Today Is Deadline For Landowners To Apply For Share Of $50 Million In Gulf Restoration Funds

March 1, 2012

Today is the final chance for landowners and producers in the area to apply for a share of $50 million in funding from a Gulf Coast restoration effort.

The $50 million will be spent over three years in conservation assistance to farmers and ranchers in priority areas along seven major rivers in five states that drain into the Gulf.

In Escambia counties in both Florida and Alabama, funds will be focused on the Canoe Creek watershed and the Sandy Hollow-Pine Barren Creek watershed in the Escambia River basin. Also, in North Escambia, funds will provide conservation assistance in the Little Pine Barren Creek Watershed in the Escambia River Basin. (Click map to enlarge.)

Financial assistance is available to help producers apply sustainable agricultural and wildlife habitat management systems that will focus on reducing soil erosion, improving water quality, and improving wildlife habitat on cropland, pastureland, and forestland.

Practices may include:

  • Installing grade control structures to stabilize eroding gullies
  • Implementing precision agriculture to reduce chemical application overlap  and protect sensitive environmental areas
  • Increasing adoption of residue and tillage management, cover crops, and conservation crop rotations to reduce sheet and rill erosion and improve soil organic matter, which will result in cleaner runoff and improved water quality
  • Planting grass and trees to stabilize eroding areas
  • Installing cross-fences and watering facilities to facilitate grazing distribution
  • Controlling cattle access to streams to improve water quality and stream bank stability
  • Planting and managing native plant species to improve wildlife habitat and to assist with restoration of a multitude of declining species
  • Promoting energy conservation by eliminating the need for annual mechanical removal of sediment from split ditches
  • Implementing grazing management

For information on how to apply for the funding, contact the NRCS Molino Service Center at (850) 587-5345 or the Brewton NRCS Service Center at (251) 867-3185. Application cutoff date for GoMI 2012 funds is March 1, 2012.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Archive