All Resources

NACD 2024/2025 Policy Book 
***Note: NACD’s policy books are for member reference only. Please do not distribute this resource to outside parties.***
NACD policy development is a grassroots process, developed through a system of graduated representation, usually beginning with the local conservation districts. Resolutions can be submitted to the NACD Board by state associations, U.S. territories or the District of Columbia; NACD Region Board of Directors; NACD Foundation Committees; the NACD Executive Board; and the NACD Resolutions Committee. Resolutions are then presented to the appropriate Foundation Committee for consideration and, pending Committee approval, are acted on by the NACD Board of Directors. The policy positions adopted by the NACD Board of Directors become the official position of NACD as it represents the nation’s conservation districts.

NACD’s leadership and staff use the above Policy Book to develop Issue Papers annually, as well as to drive our advocacy efforts, for example, providing information for our key testimonies before Congress and others.

Check with you NACD State Board Member for information on how to participate in the process for your state.

NACD Advocacy Training Module
NACD developed this training module in 2014 through the generous support of the Walton Family Foundation. This interactive video includes training on leadership expectations of district boards, determining the proper roles for district board members and staff, political advocacy, shaping public opinion, how to craft an elevator speech, coalition building and more.

NACD Brochure
Download and print this tri-fold brochure all about NACD: who we are, what we do and how we can help you. If you’re printing this document at home, make sure you select the print setting to ‘flip on the SHORT side.’

NACD By-Laws
NACD’s By-Laws include guidance on NACD’s structure, leadership, policies and purpose. This document, effective February 2023, also includes affiliated organizations, amendment procedures and instruction for meeting protocol.

CEO Policy and Partnership Updates
Since February 2025 NACD CEO, Jeremy Peters and the Government Affairs team have been providing a weekly update on executive orders, congressional actions, and other policy changes that effect conservation districts and the federal partners districts work with. Click on each date below to view the respective policy update.

Find the up-to-date list of Policy Memos at the top of this page.

Conflict Management Guidebook
This guide covers techniques for managing and resolving conflict situations, including how to identify potential conflict situations, six steps to manage conflicts, and evaluating the positive and negative aspects of conflict. This guidebook also includes an exercise where you can try your hand at resolving a conflict situation, as well as an analysis section to help evaluate your conflict management skills.

NACD Conservation Coffee – NACD’s Policy Process with our Government Affairs Team
In this quick video (30 minutes), NACD’s Connor Simons, Government Affairs Specialist, describes our policy process, discusses how information flows from our state board members into our policy book, and celebrates some recent efforts on behalf of our members.

NACD’s District Job Board
Review available district jobs nationwide, and login to your district’s account to post a job for your district.

Conservation District Communications Audit
The Conservation Districts Bureau at the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (MDNRC) created a Communications Audit, which provides helpful guidance for conservation districts on creating a successful communications plan. From generating public affairs interest to boosting social media and email presence, you’ll learn how you can boost the effectiveness of your conservation district’s communications and online presence.

Conservation District Guide: Building District Capacity Through District Personnel
With increased responsibilities and growing district staffs, problems can arise. The information in this white paper is based on the experiences of many conservation districts that have successfully solved these problems. This document describes how district employees can help your program, how to determine the need for a district employee, how to avoid problems in working relationships, and more.

Conservation District Guide – How to Recruit Board Members
This guide was adapted from a 2003 NACD publication entitled “Conservation District Board Member Recruitment and Community Outreach Guide.” Throughout this document, you’ll find space to write down ideas and considerations that will help you craft a board member recruitment strategy for your district and its specific needs. You will also learn how to identify your district’s needs, prioritize desired qualities and expertise in district board members, and develop a recruitment prospectus and job description for board members. This document is also available for download as a DOC file.

District Executive Director Sample Job Description
The executive director is the primary administrative position of the district, charged with providing leadership in implementation of the district’s policies and programs.

District Manager Sample Job Description
The district manager provides managerial, administrative, supervisory, educational, and technical support to the district and its board of supervisors.

District Officials Sample Job Description
Conservation district officials serve on multi-member boards that establish and implement programs to protect natural resources.

District Program Evaluation Guide
Evaluation is crucial to ensuring your district’s operations are running as efficiently and effectively as possible. This program evaluation guide was just updated for 2025 and will aid your district board and employees in identifying strengths and weaknesses, and help you better serve your constituents.

Establishing and Maintaining Relationships with Lawmakers
Developing and maintaining personal relationships with elected officials is an important part of successfully delivering your conservation message and influencing legislation, policy, and budgets. In this document, NACD outlines the steps each conservation district can take to build and sustain relationships with their own lawmakers in this story from the summer 2009 edition of The Resource. Interested in learning more? This PowerPoint presentation with notes helps conservation districts and state conservation associations develop relationships with their legislators.

