Mississippi Association Of Conservation Districts, Inc.

The Mississippi Association Of Conservation Districts, Inc. (MACD) is a non-profit organization that provides technical assistance, training, and capacity building support for soil and water conservation efforts across the state of Mississippi. MACD partners with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to further conservation programs and initiatives through cooperative agreements funded by the federal Soil and Water Conservation program (CFDA 10.902).

Over the past few years, MACD has received several cooperative agreement awards from NRCS totaling over $1.3 million. These awards aim to enhance MACD's ability to provide technical assistance and watershed/conservation training to NRCS field staff and conservation district employees across Mississippi. Typical activities include developing training materials, conducting workshops, assisting with staffing support, improving communication and partnerships, advancing statewide conservation programs, and building overall capacity for natural resource conservation in the state. For example, the two most recent awards in September 2023 provided over $1.25 million to MACD for technical assistance, employee training, program support, and increased service delivery by conservation districts over a 4-year period. Previous awards also focused on expanding MACD's public outreach, creating conservation leadership training, supporting strategic planning efforts, and developing national partner networks to bolster Mississippi's conservation initiatives in coordination with NRCS.