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December 2, 2008
NACD Renews National MOU with BLM
Yesterday NACD renewed its long-standing Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the Bureau of Land Management.
NACD CEO Krysta Harden met with BLM Director Jim Caswell in
Washington, D.C., to sign the document. The ongoing goal of
the MOU is to work cooperatively to manage, develop and
protect federal and private land and water resources
through joint resource conservation projects.
The national MOU also provides a framework and over arching
language that can be used to execute a similar agreement
between a BLM state office and a state association of
conservation districts. Recently, the Arizona Association
of Conservation Districts signed a state level MOU with the
Arizona BLM state office. From the state-level MOU executed
by Arizona, NACD has developed a template for use by other
states associations. The template is available for download
on NACD’s website at http://www.nacdnet.org/resources/mous/.
509 Capitol Court Campaign Fundraising Continues
It has been three months since the renovation of the NACD
headquarters building in Washington, D.C. The last of the
boxes have been unpacked and the staff has long since
settled in to the newly renovated space.
But even though the renovations are complete, the campaign
is far from being over! Current fundraising levels stand at
$176,281—a little over half of our $320,000 goal. NACD
would like to thank our members and friends for your support
and patience through the lengthy fundraising and renovation
process. We are very close to the finish line. Help NACD
bring a successful end to the campaign. Go to
http://nacdnet.org/events/509campaign/ for more information
on the Campaign and renovation process and learn how you
can make a donation. All donations are tax deductible.
EPA Seeks Greater State and Local Government Input
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently
announced a change to the threshold for consultation with
state and local governments when it writes rules and
regulations.
As required under executive order, the federal government
must consult with elected state and local government
officials when regulations result in a substantial
associated cost to state or local government. EPA’s
previous consultation threshold was a cost of $100 million
per rule based on interpretation of the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act of 1995. EPA is lowering the consultation
threshold when costs exceed $25 million based on the
agency’s need for increased state and local input on a
wider range of environmental regulations. The greater
emphasis on state and local input makes this effort
important to conservation districts and local government
partners.
To read the full EPA press release, click here.
Deadline for President’s Environmental Youth Awards
Extended
For over thirty years, EPA has sponsored the President’s
Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA), a program that
recognizes young people across America for projects that
demonstrate their commitment to the environment. Past
winning projects include school and community recycling
programs; construction of nature preserves; major tree
planting programs; environmentally focused videos, skits
and newsletters created by students; and environmental
science projects. To be eligible to compete, a student or
students must be sponsored by an adult and submit to their
local EPA regional office a completed application and
evidence of a completed project as defined in the PEYA
application.
The deadline to submit applications for this year’s awards
has been extended to December 31, 2008. Young people in all
50 states and the U.S. territories are invited to
participate in the program. More information about the
program, a list of past winners and the application form
is available at http://www.epa.gov/education/peya/.
Two Potential Funding Opportunities Available for
Districts
The Laura Jane Musser Fund is calling for applicants for
their Environmental Initiative Program. The focus of this
program is to fund environmental stewardship projects in
rural areas that draw upon collaborative efforts in a
community. Non-profit organizations and local units of
government are eligible to apply for grants of up to
$35,000. For more information on the Laura Jane Musser Fund
or previously awarded projects, visit
http://www.musserfund.org/enviro.php.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is currently
promoting the Foundation’s Five-Star Restoration Matching
Grants Program. The program’s goal is to provide financial
assistance to community-based wetland, riparian and coastal
habitat restoration projects. Eligible projects will utilize
diverse partnerships and foster stewardship of natural
resources through education, outreach and training
activities. The deadline to submit proposals is
February 16, 2009. NFWF will also offer a webinar on
Friday, December 12 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST to discuss their
new online application system and answer questions from
applicants. For more information on this funding opportunity
and to register for the webinar, click here.
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