National Association of Conservation Districts

Pushing the Boundaries

Steve Robinson – NACD Acting President
NACD 2008 Convention – Reno, NV
February 11, 2008

Thank you, Krysta.

As you well know, we have all been through a very difficult period following the loss of our leader, friend, and my mentor, NACD President Olin Sims.  I want to thank all of you for your patience and understanding, and for your support as we move forward.  Your support will be even more important as your officers, board and staff continue to carry out much of the vision that was developed and defined under Olin’s leadership.

Two months ago, I wasn’t planning to be before you giving the president’s message.  But sometimes, life throws us a curve and in an instant, things are not the way we planned. 

Already today you have heard many positive things about Olin’s character. Strong leadership was just part of his nature.

I know that Olin would want you to know that the leadership of NACD has never been about one person, but has truly been carried out by a team.

While we deeply feel the loss of our friend and leader, NACD will continue to be a vibrant and effective organization.  Olin brought us together over the last year, and we are prepared to carry on. He was committed to following NACD’s vision—to be America’s Voice for conservation.

We as officers will continue to speak out for you and with you with a unified voice.

Being a membership based, non-profit association has its share of challenges. As a result, sometimes it is easy to get bogged down in the organizational structure and forget about our mission and vision.

As we face these challenges, we must keep our purpose in perspective - not solely to run an office or organization, but to promote the conservation of our natural resources.  This is true not only for your local district, but also for your state and national associations.

Recently during participation in a state association annual meeting, one district official in his first term quizzed me about NACD.  He asked if the association was focused on natural resource policy or just on organizational structure.  He was very passionate about no-till farming practices and how this specific conservation practice can be a win-win for the farmer and public alike. In his opinion, our conservation organizations were not doing enough to promote its use.

I assured him that NACD has been working extensively on natural resource policy through efforts such as the 2008 Farm Bill and an urban strategy, among others, but the conversation made me think.  

At times, we do have to focus on structure. We have spent a lot of time restructuring NACD’s business operations to improve our bottom line. We’ve eliminated business lines that we were losing money on, and formed a partnership with FFA to provide districts with improved products and education materials. I am proud of how hard we have worked to eliminate business functions that were quite costly for the association, functions that prevented us from accomplishing some of the priorities set by the board.  And I am also pleased with the effort that has been put forth to make the financial picture of the association much more transparent, so that you, our members, can see exactly how your association is being run. 

However, as important as it is to run an effective organization, it is without purpose if we do not remain focused on our mission of conservation.  Could you recite NACD’s mission if asked? Let me remind you, our mission is to serve conservation districts by providing national leadership and a unified voice for natural resource conservation.

As I look back on my 20 years as a conservation district official, I recognize that I have used my life experiences as a farmer and land improvement contractor to help me work with my fellow board members as we govern our local conservation district.  In my business of earthmoving, I have seen some programs succeed in encouraging landowners to accomplish their conservation goals, while others have failed.  Regardless of the programs being implemented, our district has always focused on helping landowners make the best decisions for their land and providing sound technical and educational assistance. 

I encourage you, as locally elected officials to use your life experiences to push the boundaries when thinking about service delivery to your constituents and customers.  Think how your communities and the landscape have changed. Can you push your conservation district to think beyond the boundaries of traditional conservation programs and practices? Can you improve service delivery? How can you meet the needs of non-traditional land users? 

While the natural resources remain the same, the pressures on those resources for different uses such as energy production, food production, and urban development are increasing.  It may be time for a different approach to reach new land users with different conservation goals for their land.  One example that comes to mind will be featured this afternoon in one of our breakout sessions.

Absentee landowners are an example of a new, non-traditional conservation district customer.  These folks control the decision-making on their land, are interested in conservation and doing the right thing, and often have financial resources available to them. But sometimes they lack the understanding of what to do or where to turn for assistance.  Can you find ways to reach this non-traditional customer?

Absentee landowners are just one example of many new customers that conservation districts can and should be working with as the landscape and customer base changes. Failing to do so would mean failing to meet the natural resource needs of our local communities. The opportunities are endless and I hope the next three days motivate you to seek them out.

As your national association, we too have a lot to accomplish during 2008. We are counting on your help and support to complete our tasks.  First and foremost, we must complete the now 2008 farm bill.  We have invested time and effort in making certain the conservation title of the comprehensive package is as strong as it can be for conservation districts as well as our customers.

NACD devotes much of its farm bill energy to ensuring programs make sense for the producer. Many provisions that may look good on paper in Washington are not practical or useable for delivery to landowners.  NACD has provided specific information and examples about your work to Congress throughout the process. 

NACD and conservation districts provided testimony in every conservation-related Farm Bill hearing held by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees.  No other group was asked to do that.

We have worked with both the House and Senate as they developed and passed their respective versions of the Farm Bill.  We are now working closely with the members of the conference committee that will resolve differences in the two measures and finalize a package for approval by the President. 

John Redding and I were in Washington twice last month to meet with committee staff and members of Congress.  Our views and input are still needed and your involvement is still critical to the success of this effort. 

NACD is also focused, as in past years, on the congressional appropriations process.  As you know, Congress sets the budget for federal agencies.  Funding for these very important programs is critical to the work we do at the local level. NACD is working hard to acquire as many federal resources as possible to support the work of conservation districts and producers.  We are facing very tight federal budgets that will impact what districts can accomplish at the local level.

While federal policy is a priority for NACD, it is certainly not the only one.  We continue to strengthen our relationship with our traditional partners so we can remain united and focused.  And, as previously mentioned, we are constantly seeking new partnerships that will give us fresh resources and perspectives to help us meet our goals.  

We have an increasing need to be involved in urban conservation and continue to look for ways to provide assistance and resources to districts in this area. I am continually impressed with the success stories we hear of conservation districts that have ventured into new urban conservation initiatives.  We have watched as those efforts have proven conservation districts’ value to non-traditional funding sources and their programs have quickly expanded. 

In following with the goals of our strategic plan, we are re-focusing more and more effort on serving our members.  Not only in the ways I have outlined above, but with new tools and ideas that can easily be shared and used by all.
We are fostering a partnership with the Smithsonian Institute and the Soil Science Society of America on a major soils exhibit and shared informational materials. You can expect to be part of an exciting exhibit launch when you come to D.C. for our Summer Legislative Conference next July. Folks, in my 20 year of work with districts, I haven’t seen anything quite like this partnership opportunity. This partnership has the potential for materials to get into the hands of an estimated 10 million exhibit visitors, many of which would not normally be exposed to conservation districts.

As you can see, our work list is long for the coming year.  I am excited about these challenges and many other opportunities.  NACD is ready to move forward and to represent conservation districts with a unified voice and message.  It will take all of us working together to make progress and to be successful. I am honored to be one of the people who will help continue the Association’s vision and goals.   

In closing, I would like to encourage you to push your boundaries on a more personal level.  Are you engaged at the district level? At the state level? At the national level? Just as your conservation district is only as strong as the involvement of each of your district officials & staff, the same goes for your state and national associations.  I would encourage you to push your personal boundaries by becoming more involved with the leadership of your state association and actively engaging your district in membership of NACD.

As the saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The same is true of your national association.  While there are over 3,000 conservation districts across this nation, NACD is only as strong as the 1,979 districts that provide active and financial support.  Truly, the boundaries would be removed if we had full membership support by 100 percent of our conservation districts.

Henry Ford once said—
 “Coming together is a beginning.
 Keeping together is progress. 
 Working together is success!” 

Let us continue to work together for the success of our organization and its vision of a unified voice for natural resources conservation! 
Thank you.

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