2017 NACD NE Region Meeting Archives
Check out photos, audio, and videos from the 2017 NACD NE Region Meeting.
Conference Audio
Resources
An Overview of Vermont’s Clean Water Act, Julie Moore, Secretary, Agency of Natural Resources, State of Vermont
Farm Policy and Conservation Districts: Understanding and Engaging in the Farm Bill, Eric Hansen, NACD Northeast Region Representative
NRCS’s Targeted Watershed Planning Approach in Vermont, Fletcher (Kip) Potter, Water Quality Specialist
Vermont Environmental Stewardship Program Pilot: Working Lands for a Better Vermont, Ryan Patch, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
Green Stormwater Infrastructure, Kerry O’Brien, District Manager, Caledonia County NRCD
Building Conservation Leaders, Kim LaFleur, Secretary-Treasurer NACD
Tribal Outreach and Partnership RPG, Michael Crowder, NACD 2nd Vice-President, Supervisor Benton CD, WA State
Welcome to Vermont, Vicky Drew, NRCS State Conservationist
Links
2017 NACD NE Region Meeting
August 13-15th in Burlington, VT. Located at the Sheraton Hotel 870 Williston Road, South Burlington, VT 05403.
Join us in the Green Mountain State this summer for a spectacular conference featuring the vibrant agricultural landscape of Vermont.
- Learn about program innovations to promote conservation, support agriculture, and protect water quality.
- Discuss key policies and programs that impact our conservation mission.
- Hear from NACD and NRCS leadership and others about national trends, issues, and activities and how they relate to the Northeast
- Share experiences with colleagues from throughout the Northeast.
- Tour Vermont farms and stormwater projects and enjoy the beautiful Vermont landscape.
Feeding the World, Nurturing Our Communities
How should we manage our food production and land use to ensure healthy and affordable food for all? How do we sustain land-based employment and enterprises, protect and improve natural resources for future generations, and nurture the communities we cherish? We are food producers and food consumers –land owners and land users – educators – technical service providers – project implementers and project funders – policy makers and rule enforcers – and human beings who long for a fulfilling life. What can we do at the local, state, regional and national levels to protect what we value and realize our vision for the future, in harmony with the natural world around us? Join us to explore these and other questions through presentations, dialogue, celebrations and tours at the Northeast NACD Region Meeting in Vermont!
Schedule
Download PDF Program
Sunday, August 13th
| 9:00am – 5:00pm |
Registration in Hotel Lobby |
| 11:30am – 5:00pm | National Conservation District Employees Association Tour for All Visit natural, historic and fun sites along Lake Champlain starting with Bread and Butter Farm, where a young farm family is making a living and caring for this conserved farm through a variety of community-oriented enterprises. The tour will wrap up at Magic Hat Brewery, one of Vermont’s famous local brew houses. – Conference Center Parking Lot |
| 5:30pm – 6:30pm |
Welcome Reception (light hors d’oevres and cash bar) – G’s Restaurant Dinner on your own at the Sheraton or downtown There will be a continuous free hotel shuttle to/from downtown Burlington 6-9 pm leaving from Hotel Lobby |
Monday, August 14th
Registration in the Hotel Conference Center – Diamond Ballroom Foyer from 8:00am – 1:30pm (Last chance to sign up for The Spirit of Ethan Allen Dinner Cruise)
| 6:45am – 8:45am | Breakfast – Emerald Ballroom Promenade |
| 7:00am – 8:45am | NE NACD Region Board Meeting – Emerald 1 Ballroom |
