Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever and Partners to Deliver $1.67 Million RCPP Projects via NRCS
Grassland birds, upland game and pollinators targeted for restoration efforts
St. Paul, Minn. – April 16, 2020 – Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever and dedicated partners have been selected to receive two Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) awards from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) totaling $1.67 million for habitat delivery efforts in the states of Missouri and Montana. Matched dollar-for-dollar through partner contributions, the RCPP awards will focus on farmers and ranchers in the respective regions to restore declining grassland birds, waterfowl, and monarch butterflies.
The Regional Conservation Partnership Program promotes coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to expand the nation’s collective ability to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns. For the first round of funding through the 2018 Farm Bill, NRCS is investing $206 million in 48 partner-driven conservation projects across 29 states through its RCPP. Partners are making nearly $300 million in matching contributions.
“I’m excited to announce the first RCPP awards under the 2018 Farm Bill,” said NRCS Chief Matthew Lohr. “Through collaboration and aligning our resources toward a common goal, we’re making an impact for natural resource conservation that could never have been realized on our own.”
“Partnerships are how we collectively deliver landscape habitat improvements on private lands,” said Howard Vincent, president and CEO of Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever. “We’re excited for the opportunity to bring further voluntary USDA programs to farmers and ranchers through these RCPP’s while making an impact for wildlife and regional conservation efforts.”
Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever RCPP Awards
Project: Program for the Restoration and Improvement of Monarch Ecosystems
State: Missouri
RCPP Funding: $909,696
RCPP Match: $910,000
Description: Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever will partner with the Missouri Department of Conservation and Saint Louis Zoo to increase monarch and pollinator habitat in Missouri with a combination of land management and short-term land rental practices. The partnership plans to target expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres by enhancing low-quality stands through increased plant diversity. The result is high-quality habitat for pollinators, monarchs, and other grassland wildlife.
Project: Northern Great Plains Grassland Conservation
State: Montana
RCPP Funding: $761,129
RCPP Match: $761,722
Description: Pheasants Forever will partner with the American Bird Conservancy, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to assist ranchers with preserving intact grasslands while implementing grazing infrastructure and management practices on grasslands recently restored or at risk of conversion in the Northern Great Plains. Partners will direct their efforts in areas that support grassland birds, waterfowl and upland game birds, with a focus on restoring marginal cropland and unproductive monocultures to high-quality forage/habitat.
About Pheasants Forever
Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 138,000 members and 760 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Since creation in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent over $900 million on 550,000 habitat projects benefiting 19 million acres nationwide.
