| 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.
Agri-Pulse: White House to detail rural benefits of infrastructure law in nationwide tour By Spencer Chase | Washington, DC 04/11/22
The Biden administration plans to use the month of April to highlight the investments and initiatives included in the 2021 infrastructure package, including a Monday event in Colorado aimed at forest fire management and other rural projects.
Washington Post: Great Plains could see its most significant drought in a decade By Becky Bolinger | Washington, DC 04/11/22
The impacts of the drought were devastating for crops and pastures across the region — not to mention low rainfall, brutal heat, dry soils and wildfires that inflicted the area.
Axios: Biden administration announces $46M in climate funding for Indigenous communities By Shawna Chen | Arlington, VA 04/11/22
The Interior Department announced Monday it’s investing $46 million to address the impacts of climate change in Indigenous communities.
AgDaily: Soybean yields take massive hit from weeds in changing climate 04/11/22
Growing crops in a changing climate is tough enough, but when weeds factor in, soybean yields take a massive hit.
Huff Post: White House Launches $1 Billion Program To Boost Conservation Goal By Chris D’Angelo | New York, NY 04/11/22
The program, called the America the Beautiful Challenge, will serve as a “one-stop shop” for states, tribes, territories, non-governmental organizations and others to apply for numerous grants for conservation and restoration projects, the administration said.
Science News: More than 57 billion tons of soil have eroded in the U.S. Midwest By Rachel Crowell | Washington, DC 04/12/22
The erosion is estimated to be double the rate that the U.S. Department of Agriculture says is sustainable. If it continues unabated, it could significantly limit future crop production, the scientists say.
Agri-Pulse: Stabenow, Boozman announce first Senate farm bill hearing By Garrett Downs | Washington, DC 04/13/22
The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold its first 2023 farm bill hearing later this month in Michigan, Chair Debbie Stabenow and Ranking Member John Boozman announced Wednesday. The current farm bill, passed in 2018, will expire at the end of 2023.
Duval Soil & Water: NACD Soil Health Champion Allen Skinner Baldwin, FL | Southeast Region 04/02/22 The Duval Soil and Water Conservation District is excited to announce that Allen Skinner of Soil Life Organics has recently been named a Soil Health Champion by the National Association of Conservation Districts!
The Miami County Republic: Conservationists offering invasive pear buy-back program By Doug Carter | Paola, KS | Northern Plains Region 04/06/22
Like many invasive species, these ornamental pears were first brought to North America for use in the designed landscapes of homes and parks. The Callery Pear quickly interbred with native pears and escaped cultivation, now taking over huge swaths of formerly healthy woodlands, roadsides, and disturbed sites, according to the Miami County Conservation District.
Bladen Journal: Senate Panel Advances Most Significant Wildlife Conservation Bill in 50 Years Raleigh, NC | Southeast Region 04/07/22
A Senate panel on Thursday advanced the most significant wildlife conservation bill in a half-century – a big win for wildlife conservation throughout North Carolina.
Springfield News-Sun: Springfield Indoor Farm to Boost Access to Locally Grown Produce By Hasan Karim | Springfield, OH | North Central Region 04/07/22
A climate-controlled, indoor farm slated for Springfield is expected to boost access to locally grown produce and create about 2.4 million packages of fresh herbs and leafy greens annually.
Field & Stream: Tawny Crazy Ants Are Nasty, Violent, and Wildly Destructive. But Texas Researchers Have Discovered Their Kryptonite By Paul Richards | Texas | South Central Region 04/08/22
In the Texas underworld of arthropods, there is a new villain in town—the tawny crazy ant. The invasive species has no natural predator in their new environment to keep them at bay, but a team of long-researching scientists at the University of Texas – Austin’s Brackenridge Field Laboratory may have found the powerful little dynamo’s kryptonite: fungus.
The New York Times: Trying Everything, Even Lettuce, to Save Florida’s Beloved Manatees By Patricia Mazzei | Indian River Lagoon, FL | Southeast Region 04/09/22
Pollution has killed the sea grass that manatees feed on, and they are starving to death in large numbers. Extraordinary intervention may not be enough to protect them.
