USDA to invest up to $225 million in partner-driven conservation on agricultural and forest land.
AMHERST, Mass., Jan. 21, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced up to $225 million in available funding for conservation partners through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). RCPP is a partner-driven program that leverages collective resources to find solutions to address natural resource challenges on agricultural land.
This year’s funding announcements include opportunities for projects that address climate change, benefit historically underserved producers and support urban agriculture.
“RCPP is public-private partnership at its best,” said Dan Wright, Massachusetts State Conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the agency that administers RCPP.
“We’re harnessing the power of partnership to create lasting solutions to global challenges, like climate change, and support producers and communities who have been underserved in the past.”
There are two types of funding opportunities under RCPP: RCPP Classic and RCPP Alternative Funding Arrangements (AFA). RCPP Classic projects are implemented using NRCS contracts and easements with producers, landowners and communities, in collaboration with project partners.
Through RCPP AFA, partners have more flexibility in working directly with agricultural producers to support the development of new conservation structures and approaches that would not otherwise be available under RCPP Classic.