NACD Spring 2016 Fly-In Nears

NACD’s annual Spring Fly-In is just a week away. District representatives from across the country will be in Washington, D.C. March 14 and 15 to speak to members of Congress about conservation issues.  

NACD will kick-off the fly-in by hosting educational briefings for Congressional staff on soil health and wildfire. Monday, March 14. Tuesday’s events begin with an orientation breakfast at 8:30 AM EST in Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Attendees will pick up their handouts and talking points for Hill visits and will hear from NACD President Lee McDaniel, NACD CEO Jeremy Peters, NACD policy staff and others. After a day full of visits, attendees are invited to join NACD, its partners, and Congressional staff from 5-7 PM EST at 1300 Longworth House Office Building for a reception. If you are attending the fly-in, please RSVP to Katie Stump at katie-stump@nacdnet.org by tomorrow, March 9.  

NACD Attends Record-Breaking Commodity Classic

The annual Commodity Classic was held March 3-5 in New Orleans, Louisiana, breaking records with more than 9,000 growers reported in attendance. NACD President-elect Brent Van Dyke and CEO Jeremy Peters attended the meeting where they provided information to growers on conservation districts, the conservation delivery system and NACD’s efforts to raise awareness on soil health. Several conservation district leaders were also in attendance, including Louisiana Association of Conservation Districts President Donavon Taves and Indiana Association of Conservation Districts Alternate Board Member Jamie Scott.  

Topics that dominated discussion in the meeting’s sessions included the current debate on GMO labeling, commodity prices, renewable fuels, sustainability and soil health. More information on Commodity Classic is available online. 

2016 NACD Stewardship Materials Now Available for Free Download

NACD’s “We All Need Trees” stewardship and education materials are available in a brand new format!As a reminder, NACD has moved to an electronic format for its 2016 Stewardship Week and Education materials. The same high-quality materials you have come to expect and rely on from NACD are still available to districts and state associations now for FREE for electronic download. Click here to check out this year’s materials for “We All Need Trees” as well as to view an updated FAQ document, printing specifications and other resources for how to print locally. 

For districts that would like to purchase print materials for your stewardship or education programs, the inventory of previously printed materials from past years has been deeply discounted by 25% through April 30, 2016. Discounts are applied to your cart when you check out. 

NACD’s Stewardship week is April 24-May 1, so you still have plenty of time to make arrangements to use this year’s “We All Need Trees” electronically available materials or to stock up on existing materials. 

EPA Releases New Online Drinking Water Mapping Tool to Protect Source Waters

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water recently released a new online mapping tool called the Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters (DWMAPS). This new mapping tool assists water system operators, state programs, federal agencies, watershed organizations and other entities to identify potential sources of contamination, access information on watershed health and source water pollution, prepare for accidental spills or leaks, locate watershed restoration projects, and identify potential partners in any location or watershed in the country. 

DWMAPS was developed in concert with EPA regional drinking water programs, state drinking water regulators, public water systems, and Source Water Collaborative member organizations. Click here for more information and to access the DWMAPS tool. 

Idaho Forest Health Listening Session

The final of three forest health listening sessions in the West was held in Boise, Idaho on March 1. Conservation district board members from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Colorado participated as did representatives from eight state and federal agencies. The group discussed major barriers, challenges, and opportunities for conservation districts to work more closely with state and federal land management agencies to achieve forest health. The group also focused on building collaborative relationships with private, state, and federal partners and how to improve forest health across the landscape.  

The California, New Mexico, and Idaho Associations of Conservation Districts hosted the listening sessions and are in the process of finalizing their reports from their sessions. This information will be presented to the US Forest Service and shared with conservation districts engaged in forest health issues.  

Fergus Conservation District Receives Grant

The Fergus Conservation District from Lewistown, Montana was awarded a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this past month. The money will be used to help fund the Machler/Adams Big Spring Restoration Project in an effort to add 1,200 feet of stream to Big Stream Creek. The addition will improve water quality and fishery and wildlife habitat. Read more about Fergus’s efforts here.