muddy mississippi roll on ……….. charlie daniels

Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI)

Nancy YoungState Resource ConservationistUSDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Muddy Mississippi Roll on ………..

Charlie Daniels

Mississippi River Basin

MRBI Geographic Scope• Arkansas, Kentucky,

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin in 2010.

• Added South Dakota for 2011.

• Selected priority Watersheds

MRBI Goal

Improve the health of the Mississippi River Basin by:– Working with producers to help

them voluntarily implement conservation practices which:

• Avoid, Control and Trap nutrient runoff

• Restore/enhance wildlife habitat• Maintain agricultural productivity

What is different about MRBI?

• Dedicated funding in conservation programs

• Focus: Resource concerns and conservation practices in specific watersheds

• Use of wetlands to complement working lands conservation

• Partner involvement in initiative design• Competition through requests for partner

proposals in selecting watershed focus• Partner contributions• Additional flexibilities with partners not

available through ongoing programs• Accountability and assessment, including

some funding for edge of field monitoring

MRBI Funding• NRCS will offer this Initiative

for 4 fiscal years: 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

• NRCS will dedicate at least $80 million in each of these fiscal years.

• Funding is above regular program funding levels in these 13 States.

MRBI FundingDedicated additional financial assistance funding, by Program

• $50 million for Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI)

• $25 million for Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP)

• $5 million for Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

Watersheds Focus Areas

Arkansas Focus Areas(8 HUC)

• Cache (AR) 08020302

• L’Anguille (AR) 08020205

• Point Remove (AR) 11110203

• Little River Ditches (MO & AR) 08020204

• Lower St Francis (MO & AR) 08020203

• Bayou Macon (LA & AR) 08050002

• Boeuf (LA & AR) 08050001

Watershed Selection• State Technical

Committee & State Water Quality Agencies

• Information considered:– National & state-level

water quality data– Nitrogen/Phosphorus

monitoring/modeling– State-level nutrient

strategies/priorities

FocusArea

Watershed Selection

• Requests for partnership proposals will target 12-digit HUCs within identified Focus Areas

• Leverage non-federal resources

• Conservation applied to improve water quality, wildlife habitat, and other natural resource concerns

• Ability to document results

Arkansas Focus Areas(12 HUC Areas)

Arkansas = 215, 12 HUC Areas = 5,398,673 Acres

• Cache – 57, 12 HUC areas for 1,284,712 acres.• L’Anguille – 30, 12 HUC areas for 611,433 acres• Point Remove – 29, 12 HUC areas for 729,307• Little River Ditches -15, 12 HUC areas for 452,284 acres• Lower St Francis – 75, 12 HUC areas for 1,983,026

acres• Bayou Macon – 13, 12 HUC areas for 399,603 acres• Boeuf – 17, 12 HUC areas for 547,029 acres

MRBI Request for Proposals

• Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI)

• Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP)

• Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

Utilizes funding and technical assistance through conservation programs:

1. Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)2. Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)3. Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative

(CCPI)

CCPI is not a grant program! All federal funding will go to landowners who enroll in the base conservation programs – not to the conservation partners.

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• Through CCPI-MRBI the following financial assistance amounts will be targeted in the region:

– $40 million – Environmental Quality Incentives Program – $5 million – Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program– ~278,000 acres – Conservation Stewardship Program

• Projects will be implemented through existing program authorities and procedures- Partners can recommend flexibilities needed for EQIP, WHIP and CSP through project proposals.

• Potential partners must submit complete proposals to the NRCS Chief for evaluation

– The NRCS Chief will consult with the State Conservationist prior to final selection and approval

Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI)

Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI)• Higher priority is given to proposals that:

– Integrate multiple program objectives– Deliver high percentages of applied conservation

practices to address water quality– Include multiple core and supporting practices from

each practice category (i.e. avoiding, controlling, and trapping)

– Provide evidence of a watershed planning process– Include an effective monitoring component– Demonstrate the partner’s financial commitment and

capability to accomplish water quality monitoring

Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI)

• Financial assistance for monitoring and evaluation will be piloted– 10% maximum of total financial

assistance funds in a proposal may be designated for edge-of-field monitoring through producer contracts.

– New NRCS interim practice standard for monitoring and evaluation was developed.

– A payment schedule will be developed for cost-sharing on the monitoring and evaluation practice.

CCPI Proposals• Eligible partners = state & local governments,

farmer cooperatives, producer associations, universities, NGO’s

• Request for proposals announcement is released through the Federal Register at the national level

• 60-day window for submitting proposals

• Proposals will be ranked and selected through a competitive process

• Only the information in the submitted proposals will be used for ranking purposes

• Funding awarded to focus watersheds depends on partner proposals accepted

• Proposals must include priority resource concerns, objectives, & expected outcomes

Conservation Systems Approach through Practices

• A conservation systems approach implements multiple practices and management techniques that work together to address water quality nutrient issues at the edge of farm fields.

