Federal Lawmaking

Recent executive actions, recently rescinded OMB memorandum M-25-13, and federal court decisions on lawsuits filed against subject memorandum have created uncertainty and confusion related to the administration of conservation grants and programs. Last week, NACD issued a memo based on our best understanding and interpretation of relevant orders, communications, and actions. However, the situation is…… Continue reading →

In the past week, the Trump Administration issued dozens of executive orders, proclamations, memos, and revoked 78 of the prior administration’s initiatives. Several of these actions may potentially impact conservation programs, grants, and NACD priorities related to our country’s conservation delivery system. Yesterday, the Office of Management and Budget released a memo directing a temporary…… Continue reading →

Over the past year and a half, NACD and our members have worked to support locally led conservation in the upcoming farm bill by developing legislative requests, testifying before Congress, working with committee leaders, and recently meeting with hundreds of lawmakers to advocate for NACD’s priorities during our D.C. Fly-In. With recent developments and more…… Continue reading →

Inclusion of Conservation Districts as Leasing Agents Opens Opportunities for More Conservation By Libby Wawro, NACD Natural Resources Policy Specialist Introduction  The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the Department of the Interior responsible for overseeing 245 million acres of public lands, which include forests, rangelands, deserts and other ecosystems across the…… Continue reading →

By Libby Wawro, NACD Natural Resource Policy Specialist On August 29, 2023 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) published a press release about the “final rule to amend the final “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’ (WOTUS) rule," published in the Federal Register in January.…… Continue reading →

On May 25, the Supreme Court released an opinion in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where they held that the “Clean Water Act’s use of “waters” in §1362(7) refers only to “geographic[al] features that are described in ordinary parlance as ‘streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes’” and to adjacent wetlands that are “indistinguishable” from those…… Continue reading →

On December 30, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released a final Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which will become effective 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. The new rule changes how the federal government determines which waters are subject…… Continue reading →

On Friday, August 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). Earlier that week, the U.S. Senate passed the IRA by a vote of 51-50. President Joe Biden then signed the bill into law on Tuesday, August 16. NACD applauded the bill's inclusion of historic investments to support conservation,…… Continue reading →

The White House officially released their fiscal year 2023 (FY23) budget request on March 28, 2022.  The release of the President’s budget proposal which outlines the administration’s spending priorities, is the first step in the FY23 appropriations process. The proposal requests a $6 billion increase for discretionary spending at the United States Department of Agriculture…… Continue reading →

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed both chambers of Congress and was signed into law by President Biden in November 2021. The bill includes billions of dollars to make many of our natural systems more resilient. NACD’s Government Affairs Team will be releasing a series of blog posts to break down funding opportunities for districts through…… Continue reading →