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: State Conservation Foundations | 1 Relevance | 13 years ago | Louise Lawrence | Library Forum | |
| Maryland Association of Soil conservation Districts also has an Education Endowment Fund that was established 10-15 years ago and is used for supporting Envirothon & other educational activities. | |||||
| Reply To: Sources of dedicated funding for soil & water conservation | 1 Relevance | 13 years ago | Marc Cribb | Library Forum | |
| SC's 46 conservation districts receive an annual allocation of state funds from the State Legislature. The current state funding level is $690,000, or $15,000 for each district. | |||||
| Reply To: Sources of dedicated funding for soil & water conservation | 1 Relevance | 13 years ago | Steve Woods | Library Forum | |
| MN has no "guaranteed" feeder of funds specifically for the 90 SWCDs, but we do have three pretty reliable sources: 1. Base fundng from the state's general funds supplies about $6M/yr. 2. Bonding for conservation easement processing feeds about another $600k to a third of them. 3. A sales tax increase of 3/8 of one percent was passed in November 2008 that rasies $90M/yr for clean water. Of this amount, SWCDs usually capture about $7M/yr. (4. Habitat Funds from the sales tax increase usually result in a handful of SWCDs scoring big single-project dollars. The ... | |||||
| 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 | 13 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 | 13 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 | 13 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 | 13 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 | 13 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 | |||||
| Conservation District Purpose | 1 Relevance | 1 year ago | Melany Aten | Library Forum | |
| ... because as they grow they see the need to update and reword their mission statements to include more. Program mission/function statement: To take available technical, financial, and educational resources, whatever their source, and focus or coordinate them so that they meet the needs of the local land user for conservation of soil, water, and related natural resources. Some of the CDs mission statements: BMCD will be a leading voice working to address and advance conservation concerns and programs relevant to the district’s goals and objectives, being m ... | |||||
| Types of Conservation Plans Accepted | 1 Relevance | 3 years ago | Delwyne Trefz | Library Forum | |
| ... Further, terms of the Cooperative Working Agreement between NRCS, our commission, and individual conservation districts that we operated under prior to the recently executed MOA, included this: "TECHNICAL STANDARDS and PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS The parties agree to adopt the NRCS Electronic Field Office Technical Guide (EFOTG) and/or other science-based technical standards as appropriate for planning and application of conservation The local EFOTG can be revised or supplemented based on local conditions or new technology. Parties are encouraged to pe ... | |||||
| Advisory Councils | 1 Relevance | 4 years ago | Cindy Lair | Library Forum | |
| Colorado's agricultural conservation is mostly facilitated through the Dept of Agriculture. The Ag Commission advises on most programs within CDA. The Colorado State conservation Board is the governing board for conservation districts but doesn't oversee all conservation programs within CDA. Our Dept of Natural Resources has individual agencies that have their own governing boards that guide conservation efforts (ie. Wildlife Commission, Colorado Water conservation Board, Oil and Gas conservation Commission, Mined Land Reclamation Board). | |||||
| Reply To: District Director Emeritus Program | 1 Relevance | 11 years ago | Marc Cribb | Library Forum | |
| ... of public duty for long and faithful service but still is interested in the local conservation district. Upon retirement and recommendation by the conservation District Board, it is appropriate for the DNR- Land, Water, and conservation Advisory Committee to confer the title of conservation District Commissioner Emeritus upon deserving individuals This title does not confer any powers or responsibilities but is in recognition of faithful service to the local conservation district. Guidelines: The following guidelines are intended to be used to establish ... | |||||
| Reply To: District-owned park areas | 1 Relevance | 11 years ago | Susan Metzger | Library Forum | |
| Slough Creek Point Educational Area on beautiful Perry Lake. This is a 329 acre tract of land that is leased by Jefferson County conservation District. This is an outdoor classroom area for many local students. There are also public walking trails that are paved and are wheel chair accessible. A little history. In the winter of 1999 the Jefferson County conservation District began the development of Slough Creek Point Education Area, in Jefferson County, KS. Slough Creek Point consists of 329 acres of woodland, streams, grasslands, lakeshore, riparian ... | |||||
| RE: What technology do other states use to store and share resources for Conservation Districts? | 1 Relevance | 5 days 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 weeks 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 weeks 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 weeks 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 | 4 weeks 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 | 4 weeks 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 | 4 weeks 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 | 3 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! | |||||
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