By Blake Jackson
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced a new policy called Act Now that will streamline the application process for certain conservation programs. The Act Now policy will apply to applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) that are enrolled in the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) and the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI).
Under the Act Now policy, eligible EQIP applications will be automatically preapproved, eliminating the need for applicants to wait for their applications to be ranked and preapproved. This will significantly shorten the turnaround time for applications, and NRCS will be able to develop contracts in just a few weeks.
Program applications are accepted on a continuous basis, but applications for the Act Now policy will only be accepted until May 17, 2024. NRCS will begin funding eligible applications after January 5, 2024, and will continue making funding decisions every two weeks as funds are available.
The Act Now policy is available for applications in five sub-watersheds within the Rush River watershed in Pierce and St. Croix counties:
- Town of Martell-Rush River
- Goose Creek-Trimbelle River
- Spring Creek-Trimbelle River
- Little Trimbelle River
- Crystal Springs Coulee-Rush River
The Act Now policy is also available for applications in three watersheds under the NWQI:
- Bear Lake-Little Wolf River in Waupaca County
- Town of La Prairie & City of Beloit Lower Rock River East in Rock County
- Sinsinawa River in Grant County
Eligible applicants are encouraged to contact their local NRCS Service Center to learn more about the Act Now policy.
For more information on EQIP or other NRCS programs, please visit the Wisconsin NRCS homepage at www.nrcs.usda.gov/wi
Categories: Wisconsin, Sustainable Agriculture