USDA will invest $720 million in 84 conservation projects that will help communities improve water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural viability.

These projects make up the second round of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program created by the 2014 Farm Bill.

USDA announces funding for Regional Conservation Partnership projects

Through the 2015 and 2016 rounds, USDA and partners are investing up to $1.5 billion in 199 strategic conservation projects. Projects are selected on a competitive basis, and local private partners must be able to at least match the USDA commitment. For this round, USDA received 265 applications requesting nearly $900 million, or four times the amount of available federal funding. The 84 projects selected for 2016 include proposed partner matches totaling more than $500 million which triples the federal investment.

RCPP draws on local knowledge and networks to fuel conservation projects. Bringing together a wide variety of new partners including businesses, universities, non-profits and local and Tribal governments makes it possible to deliver innovative, landscape- and watershed-scale projects that improve water quality and quantity, wildlife habitat, soil health and other natural resource concerns on working farms, ranches and forests.

In Minnesota, funding will be given to the following projects:

-Mississippi River Basin: Lower Mississippi River Feedlot Management, $1.6 million. Lead partner, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources

-Prairie Grasslands Region: Honey Bee and Monarch Butterfly Partnership, $8.3 million. Lead partner, Pheasants Forever. States involved are Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and Missouri.

-Improving Working Lands for Monarch Butterflies, $6 million. Lead partner, National fish and Wildlife Foundation, Minnesota is one of 12 partners.

-Driftless Area, Habitat for Wild and Rare, $2.9 million. Lead partner, Trout Unlimited. Minnesota is one of 20 partners.

Water quality and drought are dominant themes in this year’s RCPP project list with 45 of the 84 projects focusing on water resource concerns.

For more information, visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/farmbill/rcpp/