Conservation Clip List is a weekly collection of articles distributed by NACD that provides our members and partners with the latest news in what's driving conservation. If you have a relevant submission, please contact your NACD Communications Team.
Chief Jason Weller: soil health effort is deep, impactful and taking root across the nation via Agri-Pulse
(Opinion) A robust effort is needed to not just promote soil health, but provide extensive training for both conservationists and producers, ensure that NRCS has the capacity at the field level to support farmers and ranchers, and to expand our scientific understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of healthy soils. I also know that rebuilding and regenerating our nation's soil is a huge endeavor, which will require the contributions, ingenuity, and hard work of experts and organization from across the nation.
Wyoming and Oregon to Study Effects of Wild Horse Sterilization via Wyoming Public Radio
At a House Energy and Natural Resources Committee meeting in Washington last week, Republican lawmakers criticized the Bureau of Land Management for its plans to research new sterilization methods for wild horses. Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert said there has been enough research and that it's time to start acting.
Why the Monarch butterfly population has declined and what local biologist plan to do about it via The San Bernadino Sun
The large orange and black Monarch butterfly population has dropped 90 percent in two decades, according to some scientists. Loss of habitat, climate change, weed killers and other causes that have yet to be identified are factors. “We as a species will be a huge failure if we let the Monarch (become extinct), This will be a wake-up call if we lose something of this beauty, that was once so common,” said Tierra Curry, a biologist based in Portland.
Deep South Moving Deeper into Drought Conditions via USDA
Intensive heat is expected to continue in much of the Southeast, increasing drought like conditions in the region.
Appellate Judge Says Groups Can Challenge Oregon Wolf De-listing via KLCC
Conservation groups have gotten the go-ahead to challenge wolf de-listing in Oregon. A state court of appeals judge says the lawsuit can go forward despite recent legislation. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife removed gray wolves from the state’s endangered species list last fall, despite protests from conservationists who say the predators have not fully recovered in Oregon. There are about 100 gray wolves known to live in the state.
USDA Head Points to Progress, Urges More Conservation to Slow Pollution via The Greeneville Sun
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack championed the progress made by both regulators and farmers to curb agriculture-related water pollution but still called for increased conservation efforts from each of the 50 states.
Conservation district fights farmland development via Capital Press
A renewed move by Oregon’s Clackamas County to designate more land for future industrial and commercial development prompted an unusual response from the county’s Soil and Water Conservation District. Usually, the district’s board isn’t very political, General Manager Tom Salzer said. But the county’s decision to review the status of 1,625 acres got the conservation district’s attention. The county commissioners want to know if land in three areas south and southeast of the Portland urban center, now set aside as 50-year “rural reserves” and thus open to farming, would be more beneficial as “employment lands.”
Gov. Rick Scott asks Obama to declare state of emergency for thick algae blooms that threaten coasts via Naples Daily News
Gov. Rick Scott asked President Barack Obama to declare a federal state of emergency Wednesday in response to thick algae blooms that have inundated parts of Florida's Atlantic coast and now threaten Southwest Florida communities along the Caloosahatchee River. If Obama approves Scott's request, it could free up federal cash and resources the state can use to help address a thick layer algae that has coated coastal areas along Martin and St. Lucie counties on the East Coast.
Government has three years to rule on ESA protection for Monarch butterfly via Texas Farm Bureau
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed Tuesday to make a decision by June 30, 2019 on whether or not to protect the Monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Agri-Pulse reports the settlement between the agency and the Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Food Safety dictates the federal government must propose protection for the Monarch, deny protection or assign it to the “candidate” waiting list for protection by the end of June 2019.
Small farmers accuse district of cheating them of water via Statesman Journal
Some northeast Oregon farmers filed a federal complaint alleging they were cheated out of water that was given to larger operations. The growers are seeking nearly $3 million in damages and an injunction requiring the Echo-based Westland Irrigation District to properly deliver water.
