Agricultural News
Conservation Leaders Rally on Capitol Hill to Promote Voluntary Conservation Programs with Adequate Funding
Tue, 21 Mar 2017 13:29:28 CDT
Just days after the release of President Donald Trump's disappointing budget proposal, the National Association of Conservation Districts is rallying on Capitol Hill for voluntary conservation alongside more than 150 locally-elected conservation district officials and conservation leaders from around the country.
"Today our members will hit the halls of Congress to meet with their representatives and senators face-to-face to discuss the most pressing natural resource issues affecting their districts and communities," NACD President Brent Van Dyke said.
At this year's fly-in, district officials will be communicating the value of:
Farm bill conservation programs. Because the farm bill is the federal government's primary tool for setting agriculture and food policy in the United States, NACD has carefully developed nine farm bill principles to promote in and out of farm bill negotiations now and until the next farm bill is passed.
Several of NACD's farm bill principles advocate for locally-led and incentive-based conservation on working and urban lands, another calls for streamlined land-use and reporting regulations. You can learn about all nine principles here on NACD's website.
Strong conservation funding. Every year through the appropriations process, federal funding is allotted to specific conservation programs housed under USDA, the Interior Department, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). NACD believes these funds are critical to helping Americans voluntarily enhance soil and water quality at the local level across the country.
Conservation technical assistance. Conservation technical assistance like conservation planning and monitoring helps landowners become better stewards of their natural resources. Without it, many landowners and land managers wouldn't have the capacity to implement conservation practices at all.
Before the day starts in earnest, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Pat Roberts of Kansas, will speak to NACD fly-in participants at breakfast. This afternoon, the crowd will hear from the chairman and ranking member of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry: Reps. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma and Marcia Fudge of Ohio.
For more information on NACD's annual fly-in event, including today's agenda and Fiscal Year 2018 issue papers, click here for the NACD website.
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