USDA Seeks Applications for Regional Conservation Initiatives

EAST LANSING, April 10, 2019 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking applications from Michigan landowners who want to adopt new conservation practices that protect water quality, improve wildlife habitat and reduce soil erosion. Farmers and non-industrial forest land owners who submit applications by May 17, 2019, will be eligible to receive conservation financial assistance from the current round of funding.

Financial assistance is available through the USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program, administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The program provides financial assistance for implementing selected conservation practices that address regional conservation concerns. Local USDA conservationists will assist landowners in determining what eligible conservation practices will best address their resource concerns.

Examples of practices eligible for financial assistance include cover crops, nutrient management plans, forest stand improvement, conservation tillage, tree and shrub establishment, windbreak establishment, prescribed grazing and conservation tillage. Each of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program initiatives has its own list of eligible practices and eligibility area.

The current round of Regional Conservation Partnership Program funding includes the following project initiatives; the Huron River Initiative (East Central Michigan), Improving Forest Health for At-Risk Wildlife Resources (Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan), the Tri-State Western Lake Erie Basin Phosphorus Reduction Initiative (Southeast Michigan), the Tribal Stream and Michigan Fruitbelt Collaborative (Northwest Michigan), the Saginaw Bay Watershed Conservation Partnership, and the Lower Grand River Watershed Habitat Restoration and Farmland Conservation Project (West Michigan).

Potential applicants can contact their local USDA Service Center to determine if their land is in an eligible project area or go to www.mi.nrcs.usda.gov for more information.

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