West Virginia receives $1 million to fund water quality project
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and partners across the nation together will direct up to $720 million towards 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 (RCPP) created by the 2014 Farm Bill.
“The Regional Conservation Partnership Program puts local partners in the driver’s seat to accomplish environmental goals that are most meaningful to that community. Joining together public and private resources also harnesses innovation that neither sector could implement alone,” Vilsack said.
In West Virginia, one project selected is the West Virginia’s Chesapeake Headwaters Conservation Partnership project, which will address water quality degradation and inadequate habitat for fish and wildlife in the Bay. The local lead agency for this project is the West Virginia Agricultural Land Protection Authority.
“I firmly believe that conservation is locally-led and with the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, we are able to continue to partner with a valued collaboration of organizations that make up the West Virginia Chesapeake Headwaters Conservation Partnership,” Louis Aspey, State Conservationist said. “NRCS continues to draw on the local knowledge and networks to fuel conservation projects in West Virginia. As one conservation team, we can leverage our resources to deliver positive solutions to address natural resources concerns.”
USDA is committed to invest $1.2 billion in RCPP partnerships over the life of the 2014 Farm Bill. Today’s announcement brings the current USDA commitment to almost $600 million invested in 199 partner-led projects, leveraging an additional $900 million for conservation activities in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. 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.
“The West Virginia Chesapeake Headwaters Conservation Partnership is grateful to receive the RCPP award to continue our conservation work for the Chesapeake Bay,” said Lavonne Paden, West Virginia Agricultural Land Protection Authority Director. “Although we may appear to have a small portion of the Potomac Watershed, we take pride in the large contributions we are making safeguarding the water quality for the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. By working locally with landowners to protect West Virginia farmland and sensitive areas in the Bay region, we are making a positive difference in conservation in West Virginia and beyond.”
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 over $500 million, more than tripling the federal investment alone.