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: NACD Government Affairs Update: Climate Action and Legislation
By Coleman Garrison
05/03/21
Even though Congressional buildings are still closed to the public due to COVID 19, this hasn’t slowed down Congress’s focus on climate change and the role the agricultural and forestry industry can to do to reduce emissions or sequester carbon.
NACD Blog: Q&A with NACD Groundwater and Aquifer Task Force Member Harold Crose
04/26/21
NACD President Michael Crowder has called for the creation of a Groundwater and Aquifer Task Force, which will help promote water conservation across the country. NACD recently sat down with Harold Crose, a retired area conservationist now with the Grant County Conservation District in Washington State.
Oklahoma Farm Report: NACD Climate Action Task Force Submits Letter to USDA on Climate Solutions
04/30/21
On April 29, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Climate Action Task Force submitted a letter to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in response to its request for comments on climate smart solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change.
AgWeek: Reactions vary to Conservation Reserve Program expansion
By Jonathan Knutson
05/03/21
The National Association of Conservation District “applauds the announcement that USDA is adjusting rental rates and incentive payments for CRP,” Association president Michael Crowder said in a written statement.
Agri-Pulse: Farm groups, enviros to USDA: Prioritize climate, update crop insurance
By Philip Brasher
05/05/21
(Subscriber Only) The National Association of Conservation Districts suggests USDA provide low-interest “climate-smart bank loans” to beginning and historically underserved farmers. The loans would be tied to the adoption of conservation practices.
DRGNews: Ag Groups Respond to USDA Climate Smart Solutions
By Jody Heemstra
05/03/21
The National Association of Conservation Districts submitted a letter to the USDA in response to the agency’s request for comments on climate smart solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Agri-Pulse: Working ag lands figure large in Biden’s 30×30 plan
By Steve Davies
05/06/21
(Subscriber Only) Voluntary conservation efforts by farmers and ranchers play a central role in the Biden administration’s strategy to conserving 30 percent of the nation’s land and waters by 2030.
Herald & Review: What’s in a name? Non-native species not the same as invasives
05/05/21
“Non-native invasive species are one of the biggest environmental threats, second only to habitat loss,” says Kelly Allsup, a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. “Once invasive species have a foothold it can be hard to remove them, so prevention and early detection and response is key.”
AgWeb: Growing Drought: USDA Indicates 14 States Have No Topsoil Moisture in Surplus Conditions
By Tyne Morgan
05/03/21
Drier weather helped aid major planting progress for U.S. farmers last week, but it didn’t help the topsoil moisture situation.
E&E News: Sage grouse supporters urge Congress: Ditch the rider
By Heather Richards
05/04/21
(Subscriber Only) Sage grouse champions are asking congressional appropriators to end a recent tradition and omit an annual budget rider that bars endangered species protections for the rotund Western bird.
Litchfield Independent Review: Meeker Soil and Water Conservation District among 20 in state to benefit from irrigation project funding
By Brent Schacherer
05/03/21
Meeker County Soil and Water Conservation District is one of 20 in Minnesota set to benefit from federal funding aimed at stoking interest in innovative conservation projects on irrigated land.
Cadillac News: Missaukee Conservation District to use grant money to give out river cleanup kits
By Chris Lamphere
05/03/21
The Missaukee Conservation District recently was awarded $4,547.71 by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to purchase river cleanup kits that will be available at no cost to people using the river.
Agri-Pulse: Ag, conservation alliance issues recommendations for USDA carbon bank
By Philip Brasher
05/03/21
(Subscriber Only) A broad coalition of farm and conservation groups says a USDA-run carbon bank should be used to test ways to establish carbon accounting guidelines, expand the use of climate-friendly farming practices and enable small-scale farms and minority producers to benefit from carbon markets.
Virginia Mercury: Fire was once the forester’s enemy. Now it’s a tool for regenerating Appalachia’s forests
By Sara Vogelsong
05/04/21
“The reason we’re burning in the Appalachians is to restore missing forest conditions that used to be very common,” he said. “We’re not going for 100 percent oak all the time. We’re trying to shift the needle.”
The Highland County Press: Highland County SWCD announces $873K grant for Rocky Fork Watershed conservation
04/28/21
During the April 28 Highland County commission meeting, representatives of the Highland County Soil & Water Conservation District announced that they were awarded an $873,000 grant Monday through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
Sun Patriot: County pollinator program focuses on birds, bees
By Al Lohman
04/29/21
A nice yard isn’t necessarily a quarter-acre to an acre of tightly trimmed lawn. That’s the point the Carver County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) is trying to make with its Pollinator Program, which offers cost share assistance to convert landscapes into pollinator habitat, such as varieties of milkweed, wildflowers, native grasses and legumes.
Delaware.com: Delaware Envirothon Results Announced
04/29/21
Charter School of Wilmington Team C is the winner of the 2021 Delaware Envirothon, an annual environmental and natural resources education competition for high school students sponsored by the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts in partnership with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
The Daily Scoop: Saving Our Soil…One Billion Microbes at a Time
04/30/21
Pouring algae on the soil, sequencing soil DNA, and measuring soil diversity are just a few of the new technologies used to keep our soil from becoming just ‘dirt’. And it seems as though diversity is the key.
Progressive Cattle: Elanco to invest $150K through 2023 in Kansas grassland restoration
04/30/21
Beginning in 2021 and through 2023, Elanco will invest $50,000 annually with Ducks Unlimited to help purchase grass seed to support reseeding efforts on working lands in western Kansas.
Iowa Capital Dispatch: New funding to curb wildfires pushed in Congress, as another fire season looms
By Allison Winters
05/02/21
As wildfires across the United States grow in size, intensity and duration each summer, members of Congress from the West are pushing for massive new investments in ecosystem management and wildfire mitigation.
Civil Eats: Carbon Markets Stand to Reward ‘No-Till’ Farmers. But Most Are Still Tilling the Soil
By Gosia Wozniacka
05/03/21
As the adoption of no-till practices has spread widely across parts of the U.S. over the past few decades, the approach has been touted as an important means of storing carbon in soil—and a key solution to solving the climate crisis.
KOAT: New Mexico seeing longest drought it has in years
By Stephanie Muñiz
04/29/21
With two active fires right now, New Mexico has the longest drought it has seen in years.
Cleveland.com: Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District’s Legacy Tree Fund another tool in fight to restore tree canopy
By Chris M. Worrell
05/05/21
The Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District recently unveiled its new Legacy Tree Fund program, which will help restore the county’s declining tree canopy while also serving as a way for ordinary citizens to leave behind a legacy on behalf of a loved one or themselves.
MLive: $8 million project looks to improve water quality, quantity in Ottawa County with help of farmers
By Michael Kransz
05/05/21
“Really there’s three overarching goals,” said Frank Schroyer, a watershed technician with the Ottawa Conservation District. “We’d like to protect surface and groundwater quality, we’d like to improve aquatic and wildlife habitat and then we’d also like to preserve manageable farmlands.”
AgNet West: USDA Investing Nearly $22 Million to Improve Soil Health and Climate Smart Ag
05/05/21
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing nearly $22 million into research initiatives aimed at helping improve soil health and climate smart agriculture. USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is investing in several important programs to assist ag producers navigate the effects of climate change and its impact on production.
Farm Progress Daily: Blitz project to add new water quality practices in central Iowa
05/06/21