JEFFERSON CITY, MO, OCT. 23, 2023 – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources encourages landowners who are interested in supporting conservation efforts to consider several funding opportunities now available.
The list below includes seven projects with the Regional Conservation Partnership Program of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Applications for this round of program funding must be received by Nov. 17, 2023. Visit farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator to find and contact your local NRCS office for more information about these programs and projects.
- The Program Restoring & Improving Monarch Ecosystems aims to increase monarch and pollinator habitat in northwest Missouri through land management practices, targeting lands currently enrolled in and expiring from the Conservation Reserve Program. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are the lead partners on this project. It is open to landowners in Andrew, Atchison, Benton, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Holt, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Pettis, Platte, Ray, Saline and Worth counties.
- The Precision Farm Data & Strategic Buffer Project focuses on utilizing on-farm yield data to identify non-profitable or marginal cropland acres to strategically establish field borders, pollinator habitat, wetlands and maximize profitability while improving water quality and wildlife habitat. The Missouri Department of Conservation is the lead partner on this project. It is open to landowners in Chariton, Lafayette, Linn, Macon, Pettis, Randolph and Saline counties.
- Restoring Glade and Woodland Communities for Threatened Species in the Ozarks of Southeast Missouri is a restoration effort for glade, woodland and forest habitats on private land for at-risk species such as the Indiana Bat, Gray Bat, Mead’s Milkweed, Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly, Ozark Hellbender and the Grotto Sculpin. The Missouri Department of Conservation is the lead partner on this project. It is open to landowners in Bollinger, Butler, Carter, Iron, Madison, Oregon, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Shannon, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Wayne counties.
- The Sand Prairie Restoration Partnership Program focuses on restoring and protecting sand prairie communities on private land through voluntary perpetual easements. The Missouri Department of Conservation is the lead partner on this project. It is open to landowners in Butler, Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Scott and Stoddard counties.
- Missouri Targeted Conservation aims to identify areas within a watershed where identified conservation practices can achieve the most economically efficient loss reductions for sediment, nutrients and pathogens into waterways. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is the lead partner on this project. The Blackwater, Cahokia-Joachim, South Fork Salt, Little Osage, Thompson, Upper Grand, Little River Ditches and Lower Missouri-Moreau watersheds have been identified as the focus areas in Missouri.
- James River Headwaters RCPP supports the protection of clean drinking water, improving farming communities and assisting municipalities in meeting federal water-quality requirements to improve aquatic ecosystems within the James River headwaters area. The Watershed Committee of the Ozarks Inc. is the lead partner on this project. It is open to landowners in Greene and Webster counties.
- The East Locust Creek Source Water Protection Project aims to prevent nonpoint source runoff from entering the East Locust Creek Reservoir. The North Central Missouri Regional Water Commission is the lead partner on this project. It is open to landowners in Sullivan County and Putnam County.
Another opportunity open to Missouri landowners is applying to the Fishers & Farmers Partnership for the Upper Mississippi River Basin for up to $100,000 of funding for projects designed to improve fish habitats. Priority areas in Missouri for this funding include the Bourbeuse-Meramec, Peno Creek–Salt River, and Spring Creek–Chariton River watersheds. However, other watersheds will also be considered. The application deadline for this opportunity is Jan. 15, 2024. Visit fishersandfarmers.org for more information.