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: House Climate Report Calls for Investments in Agricultural Conservation
By Eric Hansen
07/01/20

On June 30, the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released “Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America.”

NACD Blog: How #DistrictsConserveCoasts
By Candice Abinanti
06/29/20

Throughout National Ocean Month in June 2020, NACD encouraged conservation districts to share coastal conservation issues, activities and partnerships on social media using the hashtag #DistrictsConserveCoasts. Districts across the country – both coastal and inland – help conserve our coasts in a variety of ways and have built strong partnerships while doing so.

Waukon Standard: Project promotes interseeding for cover crop establishment
07/01/20

Earlier this year the Allamakee County Soil and Water Conservation District was awarded $235,907.00, for a three-year project, that involves interseeding cover crops into V4-V7 Corn.

Progressive Farmer: Ag Role in House Climate Plan
By Chris Clayton
07/01/20

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives released a plan on Tuesday to address climate change through extensive investment in renewable energy that also includes ways agriculture and rural America would play roles in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

E&E News: House passes massive infrastructure package
By Maxine Joselow
07/02/20

(Subscriber Only) [This Wednesday], the House passed a massive $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that would help the nation rebuild its crumbling roads and bridges, combat climate change, and promote clean energy and clean drinking water.

Phys.org: How increased flooding due to climate change impacts waterways across U.S.
By Tony Biasotti
06/29/20

Durelle Scott, an associate professor of Biological Systems Engineering affiliate of the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech, is the lead author of a paper recently published in the academic journal Nature Communications that examines flooding in the continental United States in nearly unprecedented detail.

ScienceDaily: Wild bees depend on the landscape structure
06/30/20

Sowing strips of wildflowers along conventional cereal fields and the increased density of flowers in organic farming encourage bumblebees as well as solitary wild bees and hoverflies. Bumblebee colonies benefit from flower strips along small fields, but in organic farming, they benefit from large fields.

Phys.org: Plant tissue engineering improves drought and salinity tolerance
06/30/20

After several years of experimentation, scientists have engineered thale cress, or Arabidopsis thaliana, to behave like a succulent, improving water-use efficiency, salinity tolerance and reducing the effects of drought. The tissue succulence engineering method devised for this small flowering plant can be used in other plants to improve drought and salinity tolerance with the goal of moving this approach into food and bioenergy crops.

Albany Herald: Getting it covered: UGA researchers study cover crops
By Emily Cabrera
06/30/20

University of Georgia researchers are working on natural solutions to weed problems in row crops as government regulations of chemical herbicides grow stricter.

RFD-TV: University of Nebraska working to aid farmers and ranchers in water management
06/30/20

Researchers are hopeful to find ways to enhance Nebraska's current water management practices. 

New York Times: New Data Reveals Hidden Flood Risk Across America
By Christopher Flavelle, Denise Lu, Veronica Penney, Nadja Popovich and John Schwartz
06/29/20

(Subscriber Only) Across much of the United States, the flood risk is far greater than government estimates show, new calculations suggest, exposing millions of people to a hidden threat — and one that will only grow as climate change worsens.

Phys.org: As wildfires flare up across West, research highlights risk of ecological change
07/01/20

Following high-severity fire, scientists have found forest recovery may increasingly be compromised by lack of tree seed sources, warmer and drier post-fire climate and more frequent reburning.

Eagle Country Online: Soil Conservation Remains Strong In Indiana
07/02/20

According to a recent survey, Indiana farmers planted 950,000 acres of cover crops in 2019. As a result of the cover crops planted last year, it is estimated that 1.2 million tons of sediment was prevented from entering Indiana’s waterways, along with three million pounds of nitrogen and 1.5 million pounds of phosphorus. That’s enough sediment to fill more than 350 Olympic-size swimming pools.

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