WASHINGTON, May 28, 2014 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow on Tuesday unveiled
a new five-year conservation program that seeks to
double a $1.2 billion government investment into $2.4 billion through
public-private partnerships.
The Regional
Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) will competitively award funds
to projects specifically designed by local partners for their region.
Companies, universities, non-profits, local and tribal governments and others
can all bid for the grant money, while pledging matching funds. Vilsack said
$400 million is available in USDA funding in the first year.
“This is an entirely new approach to conservation,” Vilsack
said in a conference call with reporters. “We're giving private companies,
local communities, and other non-government partners a way to invest in what
are essentially clean water start-up operations. By establishing new
public-private partnerships, we can have an impact that's well beyond what the
federal government could accomplish on its own. These efforts keep our land
resilient and water clean, and promote tremendous economic growth in
agriculture, construction, tourism and outdoor recreation, and other
industries.”
Vilsack spoke from Bay City in Stabenow’s home state of
Michigan, near Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay, where nutrient runoff from
agriculture has hurt water quality. Stabenow, a Democrat, said she expects the
area to generate several funding proposals.
RCPP will streamline four programs (the Agricultural Water
Enhancement Program, the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative, the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative and the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil
Erosion) into one.
Under the plan, 35 percent of total funding will be directed
to critical conservation areas, chosen by the agriculture secretary. An
additional 40 percent will go toward regional or multi-state projects through a
competitive national process. And 25 percent is earmarked for state-level
projects through a competitive process established by state leaders in the
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)..
Dan Wrinn, public policy director for Ducks Unlimited, said the
conservation group is pleased with today’s announcement.
“We want to create opportunities for farmers and ranchers to
continue doing what they do best while at the same time promoting conservation
efforts,” Wrinn said.
For smaller conservation groups like those that make up the National Sustainable Agriculture
Coalition,
the technical assistance portion of the conservation program is essential. Greg
Fogel, NSAC senior policy specialist, said the provision allows partners to
apply for technical assistance funds, which can be used for outreach,
monitoring and education initiatives.
Stabenow played a major role in forging the 2014 Farm Bill,
which authorized the conservation program.
“This is the first
farm bill where we are supporting agriculture and natural resources through the
conservation title rather than the commodity title,” she said. “This is a
significant shift on how we view agriculture.”
Initial proposals for the program are due July 14.
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