Five Tips for Exceptional Board Performance
Follow these suggestions for keeping your board members motivated and on track.

Grant Opportunities
Click on the above link and scroll to the bottom of the page for a variety of grant opportunities that may be available to conservation districts.

Media Relations 101
Yes, there’s a learning curve, but don’t let that dissuade you from mastering the art of media relations! Tell your district’s or association’s story far and wide by following this guide to building and maintaining relationships with members of the media. This document includes insights on how to handle media requests for interview and comment, how to give a great interview that garners support and not trouble, how to go “off the record” in the right way, how to get reporters to call you, and how to keep reporters coming back.

Mercer Insurance Benefits
NACD has a relationship with Mercer to provide you with assistance in navigating insurance benefits for employees at your district. Mercer can help you decide which option is best for you and streamline the enrollment process.

More Dollars for your District
This guide was recently updated with some new ideas for funding your district in 2025! We also included some guiding questions that will help you and your board better understand your districts opportunities and roadblocks to funding efforts. But don’t worry, this guide still has information on tried and true methods for raising funds that districts have been using for decades.

Outreach Training Sessions
This series of five training sessions was originally created in 2024 for the Southwest Region in partnership with KR Creative Strategies. However the principles covered in these training sessions can be applied at any district! Click each link below to view the recorded session on our YouTube channel. Several of these sessions have companion worksheets that are also linked below.

Turning Technical Assistance & BMPs into Meaningful Stories
Story Worksheet

Communicating Your Unique Value
Finding Your Unique Value Worksheet

Effective Communication with Decision and Policy Makers

Capturing Effective Video
Capturing Effective Short-Form Video Worksheet

Leveraging Social Media

Additional Training Session Resources

Decision-maker Communication Checklist

Social Media for CDs: Tips & Trends for 2024 & 2025

NACD Opportunities for Grassroots Advocacy During Federal Government Shutdown – October 6, 2025
This memo provides grassroots advocacy guidance and a template letter for communicating the impacts of the federal government shutdown on your conservation district to your Congressional representatives.

Past, Present and Future of Conservation Districts Video
In 2019, NACD premiered “Past, Present and Future of Conservation Districts“. This 10-minute mini-documentary details the history of America’s conservation districts since their inception following the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and follows along throughout the ages as they’ve grown and strengthened. PLEASE NOTE: this downloadable video file is only for district and state association use. Please direct all other traffic to the promotional videos webpage or the NACD YouTube channel.

Parliamentary Procedure: A Quick Reference Guide for Conservation District Officials
Running efficient and effective meetings is challenging. To help conservation districts improve the quality of their meetings and make sure they are orderly, fair, and concise, NACD has developed this one-page fact sheet on parliamentary procedure.

Personnel Management Reference Book for Conservation District Officials
This comprehensive reference book provides district officials with fundamental personnel management information on which to base their own policies and decisions.

NACD’s Promotional Videos
In early 2018, NACD debuted three promotional videos describing the role of conservation districts and NACD in the conservation delivery system. Click the title above to download copies of the three videos: Conservation Districts Deliver (2:00 min), Conservation District Public Service Announcement (30 seconds), and NACD: Conservation’s Unifying Voice (2:00 min). Please note: these downloaded video files are only for district and state association use. Please direct all other traffic to the promotional videos webpage.

Stewardship and Education Materials
NACD’s high-quality education materials are available for electronic download for districts for free in both high- and low-resolution.

Taking Minutes Made Easy: A Training Tool
Organizations often focus most on making sure a meeting is running smoothly at the expense of quality meeting minutes. Having a uniform standard for the proper recording of minutes at your meeting is an important reference point for your district or group to archive. For this reason, NACD has developed a two-page guide to help your organization take better minutes at your next meeting.

Template – District Outreach Brochure
Developed by the NACD Outreach Committee, this brochure template is fully customizable in numerous formats (InDesign, Microsoft Publisher, and Canva) and can be used by districts and state associations alike to promote and explain the work of districts in general and local benefits specifically.

Tips for Working with Local Media
Members of the local media can and should be an integral part of conservation districts’ outreach efforts. This brief guide, first published in the summer 2009 edition of The Resource, provides tips for establishing and maintaining relationships with media in your community. Also included in this tip sheet are suggestions for honing your conservation message.

Virtual Outreach Training Sessions
The NACD Southwest Region Partnered with KR Creative Strategies to provide five virtual training sessions on how to plan and implement an effective outreach strategy to communicate the value of your conservation district and your programs. The videos are available for free for use by all districts, state associations, and others.