Conservation Clips is a weekly collection of articles distributed by NACD that provides our members and partners with the latest news in what’s driving conservation. These articles are not indicative of NACD policy and are the opinions of their authors, unless otherwise noted. If you have a relevant submission or need assistance with accessing articles, please contact the NACD Communications Team.
NACD Blog: Funding Helps Oregon SWCD Conduct Fuels Treatments
04/26/22
Oregon’s Grant Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is using a $1.6 million state grant to assess and treat about 23,000 acres of range and forest lands in an effort to reduce wildfire risk in the John Day watershed.
NACD Blog: Kansas Conservation Districts Embracing a New Platform: Podcasts
04/26/22
Kansas Conservation Districts are getting the word out about natural resource conservation in a whole new way. In a podcast through Great Plains Regeneration and the High Plains Journal, host Jessica Gnad interviewed two of the state’s greatest conservation leaders: Rod Voorhees and Daryl Donohue.
NACD Blog: Local Residents Help Maine SWCD Track Street Trees
04/27/22
Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) partnered with neighborhood residents to establish a tree inventory in Houlton, Maine, which will guide the district in future street tree diversity and help increase tree canopy.
Forbes: Record-breaking drought is reordering American agriculture.
By Chloe Sorvino
04/21/22
California is having its driest year ever. In West Texas, no one alive has seen this little rain. The vast underground lake that feeds the Great Plains, which helps produce one sixth of the world’s grain, is shrinking.
Agri-Pulse: Opinion: The climate blame game
By Erin Fitzgerald
04/22/22
(Opinion) Farmers and ranchers are taking steps toward a sustainable future by sequestering carbon using soil management techniques, capturing methane emitted by livestock, and more efficiently using fertilizers.
Agri-Pulse: Washington Week Ahead: Senate Ag mulls market reforms, STB hears rail shipping woes
By Garrett Downs and Phillip Brasher
04/24/22
(Subscriber Only) The Senate Agriculture Committee holds a long-awaited hearing this week on a bill to mandate more negotiated trading in the cattle markets, and then the panel launches its preparation for the next farm bill with a field hearing Friday.
Phys.org: Understanding the climate effects of grazing agriculture
By Eric Hamilton
04/26/22
Like all types of agriculture, grazing on prairies has an environmental impact. Scientists, farmers, ranchers, and consumers are increasingly trying to balance food production and protecting the environment, so it is important to understand how one affects the other.
WNAX: Soil and Water Conservation Districts Celebrate “Stewardship Week”
04/26/22
It’s a time to call attention to the importance of conserving our land and water. Tim Palmer is the past president of the National Association of Conservation Districts and a south-central Iowa farmer. He says conservation goes beyond agriculture and involves everyone.
Successful Farming: Report: The majority of farmers applying to USDA conservation programs are being rejected
04/26/22
Many farmers who apply for federal funding to assist in implementing voluntary conservation practices on their land – such as improving soil health or developing habitats for bees and other pollinators — are being rejected by their local USDA offices.
The Daily Yonder: Will Piecemeal Approach to Monarch Butterfly Preservation Save the Species?
By Kristen Hernandez
04/27/22
Conservationists say a more comprehensive approach will be necessary to save the butterfly, whose population has dropped nearly 90% in the last 20 years.
Washington Daily News: Beaufort Soil and Water Conservation District promotes Stewardship Week
Washington, NC | Southeast Region
04/22/22
Beaufort Soil and Water Conservation District (BSWCD) in partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), is celebrating the 67th Annual Stewardship Week from April 24 – May 1, 2022.
WBUR: Cow burps drive global warming. Scientists think feeding them seaweed could help
By Walter Wuthmann | Boston, MA | Northeast Region
04/22/22
This herd is part of a study looking into different types of seaweeds’ ability to reduce methane — a powerful greenhouse gas that cows release in a steady stream of burps.
Washington Post: With a little human help, this butterfly is back – at least this year
By Dino Grandoni and Melina Mara | Oakland, CA | Pacific Region
04/22/22
After years of decline, nearly 250,000 monarch butterflies descended upon the Pacific Coast this winter. The more than 100-fold increase over the previous year’s total, according to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, offers an encouraging sign for the growing community of monarch admirers working to save the iconic insect. It’s the highest tally since 2016.
