Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The Palouse Conservation District last week announced an $11 million program for conservation projects in the Palouse Watershed.
The Palouse Watershed Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) has been established to encourage landowners to go forward with conservation projects for the purposes of improving soil, water and habitat and conserving the land.
“(The partnership) will help landowners and producers establish voluntary incentive-based conservation practices that enhance producer operations, and improve soil and water quality and wildlife habitat,” according to a Palouse Conservation District press release. “The partnership will provide a total of $11 million in funds over the next five years for technical assistance and on-the-ground projects.”
The partnership includes 16 partners which will provide funding and support. The 16 partners are the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Washington State Conservation Commission, WSU and U of I, the Washington Department of Ecology, the Palouse Land Trust, the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and eight conservation districts.
“This is a new way of providing regional conservation planning to help landowners find the best conservation solutions and combination of funding sources to meet their individual conservation goals, while providing enhanced financial incentives to support the implementation of conservation practices and projects,” the press release said.
Some of the projects that can be undertaken with the conservation partnership include riparian buffer installation, native plantings, conservation tillage and agriculture conservation easements.
“The goal of the project is to get people to enroll in different practices on their landscapes,” Conservation Partnership Manager Laura Heinse said.
This announcement comes on the heels of the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport Runway Realignment wetlands mitigation project currently underway at Tom and Cheryl Kammerzell’s property along the South Fork of the Palouse River. The 113.6 acre wetland mitigation calls for 9.4 acres of new riverine wetland, improved flood storage capacity and 19,000 native plantings.
That project is expected to be complete in December. Palouse Land Trust, who holds the conservation easement on the Kammerzell property, said the projects that can be undertaken with the conservation partnership are different than the wetland mitigation project, but also similar in nature.
Amy Trujillo said the conservation partnership offers agriculture conservation easements, which allow production to continue, unlike the wetland mitigation, which ceases production on that land.
“The purpose of that is to protect threatened farmlands and keep them in production,” Trujillo said.
Trujillo said individuals and families considering looking into the opportunities presented with this conservation partnership should consider all their options and do their research.
“It is a great opportunity for people who want to do that kind of work on their land and need some financial assistance in doing it,” she said. “The conservation easement tool is not going to work for everyone. If it is a tool that works for that family and what they want to see for their land, then it is great.”
The partnership will serve landowners living in the Palouse Watershed, which is located in parts of Whitman, Adams, Lincoln and Spokane counties as well as NW Latah County.
“It is a neat opportunity because it is all locally ranked,” Heinse said. “It will put a conservation plan in place and landowners will get access to a variety of funding sources.”
For more information or to apply for assistance, contact the Palouse Conservation District at 509-332-4101, the Palouse Land Trust at 208-596-4496 or the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association at 509-995-6335.
Applications for the funding are open through Nov. 20.
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