Forestland Fuel Load Reduction Funding for Southern California Available Through June 7, 2013

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USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service

May 29, 2013, 03:01 ET

RIVERSIDE, Calif., May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications for funding to apply conservation practices on non-industrial private forestland and shrub land areas in seven Southern California counties. The application deadline is Friday, June 7, 2013.

This special funding is being made available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program under the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI). CCPI is a voluntary conservation initiative that enables the use of certain conservation programs along with resources of eligible partners to provide financial and technical assistance to owners and operators of agricultural and non-industrial private forest lands.

The primary objective of this CCPI signup is fuels management to reduce the threat of wildfire on non-industrial private forestland and shrub land areas within the boundaries of the South Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council. Eligible areas include Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Riverside, and Ventura counties.

Fire and a host of other environmental impacts and climate conditions increasingly threaten private forestland in Southern California. The high elevation forested landscape has a major influence on Southern California communities of approximately 20 million people.

Conservation practices funded through this initiative will help to increase the resilience of private forest lands by addressing post-wildfire impacts, reducing future wildfire risks, minimizing soil erosion and the impacts to water quality, and enhancing wildlife habitat.

In order to be considered eligible for CCPI the applicant must have a vested interest in production agricultural or non-industrial private forest land within the boundaries of the CCPI partnership agreement area and meet other program eligibility requirements.

To sign up for this initiative or to get more information, contact your local NRCS office or visit http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov.

SOURCE USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service