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: Cape Atlantic Conservation District Leverages NACD Outreach and Technical Assistance Grants to Better Serve Small-Scale and Beginning Producers
06/10/2025
In the Atlantic and Cape May Counties of New Jersey, the Cape Atlantic Conservation District (CD) is using NACD Outreach and Technical Assistance (TA) Grant funding to build capacity and better support producers in their community. In the most densely populated state in the country, conservation support may look a little different here. In densely populated counties like those that the Cape Atlantic CD serves, small-scale, urban, and beginning farmers are at the center of conservation work.
Grist: As Trump comes after research, Forest Service scientists keep working
By Shi En Kim
06/01/2025
The research and development team at the U.S. Forest Service employs about 1,500 people full-time, a small but mighty faction inside an agency that, until recently, was 35,000 strong. The research it conducts spans everything from managing visitors at recreation hotspots to understanding the pulse of life and land on the 193 million acres the agency manages.
Republic-Times: USDA aims to help small family farms By Tammie Sloup
06/04/2025
The USDA released a new policy agenda outlining actions aimed at ensuring the profitability and prosperity of small family farms. Dubbing it the “Make Agriculture Great Again” initiative, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins introduced the first set of proposals that address a number of issues for farmers.
AP: Trump EPA rollbacks would weaken rules projected to save billions of dollars and thousands of lives
By Mariah Squire
06/05/2025
The EPA-targeted rules could prevent an estimated 30,000 deaths and save $275 billion each year they are in effect, according to an Associated Press examination that included the agency’s own prior assessments as well as a wide range of other research.
MSN: Trump officials delayed farm trade report over deficit forecast
By Marcia Brown
06/05/2025
Trump administration officials delayed and redacted a government forecast because it predicts an increase in the nation’s trade deficit in farm goods later this year, according to two people familiar with the matter. The numbers run counter to President Donald Trump’s messaging that his economic policies, including tariffs, will reduce U.S. trade imbalances.
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Progressive Farmer: Research Uncovers Benefits of Cover Crops on Cotton Yield and Nitrogen Use
By Des Keller | Georgia | Southeast Region
04/30/2025
Robbie Faust considers his southwest Georgia farm’s use of conservation practices not only good for the land but also the bottom line. An added benefit: It’s also good for securing future business. “I have very happy landlords because we use cover crops,” says Faust, the third generation of his family to farm near Dawson.
MSN: Invasive species posing ‘extreme threat’ found near popular summer vacation spot
By Angeli Gabriel | Lake Tahoe, CA | Pacific Region
06/06/2025
Authorities are on alert as invasive golden mussels were recently found on a boat just before it launched into Lake Tahoe. Golden mussels are hazardous to the Lake Tahoe ecosystem, recreation and water quality, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) said. Invasive mussels can reproduce rapidly and could overwhelm and damage their environment.
Brownfield News: The power of conservation research
By Erin Anderson | Ohio | North Central Region
06/10/2025
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation’s director of water quality says conservation research is helping farmers in the Western Lake Erie Basin improve nutrient management. Jordan Hoewischer says research from the Blanchard River Demonstration Farms has helped the industry identify solutions that help improve water quality.
TV6: Michigan DNR awards grants for ‘food forest’ at KI Sawyer
By Jerry Tudor | Marquette, MI | North Central Region
06/11/2025
Combining food security, the environment and education. The Michigan DNR is partnering with Marquette County to bring a ‘food forest’ to K.I. Sawyer. The DNR is awarding $100,000 to Marquette County in collaboration with the Let’s Grow KI Community Garden and the Marquette County Conservation District.
WV News: ‘Enhancing soil health’: Collaboration makes no-till seed drill available to Ravalli County residents
By Jackson Kimball | Montana | Northern Plains Region
06/12/2025
In an effort to increase the accessibility of environmentally conscious agriculture, Teller Wildlife Refuge, in collaboration with the Bitterroot Conservation District, will soon be renting out a no-till seed drill to Ravalli County residents. After receiving approximately $45,000 in funding assistance from the Bitterroot Conservation District, the refuge was able to acquire a seven–foot wide Remlinger 2300 No-Till Grain Drill and trailer that they plan on renting to local farmers as soon as next week.
The Spokesman-Review: Gardening: Rewilding Project gets students out of the classroom and into the dirt
By Kamryn Bouyett| Tekoa, WA | Pacific Region
06/12/2025
Thompson applied for and won a $35,000 grant through the Outdoors for All Foundation to do prep work and buy plants. Plants of the Wild in Tekoa, Washington, provided plants. Gonzaga University’s biology and environmental sciences students grew plants on campus for the project, Whitworth University provided pine needles for mulching and the Spokane Conservation District helped with advice and more plants.