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June 10, 2009
House Agriculture Committee to Hold Climate Hearing
The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on
climate change legislation on Thursday, June 11. NACD will
testify regarding recent legislation and the current role of
conservation districts as verifiers of carbon sequestration
contracts. The House Energy and Commerce Committee finalized
their action on the American Clean Energy and Security Act
(ACES) in May and now several other committees will review
the legislation prior to a June 19 deadline imposed by House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi. ACES creates a cap and trade program
which includes the potential for carbon offsets on
agriculture, grassland and forest land. NACD has advocated
a leadership role for the Department of Agriculture in
developing an offsets program, and that conservation
districts verify conservation practices under such a
program.
The hearing begins at 2 pm eastern on Thursday. A live
audio broadcast will be available on the committee website.
Congress Begins to Consider FY10 Appropriations
This week, the House Appropriations Committee begins work on
fiscal year 2010 (FY10) appropriations bills. The Interior
and Environment Appropriations subcommittee met this morning
to approve appropriations under the U.S. Forest Service, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies
under their jurisdiction. The subcommittee approved its
appropriations bill, which includes $306 million for State
and Private Forestry and $201 million for 319 Nonpoint
Source Grants. The Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee
will meet on Thursday to review appropriations legislation
under their jurisdictions including Farm Bill Conservation
Programs and Conservation Technical Assistance. Work will
continue on appropriations over the summer as the House and
Senate attempt to finalize appropriations by the end of the
fiscal year, which is September 30, 2009.
Farm Bill conservation funding will be a key debate in
Agriculture appropriations. NACD continues to work with
committee leadership to ensure full Farm Bill funding in
FY10, as well as funding under the Association’s key
appropriations priorities: Conservation Technical
Assistance, State and Private Forestry and 319 Nonpoint
Source Pollution Grants.
NACD Submits Local Working Group Comments
This week, NACD submitted comments to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture pertaining to standard operating procedures for
State Technical Committees and Local Working Groups (LWG).
NACD expressed agreement with many of the elements outlined
in the Federal Register notice, but expressed concerns about
the lines of communication between State Conservationists
and LWGs, and recommending feedback from the State
Conservationists to the LWGs. Additionally, NACD recommended
that the timing for LWGs remains flexible to meet the needs
of local communities. Lastly, NACD supported that local
conservation districts should chair the LWG meetings and
solicit input for a wide range of community participants.
The comments are available on NACD’s website.
Stakeholder Input on Climate Change Published
In March, the House Agriculture Committee released a climate
change questionnaire to over 400 commodity, conservation,
forestry, research, energy, business and non-profit
organizations. According to the House Agriculture Committee,
the purpose of this questionnaire was to gather input on
proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while educating
members of Congress on the potential contribution and impact
of future climate change legislation on agriculture and
rural communities. NACD was one of approximately 200
organizations that provided feedback on over 30 questions,
covering a variety of policy issues associated with climate
issues and potential trading of carbon credits. For more
details on the questionnaire responses, visit the House Agriculture
Committee website.
Forest Service Recovery Act Projects Announced
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects for
roads maintenance and decommissioning and associated
watershed restoration under the U.S. Forest Service. The 106
projects, funded at more than $228 million, are located on
Forest Service land in 31 states. Project activities include
maintenance of roads, bridges and vehicle access areas;
decommissioning unneeded or unauthorized roads; and
watershed restoration and ecosystem enhancement activities.
A complete listing of projects can be found on the Forest
Service website.
Join Us for NACD’s Legislative Conference and Summer
Board Meeting
Make your plans now for NACD's 2009 Summer Board Meeting and
Legislative Conference. The event will be held at the
Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
The Summer Board Meeting will be held Saturday, July 18
through Sunday, July 19 and the Legislative Conference will
run from July 19 through Tuesday, July 21. NACD is working
hard to bring you the highest level of speakers to address
issues such as climate change, economic stimulus
implementation, Farm Bill conservation programs and
forestry. To register now for the conference, go to the
NACD website.
Deadlines are quickly approaching; the cutoff date for
hotel discounts is June 19 and the deadline for early
registration discounts is June 26, so please register early!
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