NACD ASKS CONGRESS TO REJECT PROPOSED SLASHING OF 319 GRANTS

NACD is deeply concerned that the president’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposes eliminating a voluntary program critical to improving watersheds and providing cleaner drinking water across the country.


“The Section 319 grant program routinely provides communities with the resources they need to keep our nation’s streams, rivers, and lakes healthy and productive,” NACD President Brent Van Dyke said. “This program has been proven effective at improving impaired watersheds across the country in a diversity of circumstances. We strongly encourage Congress to disregard this proposal.”

Click here to read the full release NACD put out yesterday on the importance of the EPA’s Section 319 program.


NACD REPRESENTED AT MEETING ON RCPP – Has your district submitted its pre-application?

Last Friday, NACD Past President Lee McDaniel and Northeast Region Representative and Policy Specialist Eric Hansen attended a meeting on the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) hosted by the Baltimore County Soil Conservation District and Maryland NRCS.

With the RCPP pre-proposal deadline approaching this month, the meeting focused stakeholder attention on how to build successful projects and get more conservation on the ground in the Chesapeake Bay. Is your conservation district or state association interested in participating in a RCPP project? Pre-proposals will be accepted by NRCS until April 21.

To learn more about RCPP proposal requirements and best practices, head to the NRCS website.


NATIONAL CONSERVATION PLANNING PARTNERSHIP PUBLISHES GUIDE

The National Conservation Planning Partnership has published a comprehensive guide on the importance and future of conservation planning in the United States.

NCPP is made up of five partners committed to advancing conservation planning: NACD, NRCS, the National Conservation District Employees Association (NCDEA), the National Association of State Conservation Agencies (NASCA), and the National Association of RC&D Councils (NARC&Ds).

You can read it on NACD’s Partners webpage (under the first accordion option: “National Conservation Planning Partnership”). The publication is also available on NRCS’ website.



PERRY COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT, ARKANSAS

The Perry County Conservation District (CD) is located in rural central Arkansas in the Ouachita Mountains, roughly 55 miles northwest of Little Rock. Many of the county’s residents must travel over 25 miles to reach the closest supermarket; and the local food bank in Perryville is often only able to stay open two hours a day because they run out of food so quickly.

To help make sure healthy fresh food is available to all citizens in the county, the Perry County CD launched “The Garden” in October 2016, along with its Perry County Youth Garden Club. The community space covers three city blocks behind the district office in Perryville. There, residents can raise fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs as well as plants, trees, and flowers to sell at mobile stands across the district. The profits will be shared with two elementary schools in support of their Take Home Backpack food program.


In addition to support from Perryville Mayor John Roland, the Perry County CD has connected with the county sheriff, churches in the county, and other concerned citizens. Together they are working to ensure the initiative serves county citizens in the best possible way.

To learn more about Perry County CD’s Urban Agriculture Conservation Initiative project, visit NACD’s Urban and Community webpage.


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