USDA funding 42 conservation partnerships

WASHINGTON — Illinois and Indiana initiatives are among those projects selected for funding through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the investment of more than $325 million in 42 projects across the nation to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners boost their operations and conserve natural resources.

Lake Decatur

The Lake Decatur Targeted Soil Health and Water Quality initiative will receive $6,323,999.

The project, in partnership with the city of Decatur in central Illinois, focuses on agricultural runoff of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment that is degrading water quality in Lake Decatur, elevating algal-bloom risk and increasing treatment costs for the city’s public drinking-water source, serving approximately 70,500 people.

Monitoring and watershed plans show disproportionately high nutrient and sediment delivery from four priority sub-watersheds totaling approximately 66,933 acres upstream of the lake.

The five-year Lake Decatur Targeted Soil Health and Water Quality Initiative, led by the city of Decatur with Natural Resources Conservation Service and agricultural and conservation partners, concentrates technical and financial assistance within these sub-watersheds.

The objective is to measurably improve nutrient-use efficiency, soil function and resilience on working lands while reducing nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment delivery to Lake Decatur, sustaining agricultural productivity and protecting a safe, resilient drinking-water source.

Central Woods

Indiana’s Central Hardwoods Working Forests for Birds RCPP will receive $9.5 million and partners with the American Bird Conservancy.

The Central Hardwoods Working Forests for Birds RCPP will accelerate voluntary, landscape-scale conservation on private working forests across southern Indiana and northern Kentucky by expanding access to technical and financial assistance, conservation planning and implementation support for science-based forest management practices.

The project will address widespread forest mesophication, declining oak regeneration, invasive vegetation and other factors that are reducing forest structure variety, wildlife habitat quality and ecosystem resilience.

Ultimately, the Central Hardwoods Working Forests for Birds RCPP will accelerate conservation at a landscape scale, ensuring that healthy working forests continue to support both thriving rural communities and the varied wildlife species that depend upon them.

Finding Solutions

Through RCPP, the USDA works with partners to fund solutions to natural resource challenges on agricultural land.

“At NRCS, we are committed to putting America’s farmers, ranchers and private landowners first by investing in practical, producer-focused conservation solutions that strengthen agricultural operations and protect our natural resources,” said Colton Buckley, USDA’s NRCS chief.

“Through RCPP, we are leveraging the power of public-private partnerships to deliver meaningful results for farmers, ranchers and rural communities. These investments will help producers address local resource challenges, improve the resilience of their operations and keep working lands productive for generations to come.”

In the past year, NRCS has improved RCPP, through streamlining partnership agreement processes and increasing flexibilities to ensure the program works more effectively for conservation partners and America’s farmers and ranchers.

Seventy-five percent of the RCPP’s $325 million in funding this year will go directly to the American farmer or is used to cover the cost of conservation practice implementation.

NRCS ranked proposals based on how they addressed the following priorities:

• Addressing soil health, water quality or wildlife habitat with an aim to improve land health, enhance resource management and promote sustainable agriculture and long-term protection of agricultural, grassland and forestland viability.

• Soil health projects using practices that focus on minimizing soil disturbance, maximizing soil cover, increasing natural vitality and maintaining living roots throughout the year.

vLeveraging precision agriculture technologies to target conservation efforts based on specific field conditions, potentially reducing costs and improving resource efficiency.

• Focusing on Farmers First projects, especially those that provide technical and financial assistance via contributions for planning and practice designs to support producer contracts.

• Supporting projects led by Indian tribes. This funding opportunity included a $30 million set aside for projects with Indian tribes.