Updates & Blog

USDA Invests $1.5 Billion to Advance Conservation and Climate-Smart Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a historic $1.5 billion for 92 partner-driven conservation projects through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), a partner-driven approach to conservation that funds solutions to natural resource challenges on agricultural land. Partners will provide $968 million in contributions to amplify the impact of the federal investment. Selected RCPP projects will help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners adopt and expand voluntary, locally led conservation strategies to enhance natural resources while tackling the climate crisis.

Today’s investment is made with funding available through the Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act. 

The projects support priorities in conservation and climate and can save farmers money and increase productivity. For example, there are six projects that support use of innovative technologies to reduce enteric methane emissions in livestock. There are also 16 projects that address water conservation in the West, ensuring producers and communities have the tools they need to adapt in the face of continued drought pressures. And 42 projects promote terrestrial wildlife habitat conservation and restoration, as directed by the recent USDA Secretarial memo: Conserving and Restoring Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Connectivity and Corridors.

Southern Region Projects:

  • Arkansas-Louisiana Conservation Delivery Network Open Pine Landscape Restoration #2 
  • Protecting and Enhancing Wildlife Habitat and Water Quality of Conservation Reserve Program Tracts Under Threat of Conversion in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Phase II (Arkansas)
  • Engaging Historically Underserved Lands in Wetland Restoration and Preservation (Arkansas)
  • Florida’s Big Bend
  • West Georgia Conservation Corridors
  • CLF RCPP/REPI Fort Campbell Partnership (Kentucky)
  • Restoring Climate-Resilient Longleaf Pine Forests in Mississippi
  • The Land of the Pines: Protecting Critical Conservation Areas and Working Lands in the Lumber River Watershed (NC)
  • Middle Tennessee Field and Forest Partnership
  • Restoring Post Oak Savannah for Houston Toad Recovery, Aquifer Recharge, and Wildfire Risk Reduction (Texas)
  • Scaling Silvopasture using Carbon Markets (Virginia)