NASCA members utilize the Ask NASCA tool to gain feedback and support from their peers within the network.
Any NASCA member (director or staff) is free to post in this public forum.
| # | Post Title | Result Info | Date | User | Forum |
| Reply To: Sources of dedicated funding for soil & water conservation | 1 Relevance | 13 years ago | Brent Dykes | Library Forum | |
| There are no dedicated funds for conservation districts in Georgia, other than on average $1000 per district for basic administrative expenses. Districts generate their own funding through local initiatives or grant applications. | |||||
| Sources of dedicated funding for soil & water conservation | 1 Relevance | 13 years ago | Brad Spicer | Library Forum | |
| Which states have some type of dedicated funding, at the state level, for their soil and water conservation district programs? Of those that do, what are the sources of these dedicated funds (taxes, fees, etc.)? Also, how much of this state funding is generated, on average, each year? | |||||
| Electronic version of state conservation district official handbook | 1 Relevance | 14 years ago | nasca admins | Library Forum | |
| Does your state or territory have an e-version of your conservation district official handbook? Please send NASCA the link by posting a response below, or a send a .pdf file to (November 2007) We will share your handbook in our Resource Library. | |||||
| Conservation district certification programs | 1 Relevance | 14 years ago | nasca admins | Library Forum | |
| I am researching conservation district certification programs, trying to collect information on various types, the pros/cons, and any other suggestions about them. Any information would be greatly appreciated. | |||||
| Informational video on conservation districts | 1 Relevance | 14 years ago | nasca admins | Library Forum | |
| I am interested in hearing from any state that has developed and/or produced an informational video on conservation districts whether the video is part of a training program or not. | |||||
| Conservation easement | 1 Relevance | 14 years ago | nasca admins | Library Forum | |
| Is there a minimum agricultural acreage that your state requires before it will accept a conservation easement on property as a tax benefit to the owner? If yes, what definition is used for "agricultural land"? | |||||
| How to operate an effective conservation district | 1 Relevance | 14 years ago | nasca admins | Library Forum | |
| I need your input to help me represent all NASCA members as I participate in a panel discussion in Reno: "How to operate an effective conservation district". Please share your success stories, as well as failures, that I might use as examples. I promise not to disclose enough information to give away your location. I appreciate anything you are willing to share. Mike Brown, NASCA President, January 16, 2007 | |||||
| Members or districts holding conservation easements | 1 Relevance | 8 years ago | Hakim Saadi, P.E. | Library Forum | |
| Robert Reschke asked me to reply. In Kansas, the Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of conservation (KDA-DOC) was authorized by the legislature in 2015 (HB 20161) to take action necessary to restore, establish, enhance and protect natural resources with conservation easements for the purpose of compensatory mitigation required under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. KSA 2-1904 (3) (f) (10) (c) established fees for the acquisition and administration of conservation easements held on behalf of “organized” Watershed Districts. KSA 2-1904 (h) All cost ... | |||||
| Technical Certification Programs | 1 Relevance | 8 years ago | Ray Ledgerwood | Library Forum | |
| Washington State conservation Commission (WSCC) establishes the Center for Technical Development (CTD) created for the purpose of ensuring that Washington State conservation Districts have the proper technical expertise and support to consistently plan and implement conservation programs. CTD will be implemented in collaboration with the Washington State conservation Commission (WSCC), conservation Districts across Washington State, Washington Association of conservation Districts (WACD), Washington Association of District Employees (WADE), USDA Natural Reso ... | |||||
| Partner Survey Questions | 1 Relevance | 8 years ago | Laura Johnson | Library Forum | |
| ... questions that elicit the best answers are numbers 6, 7, 8, and 10. What problem(s)/issue(s) were you experiencing that led you to contact the conservation district? Had you previously tried anything else to solve the problem? If so, what? Why did you choose to contact the conservation district, rather than a different entity or organization? What was the result of the conservation district’s program(s)/service(s)? (Encourage specifics. Rather than “we saw a big improvement in salmon habitat,” ask the landowner or partner to state exactly what the ... | |||||
| RE: What technology do other states use to store and share resources for Conservation Districts? | 1 Relevance | 2 months ago | Will Myers | Library Forum | |
