Half of the 88 projects selected to receive $225 million in funding for 2017 through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program focus on drought and water quality, says USDA. Private, local and state sources will provide up to $500 million matching funds for the program, which stimulates voluntary soil and water conservation on multiple pieces of private land joined by a common watershed.
USDA said the latest batch of funding would go to 88 high-impact projects with goals ranging from improved wildlife habitat to richer soils and agricultural viability. A quarter of the projects want to improve fish and wildlife habitat. As an example of the newly funded projects, USDA said $10 million will go to the Black Rascal Creek Project, near Merced, Calif., to reduce flooding and improve wildlife habitat. And $6 million would go to the 25,000 square-mile Maine Aquatic Connectivity Restoration Project to combat fragmentation of habitat.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said USDA is the largest source of federal funding for private-land conservation and the RCPP “is contributing innovative conservation solutions to communities across the country.”