Through a cooperative agreement, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service-PA and National Association of Conservation Districts, have made available $9 million in technical assistance grants to six Pennsylvania conservation districts to help implement federal Farm Bill Programs.
Recipients include: Jefferson, Tioga, Lehigh, Northampton, Northumberland, and York counties.
“These funds will increase the technical capacity among conservation districts and allow us to work with more Pennsylvania farmers and landowners to address natural resource concerns,” said Denise Coleman, NRCS State Conservationist.
Seventy-five percent of the funds emanate from NRCS’s conservation technical assistance, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and Conservation Stewardship Program funds. The remaining required matching funds are provided by NACD (5 percent) and Pennsylvania conservation districts (20 percent).
“Pennsylvania’s conservation districts appreciate the opportunity for this grant program. With this funding, more practices will be put on the ground which benefits all Pennsylvanians,” said Brenda Shambaugh, Executive Director, PA Association of Conservation Districts.
All technical assistance capacity grants are annual, funding technicians and conservation planners to implement the programs previously listed.
As partners in conservation, NRCS and county conservation districts work together to help farmers and landowners improve and protect Pennsylvania’s land, water, soil and other related natural resources.
For more information on NRCS landowner services, visit the PA NRCS webpage and the PA Association of Conservation Districts website.
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