• Practices– Core– Supporting

Avoiding, Controlling, Trapping(ACT)

Trapping Controlling

Avoiding

ACT

CORE CONSERVATION PRACTICES

AVOIDING328 - Conservation Crop Rotation340 - Cover Crop528 - Prescribed Grazing590 - Nutrient Management633 - Waste Utilization

CONTROLLING329 - Residue & Tillage Management - No Till/Strip Till330 - Contour Farming345 - Residue & Tillage Management - Mulch Till346 - Residue & Tillage Management - Ridge Till412 - Grassed Waterway512 - Pasture & Hayland Planting554 - Drainage Water Management585 - Stripcropping600 - Terrace643 - Restoration & Management of Declining Habitats645 - Upland Wildlife Habitat Management

TRAPPING332 - Contour Buffer Strips 656 - Constructed Wetland390 - Riparian Herbaceous Cover 657 - Wetland Restoration391 - Riparian Forest Buffer 658 - Wetland Creation393 - Filter Strip 659 - Wetland Enhancement601 - Vegetative Barriers 747 - Denitrifying Bioreactor635 - Vegetated Treatment Area

SUPPORTING CONSERVATION PRACTICES

AVOIDING313 - Waste Storage Facility317 - Composting Facility327 - Conservation Cover381 - Silvopasture Establishment382 - Fence472 - Access Control511 - Forage Harvest Management558 - Roof Runoff Structure561 - Heavy Use Area Protection612 - Tree & Shrub Planting632 - Solid/Liquid Waste Separation Facility634 - Waste Transfer

CONTROLLING324 - Deep Tillage342 - Critical Area Planting362 - Diversion386 - Field Border410 - Grade Stabilization Structure430 - Irrigation Water Conveyance447 - Tailwater Recovery449 - Irrigation Water Management468 – Lined Waterway or Outlet484 - Mulching533 - Pumping Plant587 - Structure for Water Control606 - Subsurface Drainage607 - Surface Drainage620 - Underground Outlet638 - Water & Sediment Control Basin

TRAPPING342 - Critical Area Planting 533 - Pumping Plant350 - Sediment Basin 587 - Structure for Water Control356 - Dike 629 - Waste Treatment436 - Irrigation Storage Reservoir 638 - Water & Sediment Control Basin490 - Forest Site Preparation 646 - Shallow Water Development &

Management

Additional Programs• Other Federal Programs

– Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)– Conservation Reserve Enhancement

Program (CREP)– EPA 319

• State and Other Partners’ Programs

Monitoring and Evaluation

Three-Tiered Approach:• Field Scale• Small Watershed Scale

(12-digit HUC)• Large Watershed Scale

(8-digit HUC)

Monitoring and Evaluation

• NRCS is focused on “Edge of Field” monitoring and evaluation, with the primary focus for MRBI on water quality.

• NRCS is developing a practice standard for monitoring and evaluation.

Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program

(WREP)

• Under MRBI, $25 million of financial assistance funds from the WRP is targeted each fiscal year through the WREP.

• Projects will be selected through a competitive process based on applications submitted by partners.

• Projects will be implemented through existing program authorities and procedures. Wetland restoration will be designed to maximize wildlife habitat values and water quality in accordance with WRP regulations and policy.

• Projects will be implemented using wetland protection, restoration, and enhancement practices in the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide.

EQIP Conservation Activity Plans

• Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan

• Irrigation Water Management Plan

• Drainage Water Management Plan

Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program

(WREP) • WREP leverages resources of partners to:

– Protect, restore, and enhance high priority wetlands.– Improve wildlife habitat.– Reduce nutrient loading to achieve water quality

objectives.

• Proposals that include additional partner resources, such as cost sharing for additional water quality practices, will be given greater consideration in the selection process.

• Partners are required to provide financial and/or technical resources for monitoring.

Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program

(WREP)

• Individual landowners may not submit a WREP proposal.

• Once project area has been approved and announced, eligible landowners may apply for WREP through their local NRCS office.

• WREP financial and technical assistance is delivered to eligible landowners in approved project areas through regular contracting processes.

• Approved partners may help facilitate submission of landowners’ applications.

Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program

(WREP)• The Chief shall give a higher priority

to proposals that:– Have a high potential to achieve water

quality objectives through nutrient reduction.

– Have a high potential to significantly improve wildlife habitat.

– Significantly leverage non-Federal resources.

– Demonstrate the partner’s history of working cooperatively with landowners.

Arkansas 2010 MRBI Projects

CIG MRBI is a Component of the National CIG Request for Proposals.

For FY 2010, CIG is employing the following funding categories:

–National (up to $15 million),–Chesapeake Bay Watershed (up

to $5 million), and–Mississippi River Basin (up to $5 million).

Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

CIG is a voluntary program intended to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies while leveraging Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection, in conjunction with agricultural production.

Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

Project EligibilityTo be eligible for CIG, projects must involve landowners who meet the EQIP eligibility requirements.

Matching FundsSelected applicants may receive CIG grants of up to 50 percent of the total project cost.

Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

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Awards

The maximum award amount for any project will not exceed $1 million in FY 2010. CIG will fund single- and multi-year projects, not to exceed 3 years.

Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

MRBI Funding Categories– Water Management– Vegetative Practices– Nutrient Management– Manure Management– Adaptive Management– Program Outreach

Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

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Evaluation Criteria– Purpose, Approach and Goals– Innovative Technology or

Approach– Project Management– Transferability

Proposals that complement MRBI proposals under the CCPI or WREP will be given higher priority consideration in the selection process.

Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

Questions?

Follow-up questions can be sent to:

Nancy Young

State Resource Conservationist

Natural Resources Conservation Service

nancy.young@ar.usda.gov

or call 501-301-3134