St. Mary Emergency Targeted Implementation Plan

Project Description

County or Counties: Blaine, Glacier, Hill, Phillips, and Valley, including the Blackfeet Nation and the Fort Belknap Indian Community
Primary Resource Concern: Soil erosion
Time Frame: Fiscal Year (FY) 2025

The goal of this TIP is to decrease wind and water erosion and maintain or improve plant health on perennial forages and annual cropland that are irrigated by water from the St. Mary Canal and Milk River system.  This TIP will also address livestock water limitations and fencing on pasture and rangeland where the Milk River or the St. Mary Canal was the only water source.

On June 17, 2024, the St. Mary Canal suffered a catastrophic failure. Due to the failure, the canal was shutdown. The Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) assessed the damage and evaluated alternatives. BoR determined the siphons were too damaged to repair and the best alternative is to replace the siphons. During construction of the replacement siphons, the St. Mary Canal will not provide irrigation water in 2025.  BoR hopes to have the project complete by August 2025.  

Conservation Practices Offered

• 340 Cover Crop
• 645 Upland Wildlife Habitat Management
• 516 Livestock Pipeline
• 533 Pumping Plant
• 614 Water Facility
• 642 Water Well
• 224 Aquifer Flow Test
• 382 Fence

Detailed descriptions of these conservation practices can be found in the Field Office Technical Guide, Section 4 - Practice Standards and Supporting Documents.

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. 

The St. Mary Initiative will be funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) using the Act Now application process. Applications eligible for the St. Mary Initiative will be accepted on a continuous sign-up basis. To be considered for this funding cycle, applications must be received by February 28, 2025. Applications received after that date may be considered in other relevant ranking pools. St. Mary Initiative applications processed in the order received and those that rank above the established minimum ranking score of 50 will be pre-approved as funds are available. Farmers and ranchers that apply won’t need to wait for all applications to be ranked to find out if their application was funded.

Producers directly impacted by the St. Mary Canal siphon failure are encouraged to visit the local NRCS office now to begin the planning process and submit applications. Once fiscal year 2025 EQIP funds are received in Montana, the St. Mary Initiative application ranking and pre-approval process will begin. Early planning will help producers to have time to implement practices for the 2025 growing season.

Local Ranking Questions

Program applications are accepted on a continual basis. However, NRCS establishes application ranking dates for evaluation, ranking and approval of eligible applications.

Annual Cropland and/or Perennial Hayland or Pasture Category

1. Does the application include annually planted cropland that will be planted to a multi-species cover crop and grazed?
2. Does the application include perennial hay or pastureland that will utilize 645 Upland Habitat Management?
3. Does the application include annually planted cropland that will be planted to a basic cover crop and hayed?

Livestock Water Category (range, pasture)

1. Does the application include installing a well, pipeline and tank to replace livestock water in pastures and/or rangeland where either the Milk River or St. Mary Canal was the only water source?
2. Does the application include a fence in a pasture and/or rangeland where the boundary was the Milk River or St Mary Canal?
3. Does the application include installing a well, pipeline and tank to replace livestock water in pastures and/or rangeland where the water source is a drain ditch, tail water, or other creeks supplemented by the St. Mary Canal or Milk River?

Both Categories

1. Does the application include livestock water and upland wildlife habitat management?
2. Does the application include livestock water and a multi species cover crop that will be grazed?
3. Does the application include livestock water and a basic cover crop that will be hayed?
4. Does the application include installing a well, pipeline and tank to replace livestock water in pastures and/or rangeland where the water source is a drain ditch, tailwater, or other creeks supplemented by the St. Mary Canal or Milk River?