USDA Announces up to $235 Million for Partnered Conservation Program

California organizations can now apply for funding to improve soil health, preserve clean water, combat drought, protect wildlife habitat

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USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service

May 05, 2015, 05:03 ET

DAVIS, Calif., May 5, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced an investment of up to $235 million to improve the nation's water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural viability. Eligible organizations in California are encouraged to submit their project proposals for available funding.

"One of the many resource concerns NRCS is encouraging producers to address is water conservation and ways to make California's agriculture more resilient to drought," said Carlos Suarez, NRCS state conservationist for California.

The funding is being made available through the NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). This will be the second round of projects funded through RCPP. The RCPP program helps USDA build on already-record enrollment in conservation programs, with over 500,000 producers participating to protect land and water on over 400 million acres nationwide.

The RCPP funds will be divided among three funding pools:

35 percent of total program funding will be directed to the eight critical conservation areas.
40 percent will be directed to regional or multi-state projects through a national competitive process.
25 percent will be directed to state-level projects through a competitive process established by NRCS state leaders.

NRCS California has established eight natural resource priority concerns for which applications will be accepted. These are soil health, water quality, air quality, water quantity, habitat degradation for at-risk species, inefficient energy use, forest health, and rangeland health. Pre-proposals are due July 8, and full proposal are due September 4. For more information on applying, visit the RCCP website: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/farmbill/rcpp/

RCPP, created by the 2014 Farm Bill, competitively awards funds to conservation projects designed by local partners specifically for their region. Eligible partners include private companies, universities, non-profit organizations, local and tribal governments and others joining with agricultural and conservation organizations and producers to invest money, manpower and materials to their proposed initiatives. Through RCPP, partners propose conservation projects to improve soil health, water quality and water use efficiency, wildlife habitat, and other related natural resources on private lands.

NRCS has provided leadership in a partnership effort to help America's private landowners and managers conserve their soil, water and other natural resources since 1935. For more information on NRCS, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov.

SOURCE USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service