The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) is a national association representing units of government established under state law to carry out natural resource management programs at the local level. The group represents all 3,000 local conservation districts in the United States; the 17,000 individuals who serve on their governing boards; and state-level associations of conservation districts. The group actively lobbies and provides resources on federal activity pertaining to land and water management, among other conservation issues. It is particularly active in lobbying efforts surrounding the Farm Bill and generally supports increased federal spending towards conservation programs. ^{1 2}

NACD was involved in the formation of the Conservation Technology Information Center, a membership group that shares information on climate-focused technology and agricultural practices and advocates for conservation. ³

Background and History

The National Association of Conservation Districts was formed in 1946 as the “National Association of Soil Conservation District Governing Officials.” The group was created following the introduction of local conservation districts in the United States, which were created at the urging of President Franklin Roosevelt following the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Roosevelt urged state governors to sign the Standard State Soil Conservation Districts Act, which gave states “a step-by-step guide to create conservation districts and listing their powers and responsibilities.” The first such local conservation district, Brown Creek Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), was established in North Carolina in 1937. ⁴

The NACD held its first annual meeting in 1947, at which 42 of the then 48 states were represented, and in 1970 shortened its name from “National Association of Soil Conservation District Governing Officials” to “National Association of Conservation Districts” (NACD). ⁴

As of 2025, the association claims to represent the nearly 3,000 soil and water conservation districts in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Freely Associated States of Federated States of Micronesia and Palau. ⁴

In 1982, the NACD became a founding member of the “Conservation Tillage Information Center” (CTIC), a club focused on increasing no-till acreage in agriculture that later became the Conservation Technology Information Center, a membership organization that promotes conservation advocacy, best practices, and technology supported by grants from the  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Other founding members of the CTIC were the EPA and the Soil Conservation Society of America. ³

Activities and Advocacy

The National Association of Conservation Districts lobbies on the periodic Farm Bill, the omnibus agriculture and nutrition policy legislation passed by Congress every five to seven years, and seeking the inclusion of the group’s priorities in the bill. The group’s 2025 Farm Bill requests included “Keep[ing] conservation investments provided by the Inflation Reduction Act in conservation programs and integrat[ing] them into the conservation title of the farm bill,” as well as the expansion of and additional funding for several other programs, including the Conservation Stewardship Program and Conservation Reserve Program. ²

In 2025, the group supported President Donald Trump’s nomination of Brooke Rollins as Agriculture Secretary and her later Senate confirmation. ⁵

The group also published a one-pager criticizing executive actions by the second Trump administration for “freezing and revoking conservation funding, reducing staff, closing local offices, and shifting priorities within federal programs,” saying they “have significantly impacted America’s producers and our country’s voluntary, locally led conservation delivery system. ⁶

1. “About NACD.” National Association of Conservation Districts. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.nacdnet.org/about-nacd/
2. “Farm Bill.” National Association of Conservation Districts. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.nacdnet.org/about-nacd/what-we-do/farm-bill/
3. Mike Lessiter. “40-Year-Old Conservation Tillage Information Center Gave Unified Voice for No-Till.” No-Till Farmer. November 6, 2022. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12016-40-year-old-conservation-tillage-information-center-gave-unified-voice-for-no-till
4. “NACD History.” National Association of Conservation Districts. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.nacdnet.org/about-nacd/nacd-history/
5. “NACD Applauds Confirmation of Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture.” National Association of Conservation Districts. February 13, 2025. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.nacdnet.org/newsroom/nacd-applauds-confirmation-of-brooke-rollins-as-secretary-of-agriculture/
6. “Impacts of Executive Actions on Locally Led Conservation Issue Paper.” National Association of Conservation Districts. March 2025. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.nacdnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-NACD-Executive-Orders-Impacts-Issue-Paper.pdf