| In Iowa, we also primarily use Microsoft tools like several other respondents noted. We also share many of the federal system compatibility issues as our staff (District and State) located in USDA Service Center offices are all on federal computers and infrastructure which has many use limitations. One thing that we have utilized with some success for communications and document sharing is though a third party website (Squarespace) which was originally created for sharing our state sponsored water quality initiative efforts with the general public. However, this product it also has many additional features which allow us to easily create password protected and web based sites to share and achieve documents and resources targeted towards a number of different groups. It is also user friendly and does not require internal IT support as it's managed via subscription through Squarespace. Happy to share more details on how this works if you are interested. | |||||
| RE: What technology do other states use to store and share resources for Conservation Districts? | 1 Relevance | 3 months ago | Clancy Green | Library Forum | |
| In Oklahoma, we mostly use Microsoft tools - Teams, Access, and Forms with some dabbling in SharePoint. As others have said, MS is finicky and our IT locks it down so some of the capabilities are limited. But all of our districts have licenses provided through the state (attached to their emails) so we know it is a system that is the same for everyone and that everyone can access. It is all web-based, though districts do have the option to install the apps on their desktops. | |||||
| RE: What technology do other states use to store and share resources for Conservation Districts? | 1 Relevance | 3 months ago | Jake Wilson | Library Forum | |
| In MO we have used (and continue to use to some extent) physical servers on a shared internal network, a web based "intranet" page, and most recently sharepoint. Each comes with its own set of pros and cons. M365 (sharepoint, forms, teams, etc.) has the most potential, but our state IT agency department does not allow us to fully take advantage of the capabilities. | |||||
| RE: What technology do other states use to store and share resources for Conservation Districts? | 1 Relevance | 3 months ago | Marsha Setzkorn-Meyer | Library Forum | |
| We use a program called Central Point. We use it to store and organize documents, but also to create forms. Prior to this we used Google Forms. An account was created for each district manager. We moved our supervisors modules to the platform, and included self tests. Once that was set up we added access for any supervisor interested (less than 20%) but with different privileges. We are still learning everything that is possible with the program. Contact me if you want more information. | |||||
| RE: What technology do other states use to store and share resources for Conservation Districts? | 1 Relevance | 3 months ago | Clare Ireland | Library Forum | |
| Also, to add to what I posted above, we initially went with Google products because they are cheap, easy, intuitive, and readily accessible. One problem we did run into is that it isn't very compatible with NRCS systems. Districts have reported various issues with using Google products from NRCS computers or using NRCS emails. We've actually been considering switching to SharePoint and Microsoft 365 for better compatibility with state and federal systems, but we're hesitant since those systems don't seem as intuitive for people in our limited experience. So I'm interested in what others' experiences have been! | |||||
| RE: What technology do other states use to store and share resources for Conservation Districts? | 1 Relevance | 3 months ago | Clare Ireland | Library Forum | |
| In Vermont, we've used mostly Google products (Google Drive, Google Forms, Google Docs, Google Sheets). We sometimes use other products like Survey Monkey and Monday.com for surveys and registrations. We have a shared Google Drive that all districts can access that has guidance documents and sample documents that districts share with one another. However, the Google Drive approach is really messy: No one ever knows where to find things, and we have to stay on top of sharing permissions. I think we're probably going to move to a system where all our "static" guidance documents and trainings live in a portal we set up through our website, and the Google Drive can be for all the messier "living" documents and peer-to-peer sharing. | |||||
| RE: What technology do other states use to store and share resources for Conservation Districts? | 1 Relevance | 3 months ago | Allie Dinwiddie | Library Forum | |
