NRCS Colorado 2010 News Release

 Lakewood, CO – The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Republican River Water Conservation District (RRWCD) recently signed an Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) contract in Burlington, CO.

The purpose of the agreement contract is to establish a partner- based, dedicated funding pool for the RRWCD and NRCS to provide financial and technical assistance for water conservation measures in the Colorado portion of the Republican River Watershed.

The two-year agreement will provide cost-share assistance to eligible participants who voluntarily enter their land into AWEP to permanently convert irrigated land to sustainable dry land cropping, and grazing lands management systems.

This program seeks to enroll approximately 2,500 acres into the program through September 30, 2010.

The 2009 AWEP agreement with the Republican River Water Conservation District continues a long partnership dedicated to progressive water conservation in this Basin.

“The NRCS in Colorado is committed to using AWEP to leverage local resources and provide assistance to farmers and ranchers to address water resource issues on their land," said Tim Carney, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs, NRCS.

The AWEP program was established by Congress in the 2008 Farm Bill. The program promotes ground and surface water conservation partnerships to assist farmers and ranchers implement and maintain practices on their land. Through AWEP partnerships, local conservation priorities are addressed and the NRCS is able to leverage investment in natural resources conservation.

Carney and Dennis Coryell, President, RRWCD, signed the contract August 26th in Burlington at the Republican River Watershed Association meeting. The NRCS and the Republican River Water Conservation District have pledged $1 million each for the two-year project. The funds are dedicated to facilitate water conservation through voluntary transition of certain targeted lands from irrigated to non-irrigated farming and ranching in the Republican River Watershed.

This agreement is part of a larger local and State effort to support the sustainability of water resources and interstate compact compliance in the Republican Basin in Colorado.

Eligible producers are encouraged to apply through the continuous signup process at any time. Information is available through the Republican River Water Conservation District office in Wray, and through any of the NRCS field offices in the Basin. Producers who offer land for enrollment into the program will be compete for funding using a ranking system developed in partnership with the RRWCD. The District website is http://www.republicanriver.com/.

AWEP was established by the 2008 Farm Bill and funding comes from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the program for USDA. NRCS implements AWEP through partnership agreements dedicating resources to national, state, and local water resource concerns. The NRCS funding is delivered through EQIP contracts directly with eligible agricultural producers. All AWEP recipients must meet EQIP requirements.

For more information about specific AWEP projects visit www.nrcs.usda.gov or visit the USDA Service Centers in the Republican River Watershed.

 

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