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 accessing articles, please contact the NACD Communications Team.
NACD Blog: Rio Grande Conservation District Brings Forestry Education to Students with Friends Grant
08/19/2025
In 2024, the Rio Grande Conservation District (RGCD) in the San Luis Valley of Colorado received a Friends of NACD Grant to implement a forestry project alongside the Center Conservation District. With partner assistance from the Rio Grande Watershed Conservation & Education Initiative (RGWCEI), Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS), and NRCS, they held a hands-on educational field day for 5th and 6th grade students centered around tree planting.
USDA: USDA Announces Sweeping Plans to Protect the United States from New World Screwworm
08/15/2025
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today at the Texas State Capitol alongside Governor Greg Abbott and stakeholders from across the country announced the largest initiative yet in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) plan to combat the New World Screwworm (NWS). This announcement builds upon USDA’s five-pronged plan issued in June to combat the northward spread of NWS from Mexico into the United States.
Farms.com: Farm ponds and the trouble with algae
By Andrew Joseph
08/18/2025
Farm ponds are more than just tranquil features on rural landscapes—they’re essential tools for water management, livestock care, irrigation, and biodiversity—especially in North America. They are also considered to be a key agricultural asset outside North America, especially in regions like Asia, Africa, Latin America, and parts of Europe. Their importance is often even greater in these areas due to challenges like seasonal rainfall, water scarcity, and limited irrigation infrastructure.
USDA Risk Management Agency: USDA Delivers on President Trump’s Promise to Put American Farmers First with Enhanced Crop Insurance Benefits Following Passage of One Big Beautiful Bill Act
08/20/2025
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced the rapid implementation of significant enhancements to federal crop insurance programs following the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 4, 2025. In record time, RMA has delivered these transformative changes, demonstrating the Trump Administration’s unwavering commitment to putting American farmers first by expanding benefits for beginning farmers and ranchers, increasing coverage options, and making crop insurance more affordable and accessible across multiple insurance programs.
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Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board: The Heart Remains the Same: The Story of Memo Benavidez and the Corazón Ranch
Temple, TX | South Central Region
08/05/25
In the heart of South Texas, just outside Laredo, Memo Benavidez tends to more than just land. He tends to a legacy. On a ranch his grandfather named “Corazón” nearly a century ago, a tribute to the two daughters of the man who originally owned the land, Memo has spent a lifetime walking the fence lines of history, hardship, and hope.
Tiago Publishing: Conservation District’s bus tour makes a case for continued PA, US funding
By Patrick Cloonan | Indiana County, PA | Northeast Region
08/15/2025
(Edited) An annual tradition for the Indiana County Conservation District, its legislative bus tour, was conducted Friday and took some 30 participants to projects throughout rural areas of Indiana County. Given budget cuts in Washington and a continued budget stalemate in Pennsylvania, there was plenty of reasons for ICCD to raise concerns, and plenty of ears on hand among those participants in the bus tour.
The Land: North Fork Farms expands upon silvopasture efforts
By Laura Cole | Mazeppa, MN | North Central Region
08/16/2025
(Edited) From a corner of the hobby farm she grew up on, Emily Buehler O’Leary operates North Fork Farms, raising pastured beef and pork, as well as selling registered breeding stock. Steeper slopes on the main 45 acres combined with increasingly larger farm equipment over the years resulted in the establishment of numerous oak trees. The livestock is now raised on this silvopasture through the middle of November each year, sometimes later.
Steamboat Pilot: Routt County Toolkit to help landowners with soil health and drought resiliency
By Patrick Stanko | Colorado | Southwest Region
08/19/2025
As Northwest Colorado faces another drought, it is even more important to remember that soil health is crucial for weathering the drought. Routt County Conservation District supports this and other conservation needs of local landowners with assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
KOSU: Native plant grant transforms Oklahoma yards into wildlife habitats
By Chloes Bennett-Steele | Providence, RI | Northeast Region
08/20/2025
Monarchs migrating through central Oklahoma this fall may have more food and shelter to choose from than last year. A new grant program facilitated by the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts and the Oklahoma Monarch Society resulted in nearly 762,000 square feet of wildlife habitat, the organizations said in a news release.