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: WOTUS Update: Finalized Navigable Waters Protection Rule and Current Litigation
By Mary Scott
07/09/20

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic hasn’t prevented the Navigable Waters Protection Rule from being finalized, nor has it stopped litigation forecasted in NACD’s last blog on waters of the United States (WOTUS).

BARN: Inside the NACD with President Tim Palmer
By Brian Allmer
07/02/20

On this month’s National Association of Conservation Districts' interview, Brian Allmer and NACD President Tim Palmer discuss coronavirus impacts, the U.S. House Select Committee's Climate Crisis' Report, the U.S. Senate's Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2020 and more.

The Monroe News: Farm field structures conserving water, slowing runoff
By Dean Cousino
07/04/20

The [new farm water management] system was installed in two weeks with a $2,000 grant awarded through the Lenawee County Soil Conservation District that can be used to halt non-point sources of pollution into lakes and streams.

The Spokesman-Review: Ongoing Latah Creek cleanup efforts receive $1.75 million boost from state
By Kip Hill
07/04/20

The Spokane Conservation District will receive $1.75 million in the form of grants and loans from the state Ecology Department to continue cleanup of Latah Creek, a tributary of the Spokane River that has long been plagued by swift soil erosion, high temperatures and agricultural runoff.

The Leavenworth Echo: Cascadia Conservation District Receives Grant for Watershed Education
By Kirk Bekendorf
07/07/20

In partnership with the Wenatchee School District’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) afterschool program and local salmon recovery nonprofit Cascade Fisheries, the Cascadia Conservation District (CCD) has received grant funding to provide afterschool and summer programs.

EurekAlert: The story behind a uniquely dark, wetland soil
07/08/20

Many soils are simple for trained soil scientists to identify. But Karen Vaughan of the University of Wyoming and her team dug in to investigate an area of soil along the central coast of California that had some peculiar characteristics.

E&E News: House panel backs Interior-EPA spending bill
By Emma Dumain and Kevin Bogardus
07/07/20

(Subscriber Only) A House Appropriations subcommittee advanced a $36.76 billion measure [on Tuesday] that would fund activities within the Department of the Interior and EPA.

Albuquerque Journal: Report: Healthy soil, local food systems key for NM agriculture
By Theresa Davis
07/04/20

Healthy soil is drought-resistant and produces more nutritious food. And New Mexico “could gain economically by building soil health and feeding its own people,” reads the “New Mexico Farm and Food Economy” report from the Crossroads Resource Center.

Arizona Daily Sun: Federal report shows bark beetles, disease kills trees across Southwest
By Scott Buffon
07/08/20

The lack of monsoon rains last year likely caused bark beetles and other diseases to kill trees across more than a half million acres of the Southwest, according to a U.S. Forest Service report.

Inside Climate News: A Big Rat in Congress Helped California Farmers in Their War Against Invasive Species
By Abby Weiss
07/05/20

The state faces a massive threat from invaders—like the nutria, a swamp rat from South America—that threaten crops and the environment.

ScienceDaily: How to tackle climate change, food security and land degradation
By Bradley D. Lubben
07/08/20

How can some of world's biggest problems -- climate change, food security and land degradation -- be tackled simultaneously? Some lesser-known options, such as integrated water management and increasing the organic content of soil, have fewer trade-offs than many well-known options, such as planting trees, according to a new study.

Reuters: Does it pay to protect nature? A new study weighs in
07/08/20

Expanding areas under conservation could yield a return of at least $5 for every $1 spent and boost global economic output by about $250 billion annually, researchers estimate.

OPB: Northwest Forest Threats Include Climate Change, Insects, Disease And Wildfire
By Monica Samayoa
07/08/20

Pacific Northwest forests face increased threats from severe wildfires, insects, disease and climate change, according to a new assessment released Wednesday by the U.S. Forest Service. 

Phys.org: Soil carbon research reduces uncertainty in predicting climate change impacts
By Ginger Reilly
07/09/20

DOE and USDA researchers use new global models to study how environmental controllers affect soil organic carbon, changes in which can alter atmospheric carbon concentrations and affect climate. Predictions could benefit industry mitigation plans.

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