Palouse River Watershed (WRIA 34) Implementation Partnership - RCPP in Idaho

Project Information

Lead Partner: Palouse Conservation District

Lead State: WA

Partner State: ID

Project Years: 2020-2026

Primary Resource Concern: Wind and water erosion

Secondary Resource Concerns: Aquatic habitat; Concentrated erosion; Degraded Plant Condition; Field pesticide loss; Field sediment, nutrient, and pathogen loss; Long term protection of land; Pest pressure; Soil quality limitations; Terrestrial habitat

Total Funding Amount: $5,500,000.00

Activities Funded: Land Management, Entity-Held Easements

Project Summary

The Palouse River Watershed spans five counties in Washington and Idaho and encompasses both fertile agriculture land and critical habitat for fish and wildlife. The goal of the project is to implement best management practices that address resource concerns associated with water quality, soil health, flooding, and at-risk wildlife habitat within the Palouse Watershed. Specific conservation activities will include the use of riparian buffers, conservation tillage soil health management systems, and Farmed Smart certification. Conservation easements will be utilized to protect prime farmland and Palouse Prairie vegetation communities.  Additionally, the partnership will incentivize producers to move beyond conservation tillage by targeting practices such as precision nutrient management, cover crops, and no-till through the utilization of programs such as EQIP, CSP and CRP. Partners and researchers are developing an innovative watershed planning tool to identify critical source areas of runoff and erosion that will be incorporated into the ranking criteria to optimize the effectiveness of Resource Management Systems (RMS) level planning.

Ranking Criteria

• Land offered for enrolment must be within the geographic footprint of the RCPP Project.
• Application must seek to address one or more of the priorities outlined in the project-specific Programmatic Partnership Agreement (PPA)

PPA Priorities

• Nitrogen Use
• Reduce Soil Erosion
• Carbon Storage
• Diversify Plant Communities 
• Riparian Buffer