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April 7 , 2009
President Obama Selects NACD CEO for USDA Assistant
Secretary Post
Last week President Barack Obama announced his intent to
nominate NACD Chief Executive Officer Krysta Harden for USDA
Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations. Harden has
served as NACD CEO since March 2004. In the new role, a
Harden would serve with Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and
would be responsible for coordinating legislative affairs
and intergovernmental relations.
NACD President Steve Robinson issued a statement
congratulating Harden on the selection and thanking her for
her service to NACD. Robinson recognized Harden’s efforts
to maintain a credible, consistent reputation for
conservation districts on Capitol Hill. He also acknowledged
Krysta’s ability to understand how decisions at the national
level affect conservation districts and their landowner
customers at the local level. Click here to read Robinson’s full statement.
The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation. Krysta will
continue to lead NACD in the weeks to come until the U.S.
Senate holds her confirmation hearing.
NACD President Appoints New Foundation Committee Members
NACD President Steve Robinson recently appointed new members
and chairpersons for the Association’s five Foundation
Committees. NACD’s Foundation Committees are comprised of
NACD Board Members and direct Association activity in
priority areas. Committee appointments are by state and are
for a two-year term. Committees will be chaired by the
following NACD Executive Board members:
• Pat Henderson from Kentucky will chair the District
Operations and Member Services Committee.
• Paul Leishman from Utah will chair the Communications
Committee.
• Earl Garber from Louisiana will chair the Legislative
Committee.
• Steve Miller from Idaho will chair the Stewardship and
Education Committee.
• Cliff Lundin from New Jersey will chair the Natural
Resources Policy Committee.
A full listing of committee assignments by state is available
on the NACD website at
http://www.nacdnet.org/about/committee_chart.pdf.
Climate Change Legislative Proposal Released
The House Energy and Commerce Committee indicated that they
will approve climate change legislation by Memorial Day.
Last week the Committee released a discussion draft of
proposed cap-and-trade legislation to address climate
change—the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009
(ACES). NACD Second Vice President and Legislative Committee
Chair Earl Garber and Director of Legislative Affairs Keira
Franz attended a briefing on the bill by committee staff on
Wednesday. The legislative proposal is not yet complete,
with several issues yet to be resolved. The proposal does
include offsets, but does not provide details about
agriculture and forestry practices that might provide
offsets. Under the proposal, a regulated entity may utilize
offsets, but must have 5 tons of offsets for every 4 tons
of emissions being offset. Click here for the full proposal and a summary.
The House Agriculture Committee released a questionnaire
about agriculture and forestry interests in climate change
legislation—either cap-and-trade or a carbon tax. Responses
to the questionnaire are due on April 10, 2009. The NACD
Legislative Committee is preparing responses on behalf of
NACD. The questionnaire can be viewed at
http://agriculture.house.gov/index.shtml.
Congress Enters Recess Period, Budget Work Remains
Last week, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the
U.S. Senate passed budget resolutions for the 2010 fiscal
year. Debate in both bodies of Congress focused on deficit
spending, climate change and energy issues.
Strong emphasis was placed on reducing deficit spending in
both chambers with the threat to cut spending on domestic
programs. Spending for Farm Bill conservation programs
remains intact, but a final budget resolution has yet to be
completed. Considerable time was also spent debating budget
amendments to allow for a potential climate change bill.
Over 20 amendments were considered by the Senate involving
climate change and energy. Among the most significant
amendments are a budget point of order that would require
60 votes for climate legislation instead of a simple
majority, and a provision that calls for climate policy to
diversify and strengthen energy supplies. The House measure
did not include similar climate provisions.
Congress is currently observing the two-week spring
district work period. Upon returning to Washington later
this month, House and Senate budget negotiators will
conference the two versions of the budget resolution to
work out differences in the bills so that Congressional
appropriators will have a budget blueprint to begin their
work. NACD continues to monitor the progress of the budget
resolution and work with Congressional leadership to ensure
support for conservation programs.
Stewardship Week around the Corner
Soil is the foundation of all of our communities.
Conservation districts are also a foundation within each
community. Be sure to share the importance of soil and
your conservation district during National Stewardship Week,
scheduled for April 26 – May 3 2009.
NACD has provided many tools to help you promote stewardship
and teach about soil during Stewardship Week. Download the
Stewardship Week news release, proclamation and public
service announcements at
http://www.nacdnet.org/stewardship/2009/. Soils education
and stewardship materials are also available for purchase
from the NACD Marketplace. Visit http://www.nacdstore.org to place your order now!
Visit http://nacdnet.org/stewardship&education/ for links to
the 2009 Soil Stewardship page and to the soils education
resources page. Also, please tell NACD about your programs,
events and presentations. Send your stewardship success
stories and photos to stewardship@nacdnet.org.
Water Quality of Potential Concern in U.S. Private Wells
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a survey from
1991 to 2004 of private wells and the contaminant levels of
these wells. NACD recently attended a briefing on Capitol
Hill regarding the survey results co-hosted by the USGS and
Water Environment Federation. The survey found that more
than one-fifth of the tested private domestic wells sampled
in almost all fifty states contained at least one
contaminant that exceeded EPA standards or USGS recommended
levels. The USGS also indicated over 43 million people use
and consume water from private domestic wells that are not
regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Private well owners are generally responsible for testing
and treating their own wells. Private owners can collaborate
with local and State agencies for information about well
maintenance, water quality, testing options, and water
treatment devices you can do from home. More information
about the survey data can be located at
http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/studies/domestic_wells.
Funding Opportunities Available for Urban and Community
Forestry
The U.S. Forest Service, in collaboration with the National
Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC), has
just announced the 2009 Special Focus Grants in the area of
Urban and Community Forestry.
The category of Storm Event Protocol is a grant offering up
to $50,000 for projects that develop new storm event
protocol which combines urban forest projects with emergency
management operations. The purpose is to reduce the impact
of storms on urban forests, lessen personal injuries and
property damage and decrease emergency management costs.
For more information on the Storm Event Protocol grant
opportunity, please click here.
The second area of focus involves Outreach that will fund
up to $100,000 for projects that provide scholarships for
underserved or non-traditional participants in training
opportunities within urban and community forestry.
Applicants for this funding opportunity should emphasize
how the knowledge gained through training will be broadly
utilized in urban forestry rather than for exclusively
local implementation. For more information on the Outreach
grant opportunity, please click here.
Both application deadlines are June 5, 2009.
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