Application cutoff announced for water conservation projects in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin
ATHENS, GA, October 1, 2015 — State Conservationist Terrance O. Rudolph of the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Georgia and Chairman Marty L. McLendon of the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District announced today an October 16, 2015 application deadline for farmers and ranchers who are in either of the District’s two Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) project areas.
As part of the first ever round of RCPP awards announced earlier this year by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, among other RCPP projects that benefit Georgia, the District was awarded two different projects, one from the State of Georgia category and one from the national category. Both of the District’s projects, Enhancing Conservation in the Lower Flint River Basin of Georgia and The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Rivers Conservation Partnership for Alabama, Florida and Georgia, address water quantity concerns, but the larger scoped project will address water quality as well.
“The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District and their partners are addressing immediate needs and helping to better prepare Georgia and our neighboring states’ farmers and ranchers for the many agricultural production challenges ahead. By working throughout the region, we are more efficient and unified in our approach to making meaningful changes that will last.”
Only farms and ranches located within each of the project area’s watersheds are eligible and anyone interested in applying should visit their local USDA-NRCS office before the October 16 deadline to submit or update their current conservation program application.
The state level Lower Flint project includes all or portions of the following counties in Georgia: Baker, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Colquitt, Crisp, Decatur, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Houston, Lee, Macon, Marion, Miller, Mitchell, Randolph, Schley, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Taylor, Terrell, Turner, Webster and Worth.
The national level ACF River Basin project includes all or portions of the following counties in Georgia: Banks, Baker, Calhoun, Carroll, Chattahoochee, Cherokee, Clay, Clayton, Cobb, Colquitt, Coweta, Crawford, Crisp, Dawson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dooly, Dougherty, Douglas, Early, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Grady, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Harris, Heard, Henry, Houston, Lamar, Lee, Lumpkin, Macon, Marion, Meriwether, Miller, Mitchell, Monroe, Muscogee, Paulding, Peach, Pike, Quitman, Rabun, Randolph, Schley, Seminole, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Terrell, Towns, Troup, Turner, Webster, White, Worth, Union and Upson.
“The diversity of our natural resources across this landscape is unparalleled, and the key component of these RCPP projects is the partners’ commitment to conservation for the future.”
While applications for NRCS conservation programs are taken year round, cutoff announcements for other projects awarded under this round of RCPP and other conservation programs for next fiscal year will be released in the near future.
RCPP, created by the 2014 Farm Bill, empowers local leaders to work with multiple partners—such as private companies, local and tribal governments, universities, non-profit groups, and other non-government partners—along with farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to design solutions that work best for their region. Local partners and the federal government both invest funding and manpower to projects to maximize their impact.
NRCS provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain and improve our natural resources and environment. More information on NRCS conservation programs can be found at http://www.ga.nrcs.usda.gov under the Programs tab.
CONTACT
Chris Groskreutz
USDA-NRCS
(706) 546-2069
chris.groskreutz@ga.usda.gov
Katura Wright
USDA-NRCS
(706) 546-2272
katura.wright@ga.usda.gov
Casey Cox
Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District
casey@flintriverswcd.org
The full press release from USDA-NRCS is available by clicking here.
Photograph courtesy of USDA-NRCS.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).