Alabama NRCS Announces Joint Chiefs’ Partnership Project Final Sign-up Opportunity

Alabama NRCS Announces Joint Chiefs’ Partnership Project Final Sign-up Opportunity

AUBURN, Alabama, April 14, 2023 – USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announces a second fiscal year 2023 sign-up for the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Project called The Sustaining Gains in Longleaf Pine Restoration through Coordinated Cogongrass Control project. Because this is the final year of the project, this will be the final sign-up opportunity. The sign-up deadline is Friday, June 16, 2023; however, through the ACT NOW provision, applications will be assessed and ranked as they are received in the field offices. Based on Funds availability, applications with a ranking score of 5 environmental points or greater will be immediately pre-approved.

The mission of the project is to manage and protect successful longleaf pine ecosystem restoration on 1.2 million acres south-central Alabama and northwest Florida, including the Conecuh National Forest. The project area represents the heart of the largest significant geographic area identified in America’s Longleaf Range-wide Conservation Plan. It is the core landscape targeted by the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP) which is a partnership coordinated by The Longleaf Alliance. However, past and future investments in this landscape are threatened by cogongrass, one of the world’s top-ten worst weeds. Cogongrass is known for its high-density growth, high burning intensity, poor value as wildlife habitat, and difficulty to control.

This project seeks to complement existing investments in restoring fire regimes, rare species habitat, and watershed health by increasing capacity for cogongrass control, especially on private land.

The project will support a landscape-focused, coordination-intensive partnership that ensures control treatments are prioritized and implemented across boundaries of public and private land, rights-of-way, and state lines.

Partners in this project include: USDA Forest Service, Alabama Forestry Commission, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Florida Forest Service, Covington County Soil and Water Conservation District, Alabama Department of Transportation, Florida Department of Transportation, Alabama counties of Covington and Escambia, Florida counties of Okaloosa and Santa Rosa, Northwest Florida Water Management District, US Navy, and Auburn University.

Eligible counites for the project include Coffee, Covington, Escambia, and Geneva. However, priority will be given to applicants within the designated area delineated in red on the attached map (see below).

Eligible practices include herbaceous weed treatment for cogongrass eradication, and conservation cover, critical area treatment, and Native Warm Season Grass planting to re-establish adequate vegetation.

To learn more about financial and technical assistance available to help Alabama farmers and other landowners improve and protect their land, visit NRCS in Alabama’s website at www.al.nrcs.usda.gov, or visit your local NRCS office. USDA service center locations are listed at http://al.nrcs.usda.gov.

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