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May 19, 2009
NACD Opens Search for New Chief Executive Officer
Yesterday NACD President Steve Robinson officially announced
the opening of the Association’s search for a new Chief
Executive Officer to lead and oversee its operations. NACD
staff member Brad Ross will serve as Interim CEO during the
transition. Ross can be reached at Brad-Ross@nacdnet.org.
Additional information about the position qualifications and
application process is available on NACD’s website at
http://www.nacdnet.org/news/CEO_job_summary.pdf.
The opening comes as a result of former NACD CEO Krysta
Harden’s move to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Harden
was nominated by President Obama to become USDA Assistant
Secretary for Congressional Relations. Her nomination was
approved by the U.S. Senate last week and she was sworn in
by Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday.
NACD, Partners Launch Joint Forestry Team Website
NACD staff members worked with representatives from the
Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Forest
Service and the National Association of State Foresters to
launch a dynamic new Joint Forestry Team Website this week.
The website includes
information about the Team members and their joint mission
to work together to improve forestry and conservation
assistance and resources to increase the number of state
and local-level partnerships and enhance existing
cooperative activities. The site also features a recent
webinar hosted jointly by the team, success stories from
around the country and an option for you, our members, to
submit additional stories. Check it out today at
http://www.jointforestryteam.org!
House Committee Moves Closer to Climate Bill
On Friday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released
text of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.
The Committee began meetings to review provisions of the 930
page bill yesterday and is scheduled to meet this week with
the goal of voting the bill out of Committee before the
Memorial Day recess. The bill will require energy suppliers
to utilize renewable electricity and electricity savings of
six percent in 2012 increasing to 20 percent in 2020. The
definition of renewable biomass as revised in the bill now
includes woody materials from both plantations and
naturally-regenerated forests on private and federal lands.
NACD urged Congress to make these important sources of
renewable energy eligible to help meet the renewable
electricity standard. The bill also requires emissions
reductions of 17 percent by 2050 for those emissions
sources covered by the provisions of the bill.
The bill creates a cap and trade program for emission
allowances and offset credits. The bill establishes a U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Advisory Board to
provide recommendations on the types of offset projects
that are eligible. The offsets must be verifiable,
additional and permanent and the verifiers of those offsets
projects must be accredited. Further details on these
provisions and EPA regulations would determine which
agriculture and forestry conservation practices may be
eligible as offsets and the potential role for districts and
verifiers of those practices under any new law. A summary of
the climate bill can be found on the Energy and Commerce website.
Additional information on the current role of districts in
carbon sequestration and voluntary carbon credit markets can
be found on the NACD website at
http://www.nacdnet.org/policy/environment/climate/.
National Plant Materials Center Named in Honor of
Norm Berg
Last Friday, USDA Secretary Vilsack dedicated the National
Plant Materials Center--located in Beltsville, Md.--in honor
of former conservationist Norman Berg. NACD National Board
member and Maryland Association of Conservation Districts
President Lee McDaniel and NACD Senior Advisor Rich
Duesterhaus were among the many other conservationists and
officials that joined Berg’s family and friends for the
ceremony.
The renaming of the Center was a provision by Congress in
the 2008 Farm Bill to honor Berg. Berg served as USDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief as a part of
his lifetime devotion to soil and water conservation. After
retiring from NRCS, Berg spent time as an advisor to the
Soil and Water Conservation Society and to American Farmland
Trust. Berg also served the last twenty years of his life as
a board member for the Anne Arundel Soil Conservation
District. To read more about Berg’s life as a
conservationist, listen to a USDA radio report or view
pictures of the dedication ceremony, go to
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/.
The National Plant Materials Center is a part of a
nationwide network of small farms where new plants for
conservation are developed for various regions of the
country. While the Plant Materials Centers are only a small
part of the NRCS Conservation Operations program, important
uses for plants are tested at these sites.
Register Today for NACD’s Legislative Conference
NACD’s 2009 Legislative Conference is scheduled for
July 19 - 21 in Washington, D.C. Have you made plans
to attend?
Don’t miss your opportunity to hear from leaders in
conservation policy in our nation’s capital. In addition to
an impressive line up of invited speakers from the
Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior
and the Environmental Protection Agency, this year’s
conference will feature a Resource Conservation Act Forum
for conservation districts. The conference also provides
opportunities for visits with lawmakers and staff, tours of
Washington, D.C. landmarks, and concludes with NACD’s
Congressional Reception on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Additional information on conference pre-registration and
hotel accommodations is available at
http://www.nacdnet.org/events/legconference/.
Federal Agency Information Available on ARRA Funding
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S.
Department of the Interior (DOI) have recently launched
online maps to track funding under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The interactive maps
reflect ARRA activities to date for agencies under the
respective departments and are searchable by state, agency
and funding amount. To view USDA’s map, visit
http://www.usda.gov/recovery/map/. DOI’s map is available at
http://recovery.doi.gov/.
Information was also recently released regarding ARRA
funding under the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
program. The CDBG notice specifies that funds can be used
for activities that "promote energy conservation, smart
growth, green building technologies or reduced pollution
emissions." This presents an opportunity for conservation
districts engaged in these activities to get involved by
connecting with the appropriate state agency. To view the
CDBG notice, visit http://www.hud.gov/recovery/cdbg-r-notice.pdf.
More information about HUD in your state is available at
http://www.hud.gov/local/index.cfm.
Note from the Editor
eNotes will next be distributed on Wednesday, May 27, due to the Memorial Day holiday.
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