USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is currently seeking applications from Harney County landowners and agricultural producers interested in implementing conservation projects on their working lands through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) or the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).   Applications for either program must be received by Feb. 17 to be considered for funding in the current ranking period.

“In Harney County, NRCS is currently focusing on two main priorities,” said Zola Ryan, district conservationist. “We are offering financial and technical assistance to improve sage-grouse habitat, and we also have assistance available to improve irrigation infrastructure on flood-irrigated meadows that provide important spring migration habitat for waterfowl.”

Since 2010, NRCS has worked with landowners to clear invading juniper trees from over 30,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat in Harney County. This work has been funded in large part through EQIP, under the banner of the NRCS-led Sage Grouse Initiative. In 2015, NRCS also invested $9 million in a five-year RCPP project titled The Oregon Model to Protect Sage Grouse. This RCPP project is led by the Oregon Association of Conservation Districts, and provides financial and technical assistance to landowners enrolled in a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) to implement the conservation measures identified in their CCAA plan.

Similarly, NRCS has offered EQIP funding to improve flood-irrigation infrastructure and maintain spring waterbird habitat in Harney County since 2015.  In 2016, Intermountain West Joint Venture was successful in securing a five-year RCPP project titled the SONEC Working Wet Meadows Initiative, which brings additional funding to enhance infrastructure and improve efficiency of flood-irrigation on critical wet meadows.

NRCS is working closely with partner agencies and organizations, such as the Oregon Association of Conservation Districts and Intermountain West Joint Venture, and that brings more and diverse funding opportunities for landowners seeking assistance. “It can be a little overwhelming to keep it all straight.  There are a lot of acronyms!” Ryan said. “My key message to landowners would be, if you have a project in mind, come talk to us.  NRCS staff are available to answer questions and help you determine which program is the best fit.”

Interested parties should submit applications to the USDA Service Center, located at 530 Highway 20 South, in Hines. More information about EQIP and RCPP, including ranking information, eligibility information, and program payments is available on the Oregon NRCS website at www.or.nrcs.usda.gov, or call the Hines NRCS office at 541-573-6446.