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: NCF #FutureFocused Q&A with Frankie Lineberger
12/29/20

Frankie Lineberger, an Envirothon alumna, works on her husband’s family farm in Gaston County, North Carolina.

NACD Blog: NCF #FutureFocused Steve Robinson
12/23/20

Steve Robinson, chairman of the National Conservation Foundation (NCF), is a row crop farmer and excavation contractor from Marysville, Ohio.

NACD Blog: NCF #FutureFocused – Alyssa D. Hamill
12/21/20

NCF #FutureFocused Q&A with Alyssa D. Hamill Alyssa D. Hamill is the corporate sustainability specialist for Smithfield Foods and is part of their Environmental Affairs Team.

Worcester Magazine: Worcester County Conservation District doing some soil-searching
By Veer Mudambi
01/05/21

Part of the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Districts, the WCCD’s Healthy Soil Initiative launched in 2016. This past November, WCCD received $42,000 as part of the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Conservation District Innovation and Basic Grants programs, specifically to support WCCD's Healthy Soils Initiative.

The Times: Conservation district awarded $25K to improve Raccoon Creek
By Chrissy Suttles
01/04/21

The Beaver County Conservation District was awarded $25,285 through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Growing Greener Plus program to continue ongoing Raccoon Creek remediation work.

Gainesville Times: Take the feral swine survey. Local conservation district seeks to measure impact of wild hogs
By Kelsey Podo
12/31/20

In 2017, Payne said the Georgia Association of Conservation Districts started a statewide initiative that focuses on education surrounding feral swine and helps remove populations of the species.

Daily News: Free and cost-share wildfire readiness support available
01/05/21

The Tehama Conservation Fund, in partnership with the Resource Conservation District of Tehama County, is extending its popular defensible space assistance through TinderSmart Tehama, the wildfire readiness hub of services and information under development.

Hometown Source: Isanti Soil and Water Conservation District strives to keep lakes, rivers healthy
By Sarv Mithaqiyan
12/23/20

There is a history behind why Tiffany Determan, district manager of the Isanti Soil and Water Conservation District, decided to spearhead this project. She explained that 50 years ago, there was a man-made cut in Rum River, which created “larger events (that) blew out in the early 2000s."

The Daily Item: $1.5M in grants to help water projects
By Justin Strawser
01/02/21

“This is a good thing for Montour County, a good thing for water quality in Montour County,” said Sean Levan, Montour County Conservation District manager, and Chesapeake Bay Technician.

AgriNews: Rural-urban collaboration yields alternative solutions to improve state water quality
01/03/21

This innovative collaboration was borne out of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s goals to reduce the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico, restore and protect local and regional water quality in the Mississippi River basin and improve land management throughout these communities.

Chesapeake Bay Magazine: Va. Invests In Farm Conservation, Building Progress In Stream Protection
12/22/20

Virginia’s livestock farmers are fencing more pasture streambanks and growing broader vegetated buffers that filter runoff, in response to a boost in technical and financial assistance and a gentle hint from the General Assembly.

CBS News: Ossoff projected to win in Georgia, delivering Senate control to Democrats
By Grace Segers, Kathryn Watson and Caroline Linton
01/07/21

CBS News projects that Jon Ossoff has defeated incumbent Senator David Perdue in Tuesday's Senate runoff election in Georgia, handing Democrats control of the Senate in a dramatic shift that upends the balance of power in Washington. Ossoff and Warnock's victories ensure that Democrats will hold a 50-50 majority in the Senate, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris breaking any tie.

North Texas e-News: Conservation efforts continue on America’s farms, ranches amid challenging year
12/30/20

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) continued its conservation work across the country despite a tough 2020 marked with a pandemic and several natural disasters.

Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Montana officials release plan aimed at forest health, wildfire risk
By Helena Dore
12/30/20

State officials [last month] released the final version of a new forest action plan that prioritizes forest management and restoration efforts on 3.8 million acres across Montana.

Wisconsin Public Radio: New Report Highlights Water Quality Issues, Increasing Flood Risk In Mississippi River Watershed
By Hope Kirwan
12/31/20

Poor water quality and increased risk of flooding continue to be significant problems throughout the Mississippi River watershed, according to the latest report card from America’s Watershed Initiative (AWI), an organization representing business, government, academic and civic organizations related to the Mississippi River. 