| Hi Breegan, North Carolina uses a combination of resources. I've listed a handful below that come to mind, but this is not an exhaustive list. Hope what I have shared here is helpful though! Formsite - This online form builder allows us to create customized forms for our state programs. We frequently use the "Save and Return" feature available through this tool, which allows users to start a submission and come back to it later. Formsite also offers some useful integrations. MS Forms - This is a newer resource we've started using more frequently in the last five years or so. We generally use it for quicker capture items. E.g. feedback on events, requests for trainings, etc. It is a useful tool especially for integration with SharePoint/Microsoft files, but has less form customization capabilities. Survey123 - Great for capturing spatial data through simple forms. The web-based designer has many useful templates that can be easily configured to your organization's spatial capture needs. Survey123 Connect - This is a desktop application used to design, publish and manage highly customized surveys using Microsoft Excel and XLSForm standard. It's useful for advanced users and for creating Survey123 forms that require more complex form logic, spatial data calculations and dynamic content. SharePoint - We've been using SharePoint to collect files (election reports, minutes, signed agreements, etc.) from Districts for over a decade. However, the State of NC's Department of IT sets strict controls limiting file sharing with users outside of our organizational tenant, which can result in access/permission issues. We've gotten into a pretty good groove not, but SharePoint can still be a bit buggy from a permissions/access perspective. I cannot speak to the Google Workspace/Google Drive environment and how that compares. Citrix Sharefile - This file sharing software creates a password protected option for sharing files/folders with users outside of the State of North Carolina's tenant. We especially like this option because of the ShareFile for Windows app that allows users to access files directly through Windows File Explorer. It mounts cloud files as a mapped network drive in Windows File Explorer, which allows you to drag and drop files, open them, and automatically push changes you save on your machine back to the cloud. | |||||
| Conservation District NAICS Codes | 1 Relevance | 2 years ago | Clare Ireland | Library Forum | |
| We have a new state law that's requiring our districts to register for state unemployment coverage for the first time. In going through this process, we've realized that our districts are using very different North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. I'd like to provide guidance on what codes our districts should be using, and I'm wondering if anyone has already provided guidance to districts in your state about this? Or if not, do you know what NAICS code your districts tend to use? Thanks! | |||||
| Annual Reports required from Conservation Districts | 1 Relevance | 4 years ago | Marsha Setzkorn-Meyer | Library Forum | |
| Does your state require specific end of year reports from your districts to be submitted to your division to show accountability for the funds they have received during the year? The type of report we are looking for is more detailed than the Annual Report given to stakeholders at their annual meeting. Are you willing to share your report? | |||||
| Conservation District State Association Dues | 1 Relevance | 7 years ago | Brooks Morehart | Library Forum | |
| I have a couple districts that are curious what other states are paying in dues to their State Associations. Any input would be appreciated, Thanks! | |||||
| Forest Conservation, Projects, and Partnerships | 1 Relevance | 7 years ago | Rachel Theler | Library Forum | |
| 1. What are your districts' primary forestry issues? 2. What are your districts' needs regarding forestry? 3. What are your districts engaged in regarding forestry, such as plans, projects, education, etc.? 4. Who are your districts' primary partners specific to forestry? | |||||
| Reply To: State Conservation Agency Support for SWCD IT Needs | 1 Relevance | 10 years ago | Brian Farkas | Library Forum | |
| West Virginia does not provide equipment to districts, but we do help with technical support when requested. We have state employees assigned to district offices and it's easy to extend IT support when requested. We are in the process of creating a video network with all the districts to reduce travel costs and time. We will pay 50 percent of the equipment costs, but the districts will be required to pay the monthly charges. We will install the network and help maintain. | |||||
| Reply To: State Conservation Agency Support for SWCD IT Needs | 1 Relevance | 10 years ago | Jim Gillespie, Iowa | Library Forum | |
| Doug: In Iowa we do not and are having similar discussions. It should be a topic we discuss when we get together the end of the month? Jim Gillespie Iowa | |||||
| Reply To: Conservation District Supervisor Election Laws | 1 Relevance | 11 years ago | Jennifer Clifford | Library Forum | |
| In New York State the law governs that Board Directors are appointed by the county board of legislatures. Boards are made up of 5 or 7 members two of which are members of the county board appointed annually and the remaining serve three year terms two of whom shall be practical farmers from the county grange and county farm bureau. The fifth member shall represent the urban, suburban, and rural non-farm landownership interests. For a seven member board the two additional board members, shall be residents of the county and at least one shall be a practical farmer. There are some additional stipulations for certain metropolitan areas. | |||||
| Reply To: Conservation District Supervisor Election Laws | 1 Relevance | 11 years ago | David Williams | Library Forum | |
| NC has no specific qualifications for candidates for election | |||||
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