NRCS Partners with Soil and Water Conservation Society to Fund Equitable Conservation Guidebook

MADISON, Wis., April 30, 2024 – Today, the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) proudly announced the release of a groundbreaking guidebook titled "A Conservation Professionals' Guide to Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Conservation Delivery with Historically Underserved Producers and Communities." The guidebook, a project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), serves as a resource for conservation professionals and policymakers to understand the barriers historically underserved communities face in implementing conservation practices and how to equitably address these barriers to provide community-led conservation technical assistance that meets the specific needs of historically underserved producers and communities.

The involvement of historically underserved producers in conservation programming has been very low throughout the USDA's history. Addressing this issue and advancing conservation requires acknowledging the past injustices and inequities that created barriers for historically underserved communities to access and participate in conservation programs. This guidebook details these barriers and provides actionable recommendations for how conservation professionals can work to address them as they go through the nine-step conservation planning process. Importantly, the guidebook adds a preparatory phase that includes self-education on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues, trust and relationship building, and intentional outreach. This guidebook also provides language recommendations, term and acronym explanations, national policy recommendations, and helpful reading materials and resources.

The recommendations outlined in this guidebook were created directly from the results of focus groups with historically underserved producers, nonprofits, and conservation professionals organized and facilitated with project partner Meridian Institute. Several steps were taken to ensure the focus group participants had a safe space to openly and honestly discuss the barriers and needs of historically underserved communities regarding conservation technical assistance.

The USDA and SWCS view this guidebook as a crucial stepping stone for conservation professionals dedicated to offering a more just, diverse, equitable, and inclusive experience through conservation assistance. This guidebook is a living document that will evolve and grow as discussions on DEI in conservation progress.

The complete guidebook can be found at www.swcs.org/DEIguidebook.

For more information, contact:

• Emma Harper, SWCS Communications Coordinator, at emma.harper@swcs.org
• Candace Spencer, Meridian Institute Mediator and Program Manager, at cspencer@merid.org 

#
 

Helping People Help the Land

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.