NRCS provides financial assistance for selected conservation activities through a detailed process to rank and prioritize applications based on natural resource priorities. The availability and amount of financial assistance can vary between states.
Overview
Any applicant may submit an application for participation in ACEP, EQIP, CSP, or RCPP. The State Conservationist, in consultation with the State Technical Committee and Local Work Groups, has developed the following ranking criteria to prioritize and subsequently fund applications addressing priority natural resource concerns in Utah.
The State Conservationist will establish batching periods and select the highest ranked applications for funding, based on applicant eligibility and the NRCS ranking process. NRCS uses the Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool (CART) for all program ranking.
Learn more about the CART process.
State Ranking Pools
Utah created state specific ranking pools from the parameters established in the National Ranking Templates. Ranking pool customization allows states to focus funding on priority resource concerns and initiatives identified by the State Technical Committee and Local Work Groups.
The state ranking pools contain a set of questions that includes the following sections - applicability, category, program questions, and resource questions. Program participants will be considered for funding in all applicable ranking pools by program. This will allow more for participants to receive financial assistance.
FY26 Program Ranking Pools
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
FY 2026 EQIP Ranking Pool Reports
- Northwest (Box Elder County)
- Cache Rich
- Weber River (Davis, Morgan Summit and Weber Counties)
- South Bonneville (Tooele, Salt Lake, Utah and Wasatch Counties)
- Uintah Basin (Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah Counties)
- Lower Sevier Basin (Juab and Millard Counties)
- Middle Sevier-Fremont Basin (Piute, Sevier, Sanpete and Wayne Counties)
- Price-San Rafael Basin (Carbon and Emery Counties)
- Lower Colorado Basin (Grand and San Juan Counties)
- Gar-Kane (Garfield and Kane Counties)
- Southwest Basin (Beaver, Iron and Washington Counties)
- Utah Salinity
Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP)
Payment Schedules
Each year, NRCS re-evaluates the amount of financial assistance available for each practice in each state. These evaluations consider the current costs for material and labor within the state, and also the fair marketplace compensation for opportunity costs that may arise (e.g. conversion of productive land). If necessary, the amount of financial assistance is adjusted to keep pace with actual costs.
Visit the NRCS Payment Schedules main page for current information and to download a report.