Wayne Pritchard lecturer, leading off the first general
session with an endorsement of carbon trading and other offset opportunities, as well as a
discussion of the importance of local decision making and involvement. Iowa Conservation
Districts Association Executive Director Deb Ryun conducted a conservation leadership
development workshop and NACD President Steve Robinson participated in a panel
discussion of current RCA initiatives. Additional information about the conference,
including pictures and presentation materials, is available at http://www.swcs.org.
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