| 9:00am – 10:30am | Opening General Session – Emerald III Ballroom – Opening and Welcome – Michelle Green, Vermont Association of Conservation Districts (VACD) President – Pledge of Allegiance, National Anthem sung by Corrina Parnapy, Manager, Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District (NRCD) – Welcome to Vermont – Vicky Drew, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) VT State Conservationist – National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Updates – Kim LaFleur (MA), NACD Secretary-Treasurer – Dan Farrand (NY), Northeast (NE) NACD Chair – Michael Crowder (WA), NACD 2nd Vice President – NRCS Update – Keisha Tatem, Acting NRCS Northeast Regional Conservationist – National Conservation Districts Employees Association (NCDEA) and Northeast Association of Conservation Districts Employees (NACDE) Updates – Jeff Parker (NY), President NACDE- President’s Association Update – Denise Savageau (CT), NE Regional Representative- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Update – Kira Jacobs, Environmental Protection Specialist, Region 1– Meeting Logistics – Jill Arace, VACD Executive Director |
| 10:30am – 11:00am | Coffee & Tea Break – Emerald Ballroom Promenade |
| 11:00am – 12:00pm | KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands, and Communities: A Conservation Vision for New England ~ Brian Donahue, PhD, Brandeis UniversityWe live in one of the most densely populated and one of the most densely forested parts of the world. Can New England – or the Northeast – reasonably feed itself? Well, no – there are too many people; there’s not enough farmland; and the forest is too valuable. But we could grow more of our food within the region and realize significant social and environmental benefits. Brian Donahue will discuss how we might balance the values of wild forest, sustainable wood production, local food, and thriving communities. – Emerald III Ballroom |
| 12:00pm – 1:15pm | ~ LUNCH ~ Emerald Ballroom Promenade Opportunities and Challenges for US Agriculture – Chuck Ross, Director of University of Vermont Extension and former Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets – Emerald III Ballroom |
| 1:30pm – 3:00pm | Concurrent Breakout Sessions 1
— Regional Compost Feasibility Study & Pilot Project in Scituate Reservoir, RI |
| 3:00pm – 3:30pm | Coffee & Tea Break – Emerald Ballroom Promenade |
| 3:30pm – 4:45pm | Concurrent Breakout Sessions 2 1. Policy: Farm Bill and US Agriculture Budget 101 – Why you Should Care – Emerald III Ballroom — Eric Hansen, Northeast Region Representative and Policy Specialist, NACD — Tom Berry, Field Representative for US Senator Patrick Leahy2. Program Innovations: Green Stormwater Infrastructure – Emerald I Ballroom Speaker Bios |
| 5:30pm – 9:00pm |
Board buses for The Spirit of Ethan Allen Dinner Cruise on Lake Champlain – Conference Center Parking Lot ~ Remarks by Bill Howland – A Brief History of Lake Champlain Buses return to the Sheraton at 9pm |
Tuesday, August 15th
Registration in the Hotel Conference Center – Diamond Ballroom Foyer from 8:00am – 11:15am (Last chance to sign up for or change your conservation tour)
Please Recycle name tags and SWAG
| 6:45am – 8:45am | Breakfast – Emerald Ballroom Promenade & Emerald III Ballroom |
| 7:00am – 8:45am | VACD Annual Board Meeting – Carleton Room |
| 7:45am – 8:45am |
NRCS Leadership Meeting – Emerald III Ballroom NACDE Annual Meeting – Emerald II Ballroom |
| 9:00am – 10:30am | General Session Panel: Strategies for Accomplishing our Conservation Mission on the Continuum between Regulatory and Non-Regulatory (MD, NJ, DE) – Emerald III Ballroom |
| 10:30am – 10:45am |
NACDE Leadership Meeting – Emerald II Ballroom Closing Remarks – Kim LaFleur (NACD), Keisha Tatem (NRCS), Dan Farrand (Northeast NACD), Michelle Green (VACD) – Emerald III Ballroom |
| 10:45am – 11:15am | Coffee & Tea Break – Emerald Ballroom Promenade |
| 11:15am – 12:00pm | A Brief Natural History of Vermont – Rick Hopkins, Chair, Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District former VT Dept. of Environmental Conservation Planning Director – Emerald III Ballroom |
| 12:00pm |
Board Buses for CONSERVATION TOURS (boxed lunch provided for Tours #1 & #2; catered lunch for Tour #3) – Conference Center Parking Lot Tour #1: Agricultural Water Quality Tour Tour #2: Green Stormwater Infrastructure Tour Tour #3: Farm to Plate Tour |
| 5:00pm – 5:30pm | Buses Return to Sheraton Hotel – Conference Center Parking Lot |
| 6:00pm | Dinner on your own at the Sheraton or downtown
There will be a continuous free hotel shuttle to/from downtown Burlington 6-9 pm leaving from Hotel Lobby |