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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 NACD Communications Manager Sara Kangas.


Editor's note: Due to an adjusted holiday schedule, NACD will not publish an edition of Conservation Clips on Friday, Dec. 28. 

NACD Blog: Oregon District Utilizes Technical Assistance Funds for Administrative Support
12/17/18

While many conservation districts are using NACD technical assistance (TA) grant funding to grow capacity in the field, Oregon’s Umatilla County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is utilizing TA funding to help behind the scenes.

NACD Blog: Oneida County SWCD expanding its urban forestry work
12/19/18

New York’s Oneida County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is branching out into urban forestry through a $48,450 grant the district received from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).


Hoosier Ag Today: Conservation Districts Approve New WOTUS Rule
12/13/18

Brent Van Dyke, President of the National Association of Conservation Districts, is pleased with the work done by the EPA and the Army Corps to address just how complex the definition of jurisdictional waters can be. “Locally-led conservation, including local decision-making, must be at the forefront of these clarification efforts,” he says. “That’s why the NACD has consistently stood against expanding federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.”

Fox News: Trump signs $867 billion farm bill, tightening rules for food stamp recipients
By Paulina Dedaj
12/20/18

Trump called the measure a “bipartisan success”. “We are ensuring that American agriculture will always feed our families, nourish our communities, power our commerce and inspire our nation.”

Agri-Pulse: Zinke resigning Interior post, citing probes
By Spencer Chase
12/15/18

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will leave his position by the end of the year. A replacement will be announced next week.

FarmJournal’s Pork: Deadly Terrorist Threatens the Lone Star State’s Domestic Pig Herd
By Jennifer Shike
12/14/18

One of the deadliest enemies in Texas – the wild pig – is sparking fear as threats of African swine fever (ASF) hitting U.S. soil dance across the headlines.

KIVI: Idaho, USDA sign logging and forest restoration agreement
By Steve Bertel
12/18/18

Idaho has signed an agreement with federal authorities to increase logging and restoration work on millions of acres of U.S. Forest Service lands that experts say are increasingly plagued with insect infestations and destructive wildfires.

The Guardian: How Native American tribes are bringing back the bison from brink of extinction
By Jeremy Hance
12/12/18

On 5,000 hectares of unplowed prairie in northeastern Montana, hundreds of wild bison roam once again. But this herd is not in a national park or a protected sanctuary – they are on tribal lands. Belonging to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Fort Peck Reservation, the 340 bison is the largest conservation herd in the ongoing bison restoration efforts by North America’s Indigenous people.

The New Food Economy: Kansas farmers are running out of water. Can they pull off an environmental miracle in Charles Koch’s home state?

In conversation after conversation, the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer was top of mind. Kansas’s most important natural resource is running dry, imperiling the state’s economy and the approach to farming that helps drive it.

The Washington Post: Wetlands, lakes would lose protections under Michigan bill
By John Flesher and David Eggert
12/18/18

Michigan legislators were poised Tuesday to remove legal protections from many of the state’s wetlands and other inland waterways, which provide wildlife habitat and perform vital tasks such as preventing floods. A bill approved by a House committee would eliminate a requirement to obtain state permits before dredging, filling or otherwise degrading many waterways.

OPB: How Thick Forests Can Reduce Snowpack
By Erin Ross
12/19/18

Much of the Willamette Valley’s water arrives in the winter as snow in the forested Cascade mountains. New research shows that the ways we manage those forests can influence how much water flows into rivers during the spring and summer melt.

National Geographic: How cattle can help save the birds of the Great Plains
By Molly Loomis
12/18/18

Like the bison, the birds fill a critical role in the ecosystem, dispersing seeds, controlling insects, and mitigating weeds. When sustainably grazed and rotated through fields to give the land time to recover, cattle can mimic the impacts of native bison and actually do more good than harm to the ecosystem.


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