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Muddy Mississippi Roll on ……….. Charlie Daniels

Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) Nancy Young State Resource Conservationist USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Muddy Mississippi Roll on ……….. Charlie Daniels. Mississippi River Basin. MRBI Geographic Scope.

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Muddy Mississippi Roll on ……….. Charlie Daniels

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  1. Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI)Nancy YoungState Resource ConservationistUSDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

  2. Muddy Mississippi Roll on ………..Charlie Daniels

  3. Mississippi River Basin

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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.

  8. MRBI Funding Dedicated 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)

  9. Watersheds Focus Areas

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. 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

  14. MRBI Request for Proposals • Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) • Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP) • Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

  15. Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) Utilizes funding and technical assistance through conservation programs: • Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) • Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) • Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

  16. 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. 23

  17. Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) • 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

  18. 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

  19. 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.

  20. 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

  21. 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

  22. Avoiding, Controlling, Trapping(ACT)

  23. CORE CONSERVATION PRACTICES AVOIDING 328 - Conservation Crop Rotation 340 - Cover Crop 528 - Prescribed Grazing 590 - Nutrient Management 633 - Waste Utilization CONTROLLING 329 - Residue & Tillage Management - No Till/Strip Till 330 - Contour Farming 345 - Residue & Tillage Management - Mulch Till 346 - Residue & Tillage Management - Ridge Till 412 - Grassed Waterway 512 - Pasture & Hayland Planting 554 - Drainage Water Management 585 - Stripcropping 600 - Terrace 643 - Restoration & Management of Declining Habitats 645 - Upland Wildlife Habitat Management TRAPPING 332 - Contour Buffer Strips 656 - Constructed Wetland 390 - Riparian Herbaceous Cover 657 - Wetland Restoration 391 - Riparian Forest Buffer 658 - Wetland Creation 393 - Filter Strip 659 - Wetland Enhancement 601 - Vegetative Barriers 747 - Denitrifying Bioreactor 635 - Vegetated Treatment Area

  24. SUPPORTING CONSERVATION PRACTICES • AVOIDING • 313 - Waste Storage Facility • 317 - Composting Facility • 327 - Conservation Cover • 381 - Silvopasture Establishment • 382 - Fence • 472 - Access Control • 511 - Forage Harvest Management • 558 - Roof Runoff Structure • 561 - Heavy Use Area Protection • 612 - Tree & Shrub Planting • 632 - Solid/Liquid Waste Separation • Facility • 634 - Waste Transfer CONTROLLING 324 - Deep Tillage 342 - Critical Area Planting 362 - Diversion 386 - Field Border 410 - Grade Stabilization Structure 430 - Irrigation Water Conveyance 447 - Tailwater Recovery 449 - Irrigation Water Management 468 – Lined Waterway or Outlet 484 - Mulching 533 - Pumping Plant 587 - Structure for Water Control 606 - Subsurface Drainage 607 - Surface Drainage 620 - Underground Outlet 638 - Water & Sediment Control Basin TRAPPING 342 - Critical Area Planting 533 - Pumping Plant 350 - Sediment Basin 587 - Structure for Water Control 356 - Dike 629 - Waste Treatment 436 - Irrigation Storage Reservoir 638 - Water & Sediment Control Basin 490 - Forest Site Preparation 646 - Shallow Water Development & Management

  25. Additional Programs • Other Federal Programs • Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) • Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) • EPA 319 • State and Other Partners’ Programs

  26. Monitoring and Evaluation Three-Tiered Approach: • Field Scale • Small Watershed Scale (12-digit HUC) • Large Watershed Scale (8-digit HUC)

  27. 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. Monitoring and Evaluation

  28. 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.

  29. EQIP Conservation Activity Plans • Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan • Irrigation Water Management Plan • Drainage Water Management Plan

  30. 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.

  31. 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.

  32. 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.

  33. Arkansas 2010 MRBI Projects

  34. Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) 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).

  35. 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.

  36. Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) Project Eligibility To be eligible for CIG, projects must involve landowners who meet the EQIP eligibility requirements. Matching Funds Selected applicants may receive CIG grants of up to 50 percent of the total project cost.

  37. Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) 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. 44

  38. Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) MRBI Funding Categories • Water Management • Vegetative Practices • Nutrient Management • Manure Management • Adaptive Management • Program Outreach

  39. Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) 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. 46

  40. 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

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