Minnehaha Conservation District

WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY?

Conservation Clips is a collection of articles distributed by the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) that provides members and partners with the latest news in what’s driving conservation. These articles are not indicative of NACD policy and are the opinions of their authors, unless otherwise noted. 

NACD Blog: Sussex Conservation District Demonstrates Planting Green
08/27/19

On Tuesday, Aug. 20, Delaware’s Sussex Conservation District held its annual Soil Health Field Day. This year, the theme was ‘Planting Green.’

Ohio’s Country Journal: Conservation In Action
By Matt Wilde
08/27/19

More than 100 people from across the nation recently got an up-close look at the latest in conservation practices aimed at improving water quality from Iowa to the Gulf of Mexico during the Conservation in Action tour, hosted by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC).

High Country News: When public lands become tribal lands again
By Anna V. Smith
08/16/19

Thinning and reintroducing fire through prescribed burns would be a top priority for the more than 17,000 forested acres the tribe received through the Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act in 2018.

Star Tribune: As monarch butterflies vanish, University of Minnesota investigates road salt as culprit — and cure
By Greg Stanley
08/25/19

Too much sodium is toxic for butterflies and can delay or hinder their muscle development. But smaller amounts may prove beneficial.

Quanta Magazine: Soil’s Microbial Market Shows the Ruthless Side of Forests
By Gabriel Popkin
08/27/19

In the “underground economy” for soil nutrients, fungi strike hard bargains and punish plants that won’t meet their price.

Tulsa World: The big shift: 2019 floods moved acres of land, changed landscapes
By Kelly Bostian
08/24/19

Water has been the story of the summer of 2019, with floods and record rainfall, but the true subject of a flood is land that has been inundated, scoured away, and sometimes lost.

SCIENMAG: Wildfires Could Permanently Alter Alaska’s Forest Composition
08/26/19

A team of researchers led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) projected that the combination of climate change and increased wildfires will cause the iconic evergreen conifer trees of Alaska to get pushed out in favor of broadleaf deciduous trees, which shed their leaves seasonally.

Montgomery Advertiser: Climate and change: How a hotter world could transform Alabama’s forests
By Brian Lyman
08/27/19

Drier conditions could affect key parts of the timber industry by transforming Alabama’s woodlands.

Pew: Soil Health Can Combat Climate Change From the Ground Up
By April Simpson
08/23/19

Just this year, at least 10 states have introduced new soil management policies that call for further research or data collection, or offer tax exemptions, technical assistance or even grant money to, among other actions, plant cover crops, diversify crop rotations and reduce tillage that can tear apart beneficial fungi.

NBC News: How the Amazon’s fires, deforestation affect the U.S. Midwest
By Erik Ortiz
08/23/19

The continued loss of vegetation in the Amazon could have a cumulative effect, not only in contributing to climate change but also affecting rainfall patterns around the globe, including the U.S. Midwest, threatening food production and destabilizing ecosystems, according to the experts.

Bridge: Battle looms over laws to slow spread of invasive species in Great Lakes
By Jim Malewitz and Sarah Whites-Koditschek
08/26/19

At least 80 invasive species have arrived in the ballast water transatlantic ships take in and discharge for balance.