The Scoop: Lift The Lid On Cover Crops
By Alex Clark
12/30/20

A recent study published in the 2020 Journal of the ASFMRA recently explored the multifaceted benefits of utilizing cover crops in cotton and peanut production systems in Georgia agriculture. Along with identifying the benefits of adopting this conservation practice, this study also examined both the costs and incentives associated with cover crop adoption.

Agri-Pulse: Little change in Chesapeake Bay health, report finds
By Steve Davies
01/05/21

(Subscriber Only) The Chesapeake Bay continues to face challenges to its health from water and air pollution, leaders of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said in releasing its biannual report Tuesday, which gave the estuary’s health a D+.

ScienceDirect: Resistance of the soil microbial community to land-surface disturbances of high-intensity winter grazing and wildfire
By Jacob Comer and Lora Perkins
01/01/21

Land-surface disturbances such as fire and livestock grazing potentially impact the soil microbial community.

Business Record: State awards $2.6 million for water and soil quality projects
01/05/21

The Iowa Department of Agriculture has awarded more than $2.6 million to four projects designed to help improve soil and water quality across the state. 

AZ Central: Climate's toll on the Colorado River: 'We can weather maybe a couple of years'
By Ian James
01/02/21

The warming climate is intensifying drought, contributing to fires and drying out the river's headwaters, sending consequences cascading downstream.

Agri-Pulse: Stabenow pledges focus on ag carbon as Dems prepare to take Senate
By Philip Brasher, Steve Davies and Ben Nuelle
01/06/21

(Subscriber Only) Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who is poised to take back the chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture Committee pending the outcome of a Georgia runoff, says she would make it a “top priority” to facilitate establishment of an agricultural carbon market.

Farm Progress: Soil regeneration, a row at a time
By Paula Mohr
01/01/21

Planting corn between wide rows of vegetation is getting a fresh look by some farmers and conservationists interested in improving soil health and providing forage for grazing livestock.

High Plains Journal: Soil health tactics in the Texas High Plains
By Lacey Newlin
01/04/21

In the Texas High Plains, soil health practices are becoming more and more important for farmers to keep their soils productive and fertile for the coming generations.

Grand Forks Herald: Walz Sets One Million Acre Goal for Water Quality Program
By Noah Fish
12/24/20

The Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program, which began in 2014, has certified 977 farms over 685,000 acres in the state.

USDA: Conservation Program Benefits an Iconic Bird of the Southern Great Plains
By Bob Sowers
01/06/21

The lesser prairie-chicken and its habitat are making a comeback thanks to a USDA conservation program. The ground-dwelling bird was once abundant in the southern Great Plains, living in parts of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.

The Telegraph: Illinois signs pact with USDA Forest Service
By Bob Sowers
01/05/21

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the USDA Forest Service on Tuesday signed an Agreement for Shared Stewardship, strengthening their commitment to collaborative land management efforts throughout the state.

Agri-View: Farmers propose climate-resilient solutions
By Lynn Grooms
01/07/21

Managed grazing reduces the use of fossil-fuel-burning equipment used for fieldwork and hauling manure. It also can help improve soil health, provide wildlife and pollinator habitat, and increase the water-holding capacity of soil. It provides those ecosystem services while reducing production costs and increasing net income for farmers, the task-force report stated.

Agri-Pulse: California’s water wars serve as a ‘bellwether’ for Colorado River negotiations
By Brad Hooker
01/06/21

(Subscriber Only) After three decades of water wars in Southern California, policy experts hope a new era in collaborative management will offer inspiration for the ongoing and complex negotiations over Colorado River allocations amid a historic and deepening drought.

Civil Eats: Is Farming with Reclaimed Water the Solution to a Drier Future?
By Cirrus Wood
12/17/21

In drought-prone California, several farms are demonstrating the benefits of growing food with relatively abundant post-treatment water supplies.

AAAS: Targeting U.S. wetland restoration could make cleaning up water much cheaper
By Erik Stokstad
12/18/21

Wetlands do a great job of filtering and cleaning up polluted water. But in the United States, many of those natural filters have been destroyed: filled in, paved over, or drained to become farm fields. Now, a study suggests policymakers responsible for managing wetlands could do a better job by strategically locating restored or created wetlands near sources of pollution, such as farms and livestock operations.

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