The summer Resource is in your inbox!

In this summer edition of The Resource, you’ll hear from NACD President Brent Van Dyke and CEO Jeremy Peters; read a feature story on the progress 42 conservation districts have made in increasing technical assistance capacity for urban agriculture; and get all the latest details on NACD’s policy work.

Plus, in this action-packed, 36-page Resource, you’ll find: recaps of NACD’s summer and region meetings and the Leadership Symposium hosted in Lincoln; three stories spotlighting districts in Massachusetts, Arkansas, and Kentucky; and a column on forestry in the farm bill from Tom Martin, president and CEO of the American Forest Foundation.

To receive The Resource by email, make sure you subscribe on NACD’s website. To read and/or download the summer edition, click here.


South Central conservation leaders come together in Louisiana

In the first week of August, conservation leaders from across the South Central Region gathered in Alexandria, Louisiana, to discuss important conservation issues and elect new leadership.

Mike Strain, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture, kicked off the meeting and provided an update on agriculture and conservation issues across the state. NACD President Brent Van Dyke closed out the afternoon session with an update on how NACD is working on behalf of conservation districts across the nation.

Day two of the meeting focused on the Long Leaf Pine forests in the state. David Daigle, Louisiana Association of Conservation Districts Vice President and NACD Soil Health Champion, kicked off the day with a primer on the importance of these forests and the roles fire and grazing play in keeping them healthy.

Participants then boarded busses to learn more about the forests first-hand. While in the Kisatchie Long Leaf Forest, the U.S. Forest Service explained the importance of fire in Long Leaf management and how these forests provide habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker and the Louisiana pine snake.

The meeting concluded with the election of a new South Central Region chairman: David Daigle. He will succeed Jule Richmond from Texas and assume his new post at the conclusion of the 2018 NACD Annual Meeting in Nashville. Texas will host the 2018 South Central Region meeting.


220 conservationists meet in South Carolina for NACD’s Southeast Region Meeting


“Grow Smarter” was the theme of the Southeast Region meeting held in Greenville, South Carolina, August 6-9, and hosted by the Greenville County SWCD. Pictured above from left to right are Kirsten Robertson, Greenville County SWCD; Tina Blum, SCACD executive director; Jim Harreld, NACD Southeast executive board member; Craig Derickson, NRCS acting regional conservationist for the Southeast; Tim Palmer, NACD first vice president; Greg Henderson, NACD board member from SC; Ann English, NRCS state conservationist for SC; Kevin Jeffries, NACD Southeast Region chair; Chris Workman, SC DNR; Kenny Mullis, SCACD president and NACD alternate board member; Maddi Phillips, Greenville County SWCD; Lynn Pilewski, Greenville County SWCD; Marc Cribb, SC DNR; and Phylis Vandevere, NACD Southeast representative.

Participants heard from soil health professionals from across the country, including Dr. Steven Schafer with the Soil Health Institute; Dr. Don Ball, a professor emeritus at Auburn University; Dr. Garry Lacefield, professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky; Mike Hubbs, soil health specialist for the Tennessee Association of Conservation Districts; and Carl Coleman, NACD Soil Health Champion. Harry Ott, president of the South Carolina Farm Bureau, spoke as well, along with NACD First Vice President Tim Palmer.

Nine outstanding, lifelong conservationists from each of the Southeast region states were also inducted into the Southeast Region Conservation Hall of Fame, and meeting attendees enjoyed tours of urban farming and other conservation projects at the Clemson University Simpson and Research and Education Center.

The next Southeast Region meeting will take place in Williamsburg, Virginia, August 2-9, 2018 in conjunction with the NACD Summer Conservation Forum and Tour.


DO YOU HAVE A CONSERVATION HERO? Honor their contributions to conservation!

It’s awards season, and there are numerous opportunities for you to honor your mentors and peers in conservation.

NACD Award nominations are due August 31. NACD’s Friend of Conservation award and the Distinguished Service award are presented during the NACD Annual Meeting’s Tuesday night awards banquet. The 2018 Annual Meeting will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center January 27 to 31, 2018. Click here for more information and nomination forms.

Field to Market’s Farmer of the Year award and Collaboration of the Year award nominations are due August 31. You can read more about the awards and submit nominations through Field to Market’s Member Portal.

Farmer Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award nominations due by August 31. The Pollinator Partnership’s agricultural pollinator conservation award recognizes the unique contributions that members of the agricultural community make to pollinators where they are needed most – supporting our food supply. To learn more about this award and to access nomination forms, click here.

Rolling deadline for NACD’s Hall of Distinction. State and territory associations can recognize current and past conservation leaders with NACD's Hall of Distinction. In making their inductions, states and territories are asked to send some information (requirements are available here) to NACD via this online form.


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