The Rhode Island State Technical Committee advises the NRCS State Conservationist on the technical guidelines necessary to implement the conservation provisions of the Farm Bill.
State Technical Committee members include representatives from federal and state agriculture and environmental agencies, agricultural producers, Extension Service and Universities, nonprofit organizations and agribusiness. Meetings are open to the public and are held as often as necessary to advise and implement NRCS conservation programs. For information about upcoming meetings, please call the Rhode Island State Office at 401-828-1300.
The STC meets regularly to provide information, analysis, and recommendations to appropriate USDA officials, who strongly consider their advice. Individuals or groups wanting to participate as members on the STC may submit requests to the State Conservationist explaining their interest and relevant credentials.
Decision Making Process
The list of eligible practices in Rhode Island, payment rates and limits, eligible resource concerns, and state scoring criteria are developed based on input and recommendations from the STC. County-level priorities are based on input from the Local Working Group (LWG) that provides feedback to the Field Offices.
Local Working Groups (LWGs) are subcommittees of the State Technical Committee and provide recommendations to USDA on local and state natural resource priorities and criteria for conservation activities and programs.
The priorities set at the state and county level are those that the STC and LWG determined were of the greatest need and would have the greatest positive environmental impact. The scoring process at both the state and local level was developed in order to select those projects that would provide the greatest environmental benefit, and therefore provide the greatest public good.
2026 STC Meeting Schedule
TBD.
Past Meeting Info
- Wednesday, August 27, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., USDA Service Center main conference room, 60 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI, with virtual link via MicroSoft (MS) Teams. Contact Jermaine Jenkins at 401-822-8824 or Jermaine.Jenkins@usda.gov to register to receive the MS Teams meeting link.
-
- Thursday, December 5, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., virtual meeting.
-
RI Programs Update - STC Meeting -120524 (1010.72 KB)
-
- Thursday, July 18, 2024, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., virtual via MS Teams.
18 July 2024 RI STC meeting recording
- Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 9:30 - 11:00 a.m., virtual via MS Teams.
-
RI STC Meeting Minutes_110823 (21.2 KB)
Local Working Groups
Local Working Groups (LWG) provide recommendations on local natural resource priorities and criteria for conservation activities and programs in each Conservation District in Rhode Island. Recommendations may include, but are not limited to, priority natural resource concerns in the local community, criteria to be used in ranking program applications techniques, and for outreach.
Local Working Group meetings are a valuable part of the NRCS planning process, providing an opportunity for local land managers to be part of a collaborative effort to improve natural resources within your district.
Fiscal Year 2026 LWG Meeting Schedule
This year's Local Working Group meetings will be held in each Conservation District area. Dates and locations will be posted here as soon as they are scheduled.
- Eastern RI Local Working Group Meeting - February 25, 2026, 6:00 p.m., Greenvale Vineyards, 582 Wapping Road, Portsmouth, RI
- Northern RI Local Working Group Meetings:
- Southern RI Local Working Group Meeting -
Additional Information
State Technical Committees
Every state has an NRCS State Technical Committee. The State Technical Committee advises the State Conservationist on technical guidelines necessary to implement the conservation provisions of the Farm Bill.
Learn More