The government is pledging $1.2 billion for the new Regional Conservation Partnership Program that could leverage an equal amount of money from private companies, local communities and others. The program was created as part of the 2014 farm bill. “This is going to be focused on measurable results,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Winners will be chosen on a competitive basis for projects “designed by local partners specifically for their region,” said a USDA statement.
Some 35 percent of funding will go to critical conservation areas, 40 percent will be allotted through a national competition and 25 percent through state-level competition. Vilsack named eight critical conservation areas during the teleconference from Bay City, Mich. They are the Great Lakes Region, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Mississippi River Basin, Longleaf Pine Range, Columbia River Basin, California Bay Delta, Prairie Grasslands and the Colorado River Basin.