2007 Vaswcd State Legislative Agenda s2

Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (804) 559-0324 • Fax (804) 559-0325 • Email [email protected] [email protected] 22 SEP 2016

To: Richard Chaffin, VASWCD President, Kendall Tyree, VASWCD Executive Director, & all VA SWCD’s.

SUBJ: Quarterly report on National Association of Conservation District (NACD) Activities for the VASWCD Board Meeting at Glen Allen, VA, on 22 SEP 2016.

FROM: John Peterson, VASWCD NACD Board Representative. Director, Chairman, NO. VA SWCD.

REPORT:

Registration is now open for NACD’s 2017 Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. This annual meeting will be held from January 28 to February 1, 2017 at the Sheraton in Downtown Denver at NACD’s special rate of $169 per night. The NACD team has a fun-filled week of learning and networking planned for attendees that you won’t want to miss! Head over to our website for the tentative agenda and more information on the meeting’s breakout sessions, notable speakers, and in-depth tours. With generous support from Agri Drain and U.S. Sugar, NACD will once again be offering scholarship opportunities for free registration and a complimentary ticket to our annual “Appreciation Dinner” to first-time meeting attendees. One scholarship will be awarded to a first-time meeting attendee from each state and territory. Scholarship recipients must stay at the Sheraton in Downtown Denver where the meeting is located and be selected by their state or territory in collaboration with their NACD board member. If you have been chosen as a scholarship recipient, contact NACD Grassroots Membership Coordinator Kimberly Koch to complete your registration.

Capitol Hill is back in session as of Tuesday, 6 SEP, after resembling a ghost town for the last two months. Members of Congress are returning for the first time after the seven-week summer recess with one primary task looming: keeping the government’s lights on past the end of this month. Republicans in both the House and Senate are expected to discuss their options this week regarding the length of a stopgap funding bill, also known as a continuing resolution (CR).” With just three weeks left until the funding deadline, the Senate is expected to continue pushing forward with individual spending bills. Senators are scheduled to take another procedural vote on a stand-alone Defense Department appropriations bill on Tuesday evening. Democrats, however, are expected to block the measure for a third time.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently announced improvements to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), making the program more accessible and more transparent for customers and partners. The update will include redesigned planning and evaluation tools, similar to existing NRCS tools, allowing producers to better evaluate their options for conservation planning. NRCS will also take into consideration input from local producers and partners when strategizing further expansion and development of the program to better identify and prioritize areas of concern. The updates to the nation’s largest conservation program will substantially expand its reach, doubling conservation enhancement opportunities such as gypsum and biochar application strategies. The fortification of monarch habitat programs and carbon sequestration programs, along with the utilization of new conservation technologies, will help current conservation stewards to improve their beneficial impacts nationwide.

The nation's Latino population, which has long been characterized by its rapid growth, has slowed since 2007. Falling immigration rates from Latin America and a decline in Hispanic birth rates have driven the trend, a study found. Read the key takeaways, and explore the data by state, county and metropolitan area in our interactive maps and fact sheets.

The National Association of Conservation Districts supports the recent introduction of S. 3288, a companion bill to H.R. 5451 that would eliminate unnecessary and costly reporting requirements for American producers who participate in voluntary conservation programs. Current law requires any business entity – including farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners – to register with the federal government’s System for Award Management (SAM) and obtain a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to receive financial assistance from federal agencies like the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Mandating that farmers and ranchers comply with these time-consuming requirements complicates conservation delivery and can discourage landowners from participating in NRCS cost-share programs. The Senate’s “Improving Access to Farm Conservation Act,” cosponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar. D-Minn., and John Boozman, R-Ark., would exempt landowners from the SAM and DUNS requirements, thereby improving landowner access to NRCS’ voluntary conservation programs.

Morning Consult reports, “A handful of lawmakers are determined to pass the first wide-ranging energy bill in nearly a decade, but other members tempered expectations Thursday at the opening meeting of the conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions. Major sticking points on the legislation include funding for infrastructure, drought and wildfire language, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.”

NRCS and the Forest Service’s Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership is now accepting funding proposals for Fiscal Year 2017. The partnership was formed to promote cross-boundary restoration efforts between federal and non-governmental stakeholders that reduce and mitigate wildfire threats, protect water quality and supply, and improve habitat quality. Projects should seek to improve the health of forest and rangeland ecosystems on private and/or federal land. Electronic proposals are due by October 17 to NRCS Conservation Initiative Coordinator Luther Jones and FS Forest Fire Management Officer Laurie Kurth. Please contact NACD Forestry Specialist Mike Beacom for the required proposal template.

On SEP 9th, NACD President Lee McDaniel, CEO Jeremy Peters, and Director of Communications Whitney Forman-Cook traveled to Y Worry Farm in Davidsonville, Md., to join Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and NRCS Chief Jason Weller in celebrating the profound difference farmers have made within the Chesapeake Bay watershed by using voluntary conservation practices. McDaniel met with Sec. Vilsack that morning, along with NRCS officials and commodity group leaders, to discuss pertinent issues like the next farm bill. McDaniel relayed that the secretary encouraged commodity and conservation groups to work together on farm bill policy and to spread the message that voluntary conservation efforts work, and work well. To view a clip of Chief Weller’s speech in support of voluntary conservation, click here to visit our Facebook page. Also be sure to check out NRCS’ most recent publication, “Agricultural Lands Key to a Healthy Chesapeake Bay,” for details on how farmer-led conservation has dramatically boosted the watershed’s health.

As the end of this fiscal year looms, Congress is working to set up a funding plan for the next one, which starts on October 1. Under regular order, each chamber of Congress would have passed 12 individual appropriations bills; however, as has been the case for the past several years, Congress has failed to send any of those bills to the president’s desk, and as a result, is scrambling to keep the federal government from shutting down. While some of the programs that conservation districts use are funded through mandatory budget allocations, others, including the funds that pay NRCS staff salaries, are covered by the discretionary side of the budget, which is subject to change annually. There is a consensus growing in Washington that Congress will fund the federal government past the presidential election and into the lame duck session. In the interim, NACD will continue to monitor Congress’ progress and advocate for strong voluntary conservation program funding.

The Senate's work on a short-term spending bill is slipping into next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday got unanimous consent, which requires the agreement of every senator, to set up a first procedural vote at 5:30 p.m. Monday on a House appropriations bill that will be used for a vehicle for the continuing resolution (CR).

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Report respectfully submitted by,

John W. Peterson VASWCD NACD Board Representative Director, Chairman, No. VA SWCD