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CONTACT: Sara Kangas, NACD Director of Communications
(202) 547-6223; sara-kangas@nacdnet.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 2, 2021

NACD ANNOUNCES $13 MILLION IN 2021 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS

WASHINGTON – Today, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) announced the award of $13 million in new technical assistance grants that will continue conservation assistance to communities in over 400 conservation districts in 48 states and territories.

The Technical Assistance (TA) Grants program is in its fourth year and was created in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to help increase staffing at the field level to provide conservation services to farmers, ranchers and local communities across the U.S.

“These grants will help conservation districts serve clients in high priority and heavy workload areas across the country,” NACD President Michael Crowder said.

These funds will support over 425 full- and part-time individuals, resulting in approximately 238 full-time equivalent staffing. The awards announced today will leverage more than $3.83 million of matching funds and will support resource technicians, conservation planners, program support specialists and technical specialists based on the local needs and priorities identified by state leaders. All these employees will provide conservation technical assistance to help customers carry out their conservation plans.

“Through the TA Grants program, NACD and NRCS have been able to secure thousands of conservation plans and implement conservation practices,” Crowder said. “Conservation plans are the backbone of the locally-led conservation delivery system, helping landowners to address the natural resource needs of their operations and bettering our communities.

NACD will release a Request for Proposals for new TA agreements in the near future for another $1.9 million in funding, with a response period of 60 days and awards expected to be made this summer. Learn more on NACD’s website.

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About the National Association of Conservation Districts:

The National Association of Conservation Districts is the nonprofit organization that represents the nation's 3,000 conservation districts, their state and territory associations and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For more than 70 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices. For more information about NACD, visit: www.nacdnet.org.

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