Bloomberg: Emergency Declaration for Multiple Wildfires in New Mexico
Santa Fe, NM | Southwest Region
04/24/22
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed emergency declarations as 20 wildfires continued to burn Sunday in nearly half of the state’s drought-stricken 33 counties.
Inside Climate News: California Regulators Banned Fracking Wastewater for Irrigation, but Allow Wastewater From Oil Drilling. Scientists Say There’s Little Difference
By Lisa Gross | California | Pacific Region
04/24/22
An analysis by Inside Climate News found many of the same chemicals in “produced” water from fracking and conventional drilling. “It doesn’t matter from a chemical perspective,” one scientist said.
KGVO: Huge Bitterroot Forest Project to Reduce Wildfire Risk
By Steve Fullerton | Missoula, MT | Northern Plains Region
04/25/22
The proposed “Bitterroot Front Project” will stretch from McClain Creek on the north to Trapper Creek on the south end of the Bitterroot Valley – about 144,000 acres. The project would reduce wildfire threats, especially in the Wildland Urban Interface.
Axios: Wildfires ravage several states in “dangerously early” fire season
By Rebecca Falconer and Andrew Freedman | New Mexico | Southwest Region
04/25/22
New Mexico’s governor signed an emergency declaration for 33 drought-affected counties over the weekend, as dozens of wildfires raged across several U.S. states in the Southwest and Midwest.
Times-Republican: Tama promotes stewardship week
Tama, IA | North Central Region
04/25/22
Tama Soil & Water Conservation District, in partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts, is celebrating the 67th Annual Stewardship Week from April 24 – May 1.
Franklin County, NC | Southeast Region
04/26/22
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack highlighted the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) investment of more than $39 million in six watershed infrastructure projects in North Carolina, building on other USDA infrastructure investments in the state.
KCRG: Iowa Secretary of Agriculture announces funding for 17 urban water quality projects
Des Moines, IA | North Central Region
04/26/22
On Tuesday, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced funding from the state’s Water Quality Initiative will go to 17 urban water quality projects.
Los Angeles Times: California bill would pay farmworkers $1,000 a month to help endure drought, climate crisis
By Nathan Solis | Los Angeles, CA | Pacific Region
04/26/22
As worsening drought conditions in California and the West take a heavy economic toll on agriculture, state legislators are considering a plan to pay farmworkers $1,000 a month to help them cover the cost of necessities.
Independent: How farming in the New Mexico desert is adapting to more arid conditions
By Saphora Smith | New Mexico | Southwest Region
04/26/22
The head of horticulture at an organic farm in the New Mexico desert says he is adapting farming methods as the region becomes more arid driven in part by climate change.
York News-Times: Cover crops hold soils in place, despite high winds
By Chrystal Houston | York, NE | Northern Plains Region
04/26/22
The drought conditions across much of Nebraska, combined with sustained high winds, meant that erosion was inevitable on conventionally tilled fields where best management practices such as cover crops and diverse growing rotations are not in use.
Inside Climate News: Florida Judge Asked to Recognize the Legal Rights of Five Waterways Outside Orlando
By Katie Surma | Florida | Southeast Region
04/27/22
The “rights of nature” movement, gaining adherents across the country and globally, asserts that rivers, trees, mountains and ecosystems have legal rights, just like people and corporations.
CBS17: New Raleigh sustainable agriculture center hopes to build connections between farmers, consumers
By Judith Retana | Raleigh, NC | Southeast Region
04/27/22
A new center for sustainable agriculture is now open in Research Triangle Park. It aims to educate the public about where their food comes from.
Agri-Pulse: CDFA rolls out $1.1M in Healthy Soils grants
By Spencer Chase | California | Pacific Region
04/27/22
(Subscribers Only) According to a release from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Healthy Soils Program funding recipients will include academic institutions, non-profits and conservation districts among the seven projects.
The Denver Post: Colorado declared “primary natural disaster area,” USDA says, unlocking aid for farmers
By Conrad Swanson | Denver, CO | Southwest Region
04/27/22
The declaration qualifies farmers and ranchers for emergency loans to recover damages from the ongoing megadrought.