This Targeted Implementation Plan (TIP) is available in Phillips, Valley and Ft Belknap Reservation, Montana. TIPs are local-level Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) initiatives used by NRCS in Montana to guide on-the-ground implementation of locally developed Long Range County Plans.
County or Counties: Phillips and Valley counties, Fort Belknap and Fort Peck reservations
Primary Resource Concern: Inadequate livestock water quantity, quality and distribution
Time Frame: Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 through FY 2029
The goal of this TIP is to improve livestock water reliability on grazing lands in the Glasgow Work Unit including land on the Fort Belknap and Fort Peck Reservations within the TIP boundary.
Conservation Practices Offered
- 533 Pumping Plant
- 516 Livestock Pipeline
- 642 Water Well
- 574 Spring Development
- 614 Watering Facility
- 645 Upland Wildlife Habitat Management
- 382 Fence
- 528 Prescribed Grazing
Detailed descriptions of these conservation practices can be found in the Field Office Technical Guide Section 4 - Practice Standards and Supporting Documents.
Project Partners
- Phillips County Conservation District
- Prairie Pothole Joint Venture
- Bureau of Land Management
- MT Fish, Wildlife and Parks
- Ranchers Stewardship Alliance
- World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
- Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW)
- Montana Association of Conservation Districts (MACD)
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
When to Apply
Program applications are accepted on a continual basis. However, NRCS establishes application ranking dates for evaluation, ranking and approval of eligible applications. Applications received after the ranking date will be automatically deferred to the next funding period. See Montana Programs and Application Dates.
Applications must meet the intent of this initiative. For more details about this initiative, contact your local field office.
Local Ranking Questions
NRCS uses these questions to evaluate eligible applications for this project and to prioritize applications for potential funding.
- What was the highest drought length and severity index of contracted acres between 2021 and 2023? (Map will be updated forFY27 to include the years 2024 to 2026).
- Very High
- High
- Moderate
- Low
- Is a reliable watering facility present in the pasture? If so, how far is it from the proposed water project?
- No reliable water is present
- Yes, >1 mile away
- Yes, 0.5-1 mile away
- Yes, <0.5 mile away
- At the time of application, the project will impact the management of...
- > 640 acres of contiguous perennial vegetation
- 320 - 640 acres of contiguous perennial vegetation
- < 320 acres of contiguous perennial vegetation
- Contracted acres are within which Priority Grassland Bird Area?
- Priority 1 - 25% cores
- Priority 2- 50% cores
- Not in a Priority Area
- Does the contract include permanent electric fence to subdivide conservation management unit(s) associated with watering facility installation?
- Yes
- No
- Does the project create new watering infrastructure to facilitate grazing management or does it improve upon exiting infrastructure?
- Installing new watering infrastructure to facilitate grazing
- Improving existing watering infrastructure outside NRCS practice lifespan
Additional Information
Apply for Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers and non-industrial forest managers.
Learn MoreFarm Bill
The 2018 Farm Bill was enacted on December 20, 2018. The Farm Bill continues its strong support for conservation efforts of America’s farmers and ranchers through reauthorization and expanded flexibility of NRCS conservation programs.
Learn MoreReady to get started?
Contact your local service center to start your application.
How to Get Assistance
Do you farm or ranch and want to make improvements to the land that you own or lease?
Natural Resources Conservation Service offers technical and financial assistance to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.
To get started with NRCS, we recommend you stop by your local NRCS field office. We’ll discuss your vision for your land.
NRCS provides landowners with free technical assistance, or advice, for their land. Common technical assistance includes: resource assessment, practice design and resource monitoring. Your conservation planner will help you determine if financial assistance is right for you.
We’ll walk you through the application process. To get started on applying for financial assistance, we’ll work with you:
- To fill out an AD 1026, which ensures a conservation plan is in place before lands with highly erodible soils are farmed. It also ensures that identified wetland areas are protected.
- To meet other eligibility certifications.
Once complete, we’ll work with you on the application, or CPA 1200.
Applications for most programs are accepted on a continuous basis, but they’re considered for funding in different ranking periods. Be sure to ask your local NRCS district conservationist about the deadline for the ranking period to ensure you turn in your application in time.
As part of the application process, we’ll check to see if you are eligible. To do this, you’ll need to bring:
- An official tax ID (Social Security number or an employer ID)
- A property deed or lease agreement to show you have control of the property; and
- A farm number.
If you don’t have a farm number, you can get one from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Typically, the local FSA office is located in the same building as the local NRCS office. You only need a farm number if you’re interested in financial assistance.
NRCS will take a look at the applications and rank them according to local resource concerns, the amount of conservation benefits the work will provide and the needs of applicants. View Application Ranking Dates by State.
If you’re selected, you can choose whether to sign the contract for the work to be done.
Once you sign the contract, you’ll be provided standards and specifications for completing the practice or practices, and then you will have a specified amount of time to implement. Once the work is implemented and inspected, you’ll be paid the rate of compensation for the work if it meets NRCS standards and specifications.