National Association of Conservation District members were pleased with the recent Omnibus Funding Bill passed by Congress and signed by the President. NACD President Brent Van Dyke says when their members met with lawmakers last week in Washington DC they were concerned about funding shortfalls for conservation programs. He says the Omnibus helped boost conservation funding.
He says the Omnibus measure is a big victory for conservation and agriculture as a whole.
Van Dyke says it’s critical lawmakers keep funding conservation and one of the keys is to make sure there’s enough boots on the ground from NRCS to help farmers and ranchers with technical assistance to implement those conservation practices.
He says the Omnibus package also included $335 million for USDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry programs, which is an increase from Fy 2017’s levels. Of that, $28 million is dedicated to urban forestry efforts.
