USDA Announces $252 Million Available for Regional Conservation Partnership Program
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has invited potential conservation partners, including private industry, non-government organizations, Indian tribes, state and local governments, water districts, and universities to submit project applications for federal funding through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
The RCPP, created by the 2014 Farm Bill, connects partners with producers and private landowners to design and implement voluntary conservation solutions that benefit natural resources, agriculture, and the economy. By 2018, NRCS and its more than 2,000 conservation partners will have invested at least $2.4 billion in high-impact RCPP projects nationwide.
Through this fourth RCPP Announcement for Program Funding (APF), USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will award up to $252 million dollars to locally driven, public-private partnerships that improve the nation's water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat, and protect agricultural viability. Applicants must match or exceed the federal award with private or local funds.
Vilsack said the RCPP, through unprecedented collaboration, “has established a new paradigm for working lands conservation that yields unparalleled results. Working together, RCPP projects in every state are demonstrating the ways in which locally-led initiatives can meet some our most pressing natural resource concerns.”
NRCS Chief Jason Weller encourages partners to consider conservation finance and environmental markets as they develop RCPP project applications. "The growing field of conservation finance provides opportunities to inject significant investment capital into projects that protect, restore and maintain our natural ecosystems," says Weller.
USDA is now accepting proposals for Fiscal Year 2018 RCPP funding. Pre-proposals are due April 21. For more information on applying, visit the RCPP website.
The USDA’s News Release can be found here.