U.S. Department of the Interior: Secretary Haaland Celebrates Expansion of Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge New Orleans, LA | South Central Region 04/09/22
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland was in New Orleans, Louisiana recently to commemorate an historic expansion of Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge.
Agri-News: Soy Envoys selected for growing season Bloomington, IL | North Central Region 04/10/22
Brad Zimmerman is active as director for the Tazewell County Soil and Water Conservation District, a participant in the Precision Conservation Management program and soil health champion and a CCA. Using cover crops for the last seven years, he has learned through successes and failures alike and looks forward to sharing his experience as a Soy Envoy.
Yakima Herald Republic: Logging Isn’t the Only Value Forests Offer By Ken Lambert | Yakima, WA | Pacific Region 04/10/22
A new state forest-management policy that sets aside 10,000 acres of state lands as a “carbon reserve” is, unsurprisingly, drawing criticism.
The Tribune-Democrat: Girl Scouts, Conservation District Plant Trees at 1889 Park By Joshua Byers| St. Michael, PA| Northeast Region 04/10/22
Cadets from Girl Scouts of America Troop No. 46586 braved cold temperatures and some snow on Saturday to help the Cambria County Conservation District plant native trees at 1889 Park.
KSL: Record-breaking $4.2M raised in Utah conservation permits this year By Carter Williams | Salt Lake City, UT | Southwest Region 04/11/22
It’s the most raised since the Utah Conservation Permit Program was established 42 years ago. The money generated will go toward projects that benefit Utah’s natural landscape and wildlife habitats.
Los Angeles Times: Launch of condors on tribal land marks the species’ comeback, but a new threat looms large By Louis Sahagun | Los Angeles, CA | Pacific Region 04/11/22
A plan to return federally endangered California condors to a rugged and remote stretch of Northern California coastline and redwood forests is taking shape on Yurok tribal lands where the Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean.
OPB: Farmers, tribes in Klamath Basin get the grim news on this year’s water restrictions By Gillian Flaccus | Portland, OR | Pacific Region 04/11/22
Farms that rely on irrigation from a depleted, federally managed lake on the California-Oregon border, along with a Native American tribe fighting to protect fragile salmon, will both receive extremely limited amounts of water this summer as a historic drought and record-low reservoir levels drag on in the U.S. West.
Times-Herald: Thompson introduces bipartisan resolution for California Ricelands in Wildlife Conservation Vallejo, CA | Pacific Region 04/11/22
“California’s ricelands play an essential role in protecting our wildlife and conserving their populations,” said Congressman Mike Thompson in a news release.
MLive: $40 million in federal cash will help fund Michigan land conservation, water quality By Sheri Whirter | Michigan | North Central Region 04/12/22
A voluntary conservation program will be relaunched in the Western Lake Erie Basin, Lake Macatawa, and Saginaw Bay watersheds through a partnership among state and federal agriculture agencies and regional conservation districts.
Ohio’s Country Journal: New framework guides conservation action on America’s grasslands Columbus, OH | North Central Region 04/12/22
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has unveiled a new plan to help guide voluntary conservation work over the next five years across 25 states, including more than 7 million acres of new conservation practices on productive, working lands.
The Times Leader: Caldwell County Conservation District promotes stewardship week Princeton, KY | Southeast Region 04/13/22
The Caldwell County Conservation District, in partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts, is celebrating the 67 Annual Stewardship Week from April 24 to May 1. This year’s Stewardship Week theme is “Healthy Soil, Healthy Life.”
The Guardian: Back from the dead? Elusive ivory-billed woodpecker not extinct, researchers say Oliver Milman | Louisiana | South Central Region 04/13/22
In terms of elusiveness, it is the Bigfoot or Loch Ness monster of the bird world, so rare and undetectable that the US government declared it extinct last year. But the ivory-billed woodpecker is, in fact, still alive and pecking in the forests of Louisiana, a team of researchers has claimed.
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