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April 30, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under National News, Uncategorized

The sweeping rule by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would eliminate protection for wolves 18 years after the government reestablished the predators in the West, where they had been hunted to extinction. Their reintroduction was a success, with the population growing to the thousands.

Scientists and conservationists who reviewed the plan said its reasoning is flawed. They challenged how the agency would reconfigure the classification of wolf subspecies and its assertion that little habitat remains for wolves.

Mike Jimenez, who manages wolves in the northern Rockies for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said delisting in that region underscored a “huge success story.” He said that while wolves are now legally hunted in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, the federal agency continues to monitor pack populations and can reinstate protections should numbers reach levels that biologists consider to be dangerously low.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to release its decision to delist the wolves in coming weeks and it could become final within a year. Brent Lawrence, a Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman said Thursday that the agency would not comment. The proposed rule is technically a draft until it is entered into the Federal Register.

For a history of Gray Wolves and their recovery click here.  Continue reading 'U.S. Plans to Drop Gray Wolves From Endangered List'»

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May 15, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under Uncategorized

Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that NRCS’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) will provide roughly $175 million in funding for conservation on up to 12.6 million acres this year.

Though applications for CSP are accepted year round, it’s important to submit applications by May 31 to your local NRCS office to ensure consideration for this year’s funding.

For the self-screening checklist and more information on CSP, click here or visit your local NRCS office.

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May 15, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under Funding / Grants

Through the National Water Quality Initiative, NRCS has made $35 million in financial assistance available to address water quality issues across the country. Farmers and Ranchers can apply for funds to implement conservation practices to improve water quality.

The 2013 Water Quality Initiative has targeted 165 watersheds across the U.S. Eligible projects include those that work to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and pathogen contributions from agricultural land.

Farmers and ranchers interested in this program should make an appointment at their local NRCS Service Center. The deadline for applications is Friday, July 12.

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May 15, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under Conservation Programs, National News

Nominations for the NACD Awards are now open until August 31! Each year, NACD offers the opportunity for national recognition of an individual, business, agency or organization for outstanding work and leadership in soil and water conservation.  Winners of the following two categories will be honored at the NACD Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California on February 4, 2014.

The NACD Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual within the association, a conservation district, or a state association that has made significant contributions to the conservation and proper management of our nation’s natural resources.  Nominees can be involved with districts or the association at any level. Past officers are also eligible.

The NACD Friend of Conservation Award recognizes an individual, business, organization, or agency outside the association for outstanding contributions to the conservation of our nation’s natural resources.  Any individual, business, organization or agency that is not directly associated with conservation districts at the local, state or national level is eligible to receive this award.

Nominations are accepted from any individual, organization, agency, or conservation district. For nomination forms and more information, visit the Awards page between now and August 31 and nominate your conservation winners today!

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May 15, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under Conservation Programs, National News

Last week, conservation districts and conservation partners across the country shared a variety of outreach programs to youth and adults as part of NACD’s Soil and Water Stewardship Week, including:

• NACD Past President Gene Schmidt shared Soil and Water Stewardship Week lessons with more than 100 Fourth graders at the South Central School in LaPorte County, Ind.
• The Lancaster Soil and Water Conservation District of Lancaster, S.C. delivered a Stewardship Week presentation to its county council. . Conservation district manager Amanda Roberts also reached more than 500 students with school presentations about water pollution, land formations and, most importantly, where our water comes from.
• Leaders of the Indiana Conservation Partners (ICP) gathered at the Indiana State Fairgrounds’ “Pathway to Water Quality” exhibit to educate fair-goers about the personal actions they can take to improve water quality in Indiana.
• Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed a proclamation declaring April 28-May 5, 2013 as Stewardship Week.

Send your Soil and Water Stewardship Week outreach efforts, along with photos, to: susan-schultz@nacdnet.org.

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May 14, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under Conservation Programs, Training and Webinars

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct a four-week Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) with the general sign-up beginning May 20 and ending on June 14.

The restart of sign-up for continuous CRP, including:

• Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
• State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement Initiative
• Highly Erodible Land Initiative
• Grassland Restoration Initiative
• Pollinator Habitat Initiative

Sign-up for continuous CRP began on May 13 and will continue through Sept. 30, 2013.

“As always, we expect strong competition to enroll acres into CRP, and we urge interested producers to maximize their environmental benefits and to make cost-effective offers,” said Tom Vilsack. “CRP is an important program for protecting environmentally sensitive lands from erosion and sedimentation, and for ensuring the sustainability of our groundwater, lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. Through the voluntary participation of our farmers and ranchers, CRP helps us to protect our natural resources, preserve wildlife habitat and bring good paying jobs to rural America related to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation.

Vilsack encouraged producers to look into CRP’s other enrollment opportunities offered on a continuous, non-competitive, sign-up basis.

For more information on CRP and other FSA programs, visit a local FSA service center or www.fsa.usda.gov.

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May 9, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under Funding / Grants

Farmers and ranchers in the West and across the country have until May 31 to apply for the next round of federal grants that reward them for conservation measures on their land.

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is accepting a little more than 12 million additional acres into the Conservation Stewardship Program, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced.

The program offers technical and financial help to farmers for maintaining high levels of environmental stewardship, including active management of existing conservation systems and the implementation of new ones, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition explains.

