250 conservation leaders gather in Lincoln for partnership symposium

Last Thursday, representatives of the National Conservation Partnership’s five members – NACD, NRCS, the National Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils, the National Association of State Conservation Agencies (NASCA), and the National Conservation District Employees Association – gathered in Lincoln, Nebraska, for their 2017 Leadership Development Symposium.

All six of NACD’s region representatives were in attendance, and NACD’s CEO Jeremy Peters and Director of Projects and Partnerships Rich Duesterhaus both gave presentations on the past and present work of the National Conservation Partnership. NACD’s officer team – President Brent Van Dyke, First Vice President Tim Palmer, Second Vice President Michael Crowder, Secretary-Treasurer Kim LaFleur, and Immediate Past President Lee McDaniel – also participated, in addition to more than twenty NACD board members.

The full-day meeting included presentations and a film on the beginnings of soil conservation in the United States, as well as several panel presentations on real-life ways to build district capacity through partnerships. Mike Brown, the executive director of NASCA, is pictured below spelling out the significance of conservation plans to landowners. Conservation plans represent an ethic and a story lived, he said. They document how a family “has cared for the land” over the many years they’ve spent cultivating it.

The lunch program featured keynote speaker Amy Hays of the Noble Research Institute, who told the crowd about the power of understanding generational differences in the workplace. The dinner program was made complete with a speech from Tom Osborne, former head coach of the University of Nebraska’s football team, on what makes a transformative leader.

NACD’s Forestry RPG meets in Deadwood

The NACD Forestry Resource Policy Group (RPG) met in Deadwood, South Dakota, last week in conjunction with the National Association of State Foresters’ (NASF) Forest Resources Management Committee. The groups toured a number of sites that showcased ways in which conservation districts in South Dakota and Wyoming are working with state forestry agencies to address forest resource concerns. The three-day meeting also included partnership presentations from the U.S. Forest Service, NRCS, National Agroforestry Center, American Forest Foundation, and National Wild Turkey Federation.

NACD 2017 awards now open to nominations

NACD has opened the nominations period for the 2017 NACD Service Awards! This is your opportunity to nominate a group or individual for national recognition for their outstanding work and leadership in natural resources conservation. Winners of the following awards will be honored at the NACD 2018 Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, on January 30, 2018 and highlighted in NACD publications.

• The NACD Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual within the association, a conservation district, or a state association that has made significant contributions to the conservation and proper management of our nation’s natural resources. Nominees can be involved with districts or the association at any level, including past NACD officers. Nominations are also accepted for individuals posthumously.

• The NACD Friend of Conservation Award recognizes an individual, business, organization, or agency outside the association for outstanding contributions to the conservation of our nation’s natural resources. Any individual, business, organization or agency that is not directly associated with conservation districts at the local, state, or national level is eligible to receive this award.

Earlier this year at the NACD 2017 Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, NACD honored Smithfield Foods with the 2016 NACD Friend of Conservation Award and NACD Board Member for Colorado Bob Warner for the 2016 NACD Distinguished Service Award.

NACD webinar to delve deep into healthy food access

People across the nation are working together to ensure communities have access to fresh and local produce. Tune in from noon to 1:00pm Eastern on July 20 to learn how two district efforts are boosting access to fresh foods.

In New Orleans, the Sankofa Community Development Corporation is working with the Crescent SWCD and NRCS to strengthen a community-based food system by linking good food grown by local farmers with consumers. In San Diego, the county and the RCD of Greater San Diego County are managing the largest community garden in the area. Through the five-acre Tijuana River Valley Community Garden (pictured), RCDGSD is working to develop additional garden spaces as well as quarter-acre incubator farm plots.

This webinar is sponsored by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and held by the NACD Urban and Community Resource Policy Group. To register for free, email Debra Bogar at deb-bogar@nacdnet.org with your name, title, district or business name, and state.

As part of a six-month series on district operations, the Did You Know? monthly feature in eResource highlights chapters of the NACD District Outlook Task Force report: “Blueprint for Locally-Led Conservation – A Strategy for District Success and Sustainability” (available here on our website). The last installation of this series came out today and tackles district funding.

Conservation districts are up against more competition for funding than ever before. Traditional funding sources have either disappeared, or now come with higher expectations and more requirements. Unfortunately, complacency on the part of district boards and/or staff has led to the weakening of some conservation districts around the country. These districts will be left behind – or worse yet, out of business – if they do not change their operations to meet the changing political and financial environment.

In New Orleans, the Sankofa Community Development Corporation is working with the Crescent SWCD and NRCS to strengthen a community-based food system by linking good food grown by local farmers with consumers. In San Diego, the county and the RCD of Greater San Diego County are managing the largest community garden in the area. Through the five-acre Tijuana River Valley Community Garden (pictured), RCDGSD is working to develop additional garden spaces as well as quarter-acre incubator farm plots.

To cope, successful districts have prepared strategic plans, business plans, and adopted best-practice policies and procedures. They have also developed and implemented funding plans that not only speak to their vision and mission statements, but also focus on the current and emerging conservation needs of their specific community’s needs.

To read this month’s chapter summary, click here to be redirected to NACD’s blog.

NACD PARTICIPATES AT FIELD TO MARKET SESSION

Field to Market – an organization supported by a long list of agricultural and conservation partners, including NACD – seeks to engage 20 percent of U.S. commodity crop acres in its supply chain sustainability program by 2020.

At the group’s plenary and general assembly meeting last week in Raleigh, North Carolina, NACD’s Communications Specialist Bill Berry offered his expertise as a committee member. Field to Market’s President Rod Snyder told attendees the consortium has grown to 129 members – up from 48 just three years ago.

Conservation district leaders chosen for national spotlight
Last week, several conservation district leaders were honored by Field to Market as well. One of the Farmer Spotlight awards – which are presented to producers who use Field to Market’s Fieldprint Platform to track their operation’s stewardship improvements – went to Steve Wallpe, a producer and member of Indiana’s Benton County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Board.

Wallpe and his wife Lana raise corn, soybeans, wheat, and cattle on their 1,800-acre operation. Wallpe is pictured above to the left of David Schemm, vice president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, and Diane Herndon, senior manager of sustainability for Nestle Purina.

Tim Smith, an associate commissioner with the Wright County SWCD in Iowa was also recognized. Smith farms 800 acres in north central Iowa. He uses cover crops, no-till, and other conservation practices, and is a member of the National Corn Growers Association Soil Health Partnership.