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June 30, 2009
House Passes Climate Legislation
On Friday night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed
the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The bill,
introduced by Representatives Waxman and Markey establishes
a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and creates tradable
allowances and offset credits.
Negotiations late last week
resulted in an agriculture and forestry agreement with House
Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson. Chairman
Peterson’s amendment which grants the U.S. Department of
Agriculture authority over the establishment of an
agriculture and forestry offset program was incorporated
into the bill. Under the amendment, verification of
practices would be undertaken by USDA approved third party
verifiers. The amendment also clarified the renewable
biomass definition to be consistent with the 2008 Farm Bill
definition.
The final House-passed bill also includes an
agriculture incentives program for activities that reduce
greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon, similar to
an amendment presented by Representative Pingree. NACD
supported the Peterson amendment and the Pingree amendment,
but did not take a position on the overall bill. The bill
is now headed to the Senate for consideration later this
summer. Additional information can be found on the NACD
website.
House and Senate Move Interior Appropriations
Congressional action continues on fiscal year 2010
appropriations. Last week, the House of Representatives
completed work on Interior and Environment Appropriations,
approving $307 million for State and Private Forestry
programs and $201 million for 319 Nonpoint Source Grants.
The Senate Appropriations Committee also took action on
Interior and Environment appropriations, but provided a
significantly lower level of $277 million for State and
Private Forestry programs.
Congress is observing the Fourth of July recess period this
week. Now is a good time for conservation districts to reach
out in support of NACD’s priority programs while
members of Congress are at home. Upon returning to
Washington, D.C. next week, work will resume on
appropriations bills. Work still remains in both chambers
on Agriculture Appropriations. Conservation Operations is
currently funded at $869 million in the House
committee-passed bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee
has yet to consider Agriculture Appropriations.
NACD Executive Board Holds Summer Meeting
NACD’s Executive Board members met last week in Washington,
D.C. to conduct their summer board meeting and interview
candidates for NACD’s Chief Executive Officer position
vacancy. The board hopes to announce a new CEO at the
Legislative Conference in a few weeks. The board approved
the 2010 budget recommendations to be approved by the full
board in July, as well as recommendations for more clearly
defined NACD officer election procedures. Don Spickler,
Treasurer of both the NACD Foundation Board and Presidents’ Association
member, gave a report on the National Conservation Foundation
and discussed actions the Presidents’ Association has taken
to help NACD raise the remaining $130,000 needed to pay off
the debt for last year’s office renovations. Results of
the recent District Members Telephone Survey were also
reviewed with the board members. A detailed report of the
survey will be available during the upcoming Legislative
Conference and Board Meeting in July.
Administration Begins Naming FSA State Executives
This week, the Obama Administration began the process of
naming state executive directors for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). The current list
reflects only a partial listing of executive directors, with
more to be named in the near future. The executive directors
will play a critical role in overseeing the agency’s
operations in their respective states, including several key
conservation programs such as the Conservation Reserve
Program. To view the list of current named executive
directors, visit the FSA website.
USDA Launches New Recovery Act Website
Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack launched the
new USDA Recovery Act Website allowing citizens to learn
more about, discuss and share feedback on the impact of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This website has
several key features including a chart that shows the
breakdown of spending, a map detailing the locations of
current and future stimulus projects and a 'Tell Your Story'
feature that allows citizens to voice their opinions on how
the projects are affecting their communities and their
lives. Click here to visit
the USDA Recovery Act website for further information.
Presidents’ Association Makes 509 Capitol Court Campaign
Push
The NACD Presidents’ Association with support from the
National Conservation Foundation recently launched an
initiative to help NACD complete the fundraising effort for
the 509 Capitol Court Campaign. The Campaign--an effort to
renovate NACD’s headquarters Building in Washington, D.C.--
began two years ago. The renovations were completed last
Fall and NACD leaders, staff, and members are enjoying
having a more usable, energy efficient space to work and
meet in. The Presidents’ Association is carrying out the
initiative among their members to raise the remaining
$130,000 needed to close out the Campaign. Additional
details regarding the Campaign, donors and instructions
on how to contribute are available at http://nacdnet.org/events/509campaign/.
NACD thanks you for your support!
Region Meeting Deadlines Approaching
Have you made arrangements to attend NACD’s 2009 Region
Meetings? Deadlines are quickly approaching for the
Northeast Region meeting in Solomon’s Island, MD, and the
Southeast Region meeting in Charleston, SC.
The pre-registration deadline for the Northeast Region
meeting is tomorrow, July 1, 2009. The Southeast Region
pre-registration deadline has been extended until July 17,
2009 with hotel reservations due by July 23, 2009 for the
conference rate. Don’t let these important deadlines pass
you by!
For more information on both region meetings, including
information on conference agendas, tours, activities and
more, visit the NACD events calendar.
We hope to see you at a region meeting in your area!
Living Legacy Tree Plantings Continue Across America
Friends of 2007 NACD President Olin Sims continue to plant
trees in his memory as part of the Living Legacy Tree
Planting project. Sims. Recent plantings have been hosted
by the Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts, the
Utah Association of Conservation Districts, the Northern
Plains Region Leaders (ND), the Lingle-Fort Laramie
Conservation District (WY), the South Goshen Conservation
District (WY) and the Nemaha Natural Resource District (NE).
NACD is encouraging conservation districts, state
associations of conservation districts, partners and
friends of Olin to participate in the effort to remember
Olin and his love for the land. Additional details about
how to participate and photos of recent plantings are
available at http://www.nacdnet.org/news/living_legacy/.
If you have planted a tree and it is not listed, please
send a photo and details about the event to
Lisa-Lerwick@nacdnet.org.
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