Conservation Clips are 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.

NACD Blog: California District Brings Fresh Veggies to Low-Income Communities
By Susie Kirschner
04/16/18

In 2017, the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD) located in southern California was awarded funding through NACD’s Urban Agriculture Conservation Initiative to develop a community supported agriculture (CSA) program to ensure that lower-income residents have access to affordable, organic, local produce.

NACD Blog: Forestry Notes Q&A: Scott Davis, Keeping Forests as Forests
By Mike Beacom
04/17/18

Scott Davis is the project coordinator for Keeping Forests as Forests (KFAF), a 13-state southern forest conservation initiative. He shared time with NACD Forestry Notes recently to discuss KFAF’s ongoing work.

DTN/The Progressive Farmer: Vote Clears House Farm Bill
By Chris Clayton
04/18/18

After hours of criticism by Democrats on changes to food programs, the House Agriculture Committee passed a farm bill out of committee Wednesday on a strictly partisan 26-20 vote as every Republican voted for the bill and every Democrat opposed it.

Agri-Pulse: CBO: Farm bill taps CSP, reworks SNAP to fund priorities
By Philip Brasher
04/13/18

House Republicans are relying on elimination of the Conservation Stewardship Program and tightened eligibility rules and work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to fund other priorities in the new farm bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

BeefProducer: What's really happening with the soil health marketplace?
By Alan Newport
04/17/18

A few weeks back, the Noble Research Institute announced it is working with partners to develop a soil health marketplace. To learn more, I contacted this Oklahoma-based foundation and asked some questions about how the soil health marketplace is going to work.

Agri-Pulse: Wild spring weather: Disastrous for farmers in the Southwest and Upper Midwest
By Sandra Cowherd
04/17/18

Mother Nature is taking a toll on farmers and ranchers, with wildfires in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona and harsh wintry conditions in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Feedstuffs: Hubbard named to lead USDA Forest Service
By Jacqui Fatka
04/16/18

The U.S. Department of Agriculture could soon have another important undersecretary on staff with the announcement over the weekend that President Donald Trump had selected James Hubbard to serve as undersecretary for natural resources and environment. Under the proposed USDA reorganization plan, the Natural Resources & Environment area comprises only the Forest Service; the Natural Resources Conservation Service is under the Farm Production & Conservation mission area overseen by undersecretary Bill Northey.

KTVB: BLM using cattle to decrease wildfire risk
By Dean Johnson
04/13/18

The Targeted Grazing Project is a three- to five-year experiment taking place in the Soda Fire Burn Scar on the Owyhee Front to see if cattle grazing can be used to provide fuel breaks for firefighters.

The New York Times Magazine: Can Dirt Save the Earth?
By Moises Velasquez-Manoff
04/18/18

Unlike trees, grasses don’t shed their leaves at the end of the growing season; they depend on animals for defoliation and the recycling of nutrients. The manure and urine from grazing animals fuels healthy growth. If done right, Creque said, grazing could be restorative.

Huffington Post: Historic Floods, Landslides Devastate The Hawaiian Island Of Kauai
By Carla Herreria
04/19/18

An estimated 28.1 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in the town of Hanalei over the weekend. “It’s the worst natural disaster to occur on Kauai in 25 years, since Hurricane Iniki.”

ABC News: Tracking the river: Mississippi model may help save coast
By Rebecca Santana
04/17/18

The model will help experts study one of the most important rivers in North America and how sediment from it can be used to fight coastal erosion.

MPR News: Carrot vs. stick: How should Minnesota get to cleaner water?
By Kirsti Marohn
04/16/18

The governor set an ambitious goal of improving Minnesota's water quality 25 percent by 2025. But consensus on how to achieve that goal has been elusive. Part of that trick is finding the right balance between voluntary programs that encourage landowners to take action, and regulations that force them to.

The New York Times: A Plan for New York City’s Forests. Yes, Forests.
By James Barron
04/15/18

If nothing else, forests can slow rising temperatures by reducing what foresters call urban “heat-island effects.” Trees lower the nearby temperature by up to nine degrees. There is also the worry that forests could be overrun by invasive species that can change soil conditions.

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