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October 19, 2010
"Early Birds" Save on Annual Meeting Registration
Have you registered for NACD’s 2011 Annual Meeting in
Nashville, Tenn.? Register before November 30 and receive a
discounted “early bird” rate! Book a hotel room for the
discounted rate by Wednesday, January 5, 2011.
This year’s conference focuses on conservation “From the
Roots Up,” highlighting locally led conservation efforts.
Districts and individuals from across the nation will
showcase their commitment to conservation in general sessions,
breakout events, tours and activities.
For more information, visit NACD's Annual Meeting website.
NACD Visits Fairfax County
The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District
(NVSWCD) recently hosted NACD staff for a day of educational
briefings and a tour of various sites in Fairfax Country, a
suburb of Washington, D.C. NACD staff learned about the
District's efforts to provide education, outreach and
technical assistance in a densely-populated, urban environment.
NVSWCD is committed to reaching all segments of the
community—from developers, consultants, elected officials and
local governments, to HOAs, organizations, agriculture,
individuals and youth. The District is actively engaged with
its county government—both in the development and
implementation of policies and regulations impacting local
conservation.
Staff visited several rehabilitated watersheds and rain
gardens designed to address flooding and drainage problems in
urban and industrial areas. NACD also toured a suburban
horse-keeping operation, which demonstrated aspects of a soil
and water quality conservation plan. The group also saw
several examples of LID landscaping techniques, both on county
and private homeowners’ land.
Thanks, NVSWCD, for a great day!
NACD Supports Efforts to Protect Landowners from
Over-Reaching EPA Regulation
NACD is supporting bipartisan efforts to block the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency from moving forward on unprecedented regulation of
pesticides under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
“Rather than spending precious time and resources on
duplicative permitting efforts, EPA should instead be focused
on working with landowners to support on-the-ground
conservation solutions with true environmental value,” said
NACD President Steve Robinson. “Forcing producers to go
through an additional burdensome permitting process will
only increase production costs and add stress on already
overburdened state resources, without providing any additional
environmental benefits.”
EPA has never before required a CWA permit for the application
of FIFRA-registered pesticides. Legislation introduced by
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), and separate bills
in the House by Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson
(D-MN) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK), would prevent
EPA from doing so in the future.
The legislation is a response to a 6th Circuit Court ruling
that National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits
are required for all pesticide applications made to, over,
or near U.S. bodies of water.
NACD Continues Farm Bill Discussion
This week, NACD hosted a widely-attended meeting to discuss
the 2012 Farm Bill. Based on the discussion from last month’s
meeting, the group addressed the possibility of reconciliation,
budgetary impacts and the potential effects of the November
election.
Attendees included the American Farm Bureau, National Farmers
Union, U.S. Rice Producers Association, National Milk
Producers Foundation, National Cotton Council of America,
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Corn Growers
Association, CropLife America and others.
NACD looks forward to working with the coalition. The next
meeting will be held in November.
"Finding My Forest" Connects Kids to the Outdoors
“Finding My Forest” interdisciplinary lessons allow teachers
and outdoor educators to connect with students’ diverse
learning styles. Designed for grades three-eight, the
curriculum helps makes natural spaces, from the schoolyard
outside, to public forests around the country, more relevant
to students.
The site offers simple ways to create a classroom blog and
link it to the iForest Network Google Map, which connects
participating classrooms from across the nation. The site
also includes tools and resources from partner organizations.
“Finding my Forest” is part of a USDA Forest Service and
AdCouncil campaign aimed at connecting kids and parents
with nature.
The free forest conservation curriculum is available at:
www.findingmyforest.org.
For more information about the campaign and other resources,
visit: www.DiscoverTheForest.org.
Additional conservation education resources from the USDA
Forest Service can be found at:
www.na.fs.fed.us/coned/.
Calling all Coastal Districts!
Coastal areas contain the majority of our nation’s
population. Whether it’s the Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific or Great
Lakes, these areas are critically important to food production,
national security, commerce, energy production, tourism and
recreation.
Along with these benefits come a number of natural resource
challenges. In order to best represent the unique issues and
concerns of coastal districts, the NACD Coastal subcommittee
is seeking direct input from members on the issues, needs and
potential partnerships in their areas.
If your district is one of the hundreds located along our
nation’s coasts, please help us better represent you at the
national level by participating in a brief online survey by November 12, 2010.
If you have any questions or have difficulty accessing the
survey, contact Phylis Vandevere.
Enjoy reading eNotes? Sign up your board today at http://nacdnet.org/news/publications/enotes/ or forward this link to a friend and encourage them to sign up too. Take advantage of helpful conservation news and resources arriving in your inbox every Tuesday at no charge.
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