Conservation News

NWTF Partners with Oaks & Prairies Joint Venture to Promote Sign-up

EDGEFIELD, S.C. — The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Texas is accepting applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, as part of a Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant, a project of the Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture’s Grassland Restoration Incentives Program.

This initiative is open to agricultural producers in 30 Texas focal counties: Archer, Austin, Baylor, Callahan, Clay, Colorado, Delta, Dewitt, Edwards, Ellis, Fayette, Fannin, Gonzales, Hunt, Karnes, Kinney, Lamar, Lavaca, Montague, Navarro, Real, Red River, Shackelford, Stephens, Throckmorton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Washington, Wilson and Wise.

Applications must be received by July 16, 2020, to be considered. All interested and eligible producers should contact their local USDA Service Center before the application deadline to apply. At this time, USDA Service Centers are not accepting visitors, therefore interested applicants should call their local Service Center to schedule an appointment. Find a Service Center near you at www.farmers.gov/connect.

EQIP is the flagship conservation program for NRCS, and RCPP helps to expand the reach of this vital conservation program. For more information on EQIP and RCPP, visit www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov and look for EQIP and RCPP under Farm Bill Programs, contact a local USDA Service Center or visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted.

The partnership is a multi-organization effort aimed at achieving Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture’s grassland bird objectives in focus areas throughout parts of Texas and Oklahoma. The project provides cash incentives to landowners for conducting approved grassland bird habitat improvement practices on their property.

The NWTF is a founding partner in the Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture and works hand-in-hand with other members in Texas and Oklahoma to improve habitat for declining grassland birds, with benefits accruing to other species, including wild turkeys and pollinators on working private lands.

Download OPJV’s Guidance for the Grassland Restoration Incentive Program.

About the National Wild Turkey Federation
When the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded in 1973, there were about 1.3 million wild turkeys in North America. After decades of work, that number hit a historic high of almost 7 million turkeys. To succeed, the NWTF stood behind science-based conservation and hunters’ rights. Today, the NWTF is focused on the future of hunting and conservation through its Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative – a charge that mobilizes science, fundraising and devoted volunteers to conserve or enhance more than 4 million acres of essential wildlife habitat, recruit at least 1.5 million hunters and open access to 500,000 acres for hunting. For more information, visit NWTF.org.

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