NACD North Central Region elects new leadership in St. Louis

The North Central Region Board of Directors and its conservation partners met last week in St. Louis, Missouri, for their winter board meeting. Attendees reviewed the resolutions the region’s states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin) will submit for discussion at NACD’s Annual Meeting next week. They also reviewed legislative priorities and elected new leadership – Ian Cunningham (MN), Executive Board Member; Emily Javens (MN), Region Chair; and Matt Peart (OH), Region Vice Chair.

This year, the meeting’s guest speaker was Iowa State University professor Dr. Lois Wright Morton. Dr. Morton’s presentation, based on her social science research with farmers, detailed how increasing weather variability and other challenges affect farming operations and soil and water resources. After the meeting, some of the attendees – and several NACD Soil Health Champions – stayed for the National No-Tillage Conference.

Movement on EPA’s WOTUS rule

Last Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to review the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision to assert jurisdiction over EPA’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The case concerns whether, under the Clean Water Act, jurisdiction to hear a challenge to the lawfulness of the WOTUS rule lies in the courts of appeal or federal district courts.

Some say the Supreme Court’s decision to review the jurisdictional issue is a victory for agriculture because district courts are generally thought of as “closer to the people” than appellate courts. It’s not clear, however, whether the court’s review (which is expected to happen before it adjourns in June), will be necessary. President-elect Donald Trump said during his 2016 campaign that he would “eliminate the unconstitutional” rule.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Hold Hearing on Sec Interior Nominee Zinke

At time of the eResource going out, the hearing on President-elect Trump’s pick to head the Interior Department – Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke – was still going on. Some quick highlights from earlier in the hearing are:

In a response to a question on local land management, Zinke said “the view from the Potomac is a lot different than the view from the Missouri.”

Later in the hearing, Zinke said he voted upwards of 17 times against legislation that would allow federal public lands to be transferred to state ownership. He also said in response to a question posed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders that the “climate is changing and man has had an influence, the debate can be made over how much man has influenced.”

As soon as the hearing ends, an archived video will be posted on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee page or here.

Annual Meeting registration now only available on-site

You can still attend NACD’s 2017 Annual Meeting in Denver next week, but you’ll have to sign-up on-site at the conference hotel, the Sheraton Denver Downtown.

In addition to a jam-packed agenda, our Denver meeting will also feature some fantastic speakers – three of which were confirmed last week:

Three-time Olympian Jenny Simpson (left), the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the 1500m, will be delivering the closing keynote during Monday’s general session.

Ben Masters, film maker and member of the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, will be giving the Monday Leadership Luncheon’s keynote address in addition to sitting on Sunday evening’s wild horse panel.

Colorado Agriculture Commissioner Don Brown will also be joining us for Monday morning's general session to introduce Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper.

NACD says farewell to NRCS Chief Weller

NACD organized a gathering last Friday in recognition of Chief Jason Weller, who left his post at NRCS the same day. The informal event was a time to share stories and celebrate the partnership successes of the past four years.

Leonard Jordan, who before last week was the agency’s associate chief of conservation, will serve as acting NRCS chief until President-elect Trump appoints his replacement.