FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NACD kicks off annual meeting in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 1, 2015 — The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) kicked off its Annual Meeting today in New Orleans, Louisiana. The NACD Annual Meeting, February 1-4, brings together conservation leaders from across the nation for educational sessions, workshops and networking.
Monday’s keynote speakers will include: USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Harden; Lt. Governor of Louisiana Jay Dardenne; and Commander for the Mississippi Valley Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Major General Michael Wehr.

Tuesday’s General Session will focus on the past, present and future of conservation with former USDA NRCS Chief Dave White discussing the history of districts and the conservation movement; panelists representing the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Protection Agency, Forest Service, Department of Defense, and Fish and Wildlife Service giving an update on current conservation efforts nationwide; and USDA NRCS Chief Jason Weller providing an outlook on the future of conservation in America.

During Tuesday’s Board of Directors meeting, elections will be held for the 2015 NACD Officer team.

This year, NACD in partnership with USDA NRCS will be hosting its first ever student program, bringing in Gulf Coast area college and university students to attend  general sessions and a special student career workshop, where they’ll hear firsthand from local conservation districts, national and state partners, and private sector leaders on careers in conservation.

For updates throughout the meeting, follow NACD on facebook and twitter or check out our Annual Meeting news page. The full agenda and speaker line-up is available at our annual meeting page annual meeting page. Photos will be posted on NACD’s Flickr.

The 2015 NACD Annual Meeting is sponsored by the following partners: Agri Drain Corporation; Apache; Bayer CropScience; Bob Warner; Case IH; John Deere; Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts; Monsanto; National Farmers Union; Plum Creek; Scotts Miracle-Gro; Syngenta; U.S. Forest Service; USDA NRCS; and Verdesian.

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The National Association of Conservation Districts is the non-profit organization that represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, their state associations and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For more than 70 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices. For more information about NACD, visit: www.nacdnet.org.