Recent Articles

By Joe Otto, SWCS Historian Ellen Cobb was NACD's first executive leader. At its first meeting in 1946, NACD’s founding board of directors appointed Cobb as Executive Secretary. She was one of 19 conservation professionals present at that first meeting. From South Carolina, Cobb attended the meeting with her colleague E.C. McArthur – the board’s… Continue reading →

By Eric Hansen With a new administration in the White House and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the conversation on climate change has been moving quickly. President Biden promised to act on climate change and included the agriculture industry in his plans. Against this backdrop, both the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees… Continue reading →

By Stephanie Barnes When thinking of a person who embodies NACD’s commitment to conservation, long-term Butte Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) employee Frances Perkes comes to mind. Frances started her career with the Butte SWCD in Idaho as a clerk in 1984 and has worn many hats in carrying out her duties for the… Continue reading →

In July 2020, NACD’s Board of Directors produced a statement on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), which called for the formation of a DEI Task Force. The Task Force reviewed NACD's internal governance and examined programs, policies and procedures. Conservation is important to all communities and to be effective, we must improve our reach into… Continue reading →

By Stephanie Barnes  In 2020, the Butte Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), located in Arco, Idaho, was awarded a Friends of NACD grant to install a locally accessible recycling bin for agricultural chemical containers. With no recycling facilities located within the district, there was a need to appropriately dispose of chemical containers that did… Continue reading →

By Katrina Stacey Thanks to a 2018 NACD Technical Assistance Grant, the Oconee Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) has been able to address a backlog of Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) requests and contracts in South Carolina. “It helped us get some engineering designs completed, so that we could get those out the door… Continue reading →

Paul DeLong is senior vice president for the American Tree Farm System & Conservation at the American Forest Foundation (AFF). He supports a talented team of conservationists working with partners to administer the nearly 20 million-acre Tree Farm program, and implement projects on family-owned forest lands designed to protect drinking water supplies, at-risk wildlife, and… Continue reading →

By Coleman Garrison Since President Biden was sworn into office on January 20, he has issued a series of executive orders (EO) that pertain to conservation and natural resource protection. On President Biden’s first day in office, he issued an executive order, "Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate… Continue reading →

The Pierce Conservation District (CD) in Washington is participating in a unique program that will establish urban forestry carbon credits for a county that is home to nearly a million people. In a pilot program funded through a grant from the Boeing Company to non-profit carbon registry and certification organization City Forest Credits, the conservation… Continue reading →

The Aitkin County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is taking to the sky to improve forest management in Minnesota. Due to interest from Forestry Technician Kyle Fredrickson and other SWCD staff, the conservation district recently purchased a drone and began using it to view shoreline properties, buffers and areas where landowners have reported problems in… Continue reading →