Belle Fourche River Watershed Partnership Project Announces Batching Date
“This project is another step of our mission to improve crop production, water efficiency, and to reduce the flow of solids into the Belle Fourche River. We greatly appreciate the assistance from the NRCS on this project… the NRCS has been a key partner from the start”
NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), Huron, South Dakota (SD), November 15, 2022 – The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in SD have announced a call for applications for the Belle Fourche River Watershed Partnership (BFRWP) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Project.
The batching date is December 15, 2022. Landowners and Water Management Entities are encouraged to contact the local NRCS office at their local USDA Service Center.
The Irrigation Efficiency and Soil Health RCPP Project is a partnership between SD NRCS, BFWRP, SD Department of Environment and Natural Resources (SD DENR) and the Belle Fourche Irrigation District (BFID). The project has $1,203,000 in RCPP funds being matched by $1,674,000 in partner contributions over the course of three years. The goal of the project is to convert acres from being flood-irrigated to sprinkler systems, and earthen ditches to buried pipeline in order to improve water usage efficiency, degraded plant conditions, field sediment, and nutrient and pathogen loss. This will increase the land’s plant productivity and overall soil health. “This project is another step of our mission to improve crop production, water efficiency, and to reduce the flow of solids into the Belle Fourche River. We greatly appreciate the assistance from the NRCS on this project… the NRCS has been a key partner from the start” said BFRWP Treasurer and Lawrence Conservation District Chair Karl Jensen.
Success will be measured by the number of producers enrolled and the positive changes in soil health and water quality/quantity. To learn more about RCPP and other technical and financial assistance available through conservation programs, please visit the SD NRCS web site at www.nrcs.usda.gov/south-dakota or contact us at www.nrcs.usda.gov/contact.