“There are a number of farm bill conservation programs that do that sort of thing,” said Greg Fogel, the NSAC’s policy associate in Washington, D.C. “The CSP is a little bit different because it rewards farmers for advancing levels of conservation on their whole farm operation.”

Read full article here.

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May 7, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under Legislature, National News

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and a group of major agricultural, environmental and conservation groups have joined together in support of a non-partisan agreement to provide a common-sense farm and natural resource safety net through relinking crop insurance premium assistance to conservation compliance. The recommendations were submitted to Senate Agriculture Committee Leadership earlier today.

“We are pleased to join with agriculture and environmental groups in a common-sense, non-partisan agreement to ensure the equitable implementation of conservation compliance tied to crop insurance,” said NACD President Earl Garber. “This agreement will further the conservation of natural resources, while protecting producers’ bottom line.”

The groups do not support changes to current conservation compliance requirements. Instead, the recommendations would be applicable only to the linkage of conservation compliance and crop insurance premium assistance or availability. Under the recommendations, crop insurance would continue to be available to all, but premium assistance would be eliminated when certain circumstances occur.

The recommendations represent a compromise position that supports the linking of conservation compliance with crop insurance premium assistance, and opposes means testing, payment limitations or premium subsidy reductions for the crop insurance program.

The position paper can be found here.

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May 6, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under Legislature, National News, Uncategorized

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) has signed a consulting agreement with former Chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Dave White.

“We are extremely excited to be partnering with Dave White to further our mutual goals in natural resource conservation,” said NACD President Earl Garber. “White has devoted a nearly 40-year career to voluntary, private lands conservation, serving at the national, state and local levels. I am confident that his expertise, relationships and passion will help to enhance the ongoing leadership of NACD in promoting a strong, local conservation delivery system across the nation.”

In his role as strategic consultant, White will provide outreach, advocacy, and advice to strengthen NACD’s efforts in promoting the local conservation delivery system and raise the association’s visibility as the national leader in natural resource conservation.

“Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with conservation districts at the local level, as well as with NACD in Washington, D.C.,” White said. “As Congress gets ready to consider a 2013 Farm Bill and our nation deals with the aftermath of drought and other extreme weather events, it’s more important than ever that people understand the long-term value and return-on-investment of strong conservation policy. I truly believe that locally-led conservation is the key to the long-term stability of our nation’s food, water and energy security, and I’m proud to be partnering with NACD as we seek to take conservation to the next level.”

White served as Chief of the NRCS from 2009 – 2012. During this time, he oversaw programs to help protect the environment and preserve our natural resources through voluntary, private lands conservation. A career conservationist with NRCS, White has provided technical and management expertise in Missouri, South Carolina, Washington, D.C. and Montana, where he served as State Conservationist from 2002 to 2008. He also served in the Senate Agriculture Committee where he helped craft the Conservation Title for both the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills.

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May 6, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under Oregon News

In its first 2013 fire outlook that extends through the summer months, the National Interagency Fire Center’s (NIFC) Predictive Services unit is forecasting above normal potential for significant fire activity in the West Coast states, the Southwest, and portions of Idaho and Montana.  The potential in most of the rest of the country is expected to be normal or, in the case of much of the South, below normal.

“We’re looking at a combination of a low-moisture winter and a warming and drying pattern in the West that will increase the fire potential,” said Ed Delgado, manager of the Predictive Services unit at NIFC.  “Fire season in the Southwest will likely start soon and with these conditions quickly escalate until their monsoon season in July when conditions will moderate toward normal.”

Meanwhile, nearly all of California and Oregon will reach their peak potential in July,  continuing through August, along with most of central Idaho and portions of northern Washington and southwestern Montana.

Indications of dryness include some areas in California receiving only 40 percent of normal precipitation over the winter and Nevada, where lack of moisture is resulting in a lack of growth of rangeland fuels.

NIFC’s wildland fire potential outlook is published on the first day of each month and is developed by NIFC’s Predictive Services staff and a network of other fire meteorologists and fuels experts from around the country. The complete update can be found here. 

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May 6, 2013, by Samantha Whatley under National News

The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) will provide about $175 million in funding for up to 12.6 million additional acres enrollment this year.

Although applications are accepted all year, farmers, ranchers and forestland owners interested in CSP should submit applications by May 31 to their local NRCS office to ensure they are considered for this year’s funding.

The voluntary program allows producers to go the extra mile in conserving natural resources while also maintaining or increasing the productivity of their operations.

“CSP is different than our other financial assistance programs,” said NRCS Acting Chief Jason Weller.  “CSP offers payments to producers who maintain a high level of conservation on their land and agree to adopt higher levels of stewardship. It’s about conservation activities on the entire operation focusing on multiple resource concerns.”

Playing a significant part in conserving and improving our nation’s resources, producers enrolled an additional 12.1 million acres in CSP last year, bringing the total number of acres to more than 50 million.

Many of the CSP enhancements improve soil quality, which helps land become more resilient to extreme weather.

Several other improvements are available for producers, including intensive rotational grazing, intercropping and wildlife friendly fencing.

Because of the extreme weather in 2012, more interest and participation in the cover crop enhancements is expected this year, according to NRCS experts.

A CSP self-screening checklist is available to help producers determine if the program is suitable for their operation. The checklist highlights basic information about CSP eligibility requirements, stewardship threshold requirements and payment types.