This blog post is part of a seven-part series highlighting technical assistance (TA) grant recipient participation at NACD’s Summer Conservation Forum and Tours in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This post’s author, Erin James of the Morehouse Soil and Water Conservation District in LA, attended the meeting with a TA stipend.

After returning from the NACD Summer Meeting in Puerto Rico, I can honestly say it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I was privileged to have been offered. What an awesome event, in an absolutely beautiful setting! From the resort and surrounding landscapes to the speakers and seminar content, it was truly inspiring. Where else can you listen to a NASA Earth Scientist explain how they are tracking climate change before lunch and dance to the music of a local band after dinner?! As one of the 15 TA Grantee stipend recipients, I am eternally appreciative to have been able to attend on behalf of my district, Morehouse Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD).

As somewhat of a newcomer to the conservation district arena, attending this and previous NACD events has helped me to fully understand the importance of everything that is soil, water, and natural resource conservation. Seeing the relationships and hearing the stories firsthand from producers and partners has been an integral part of my onboarding experience. It’s also equipped me with the knowledge to help our TA Grant-funded technicians learn the ropes, so to speak, as they’ve come on board.

Our SWCD is located in northern Louisiana, in one of the state’s busiest NRCS field offices. We have numerous watershed projects ongoing and upcoming, as well as a constant stream of survey, design, and checkout work to be done in order to manage all the NRCS contracts produced in our office. Without our NACD TA Grant Technicians, there is no way we could keep up with it all. With the grant-funded staff, we have been able to offer elevated levels of contract management, plus targeted area projects, technical assistance and outreach efforts never before possible from this district. The TA Grants have helped us to better serve our producers as well as to ensure that more conservation efforts make it to the ground. We are immensely grateful, and I know our producers are, too!