President's Budget Cuts Conservation

NACD's mission is to serve conservation districts by providing national leadership and a unified voice for natural resource conservation.

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESIDENT’S BUDGET CUTS CONSERVATION

NACD President Steve Robinson, a producer from Marysville, Ohio, today issued the following statement from the Association’s 2010 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla. following the release of the Administration’s budget.

Orlando, Fla.—February 2, 2010—“Yesterday President Obama released the Administration’s fiscal year 2011 budget. The budget has both good and bad news for those of us who are concerned about delivering conservation to America.
“On the bright side, we are at a historic high with regard to dollars available through Farm Bill conservation programs and have seen increases in Conservation Technical Assistance and State and Private Forestry Programs. This provides our members and our partners more opportunities than ever before to help landowners implement conservation practices on the ground.

“Unfortunately, the budget also makes cuts to several programs that are critical to delivering financial and technical assistance to landowners, including significant cuts to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. In addition, both the Resource Conservation and Development Councils and Watershed Programs are eliminated in the budget, further diminishing districts and their partners’ ability to deliver conservation.

“While we understand that today’s economic conditions directly impact budget development, we regret that a higher priority was not placed on these important programs that help landowners care for their lands. We look forward to being involved in the next steps of the process and will work with Congress to improve funding levels.”

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The National Association of Conservation Districts is the non-profit organization that represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts and 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For almost 70 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices. NACD’s website is at www.nacdnet.org.