The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has funding opportunities available to landowners interested in supporting conservation efforts.
Seven projects are currently available through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Applications for this round of program funding must be received by Nov. 17, 2023.
Not all programs are available in every county. The list of projects available locally include:
- The Program Restoring & Improving Monarch Ecosystems aims to increase monarch and pollinator habitat in northwest Missouri through land management practices, targeting lands currently enrolled in and expiring from the Conservation Reserve Program. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are the lead partners on this project. It is open to landowners in Andrew, Atchison, Benton, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Holt, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Pettis, Platte, Ray, Saline and Worth counties.
- The Precision Farm Data & Strategic Buffer Project focuses on utilizing on-farm yield data to identify non-profitable or marginal cropland acres to strategically establish field borders, pollinator habitat, wetlands and maximize profitability while improving water quality and wildlife habitat. The Missouri Department of Conservation is the lead partner on this project. It is open to landowners in Chariton, Lafayette, Linn, Macon, Pettis, Randolph and Saline counties.
- Missouri Targeted Conservation aims to identify areas within a watershed where identified conservation practices can achieve the most economically efficient loss reductions for sediment, nutrients and pathogens into waterways. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is the lead partner on this project. The Blackwater, Cahokia-Joachim, South Fork Salt, Little Osage, Thompson, Upper Grand, Little River Ditches and Lower Missouri-Moreau watersheds have been identified as the focus areas in Missouri.
- The East Locust Creek Source Water Protection Project aims to prevent nonpoint source runoff from entering the East Locust Creek Reservoir. The North Central Missouri Regional Water Commission is the lead partner on this project. It is open to landowners in Sullivan County and Putnam County.
Visit farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator to find and contact your local NRCS office for more information about these programs and projects.
