National Association of Conservation District leaders have written Ag Committee Chairs and ranking members asking them to include their priorities for appropriations for conservation programs.  NACD President Earl Garber says their chief priority is the $ 815 million in the President’s 2015 budget for conservation technical assistance through the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Garber says his group is also requesting that no funds be spent on the implementation of user fees for conservation technical assistance provided through  NRCS. He says another important appropriation they want fully funded is the $ 1.6 billion allocated in the just passed farm bill for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

He says NACD supports conservation being managed at the local level with technical assistance and funding from federal, state and local governments as well as the private sector.