Conservation Districts of Iowa welcomes national conservation community

NACD Summer Conservation Forum and Tour showcases successful soil health and water quality conservation projects across Iowa  ALTOONA, Iowa (July 14, 2017) - Innovative efforts to advance adoption of soil and water conservation practices by conservation districts in Iowa and across the United States will be in the spotlight Monday, July 17, and Tuesday, July 18, as part of a joint meeting hosted by the National Association of Conservation Districts and the Conservation Districts of Iowa, being held at Prairie Meadows Hotel and Casino, Altoona.  Among the speakers will be Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, and National Association of Conservation Districts president, Brent Van Dyke, and National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Acting Chief, Leonard Jordan. "Here in Iowa, we embrace the fact that soil health and water quality impact everyone," says Bob Lynch, CDI president and farmer from Humboldt County. "While we have 500 national conservation leaders here in Iowa, our focus will be on promoting important and innovative conservation practices and the ways in which conservation districts in Iowa - and around the nation - can facilitate the adoption of these practices."  This first-ever confluence of state and national conservation experts and practitioners in Iowa will demonstrate how dedicated the nation's 3,000 conservation districts are to continuously improving soil health and water quality in both rural and urban areas. The meeting will include soil health and water quality tours of innovative projects in practice across central Iowa.  "NACD and CDI put together a terrific program for this year's Summer Conservation Forum and Tour, complete with engaging speakers, dynamic panel discussions, and expert presentations," NACD President Brent Van Dyke said. "Leading up to the general program on Monday and the all-day conservation tours on Tuesday, NACD and CDI leadership will be getting down to business, discussing and approving budgets, developing strategic objectives, and setting policy priorities that will guide and enhance locally-led, voluntary conservation delivery in the United States for many years to come."  -30- About Conservation Districts of Iowa Conservation Districts of Iowa supports the state's soil and water conservation districts through public education, acknowledgment, commissioner development, policy, on-the-ground conservation, conservation practice promotion, events and more. For more information, visit www.cdiowa.org. About the National Association of Conservation Districts The National Association of Conservation Districts is the non-profit organization that represents the nation's 3,000 conservation districts, their state associations and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For more than 80 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices. For more information about NACD, visit: www.nacdnet.org.