10 Projects Selected for Funding Through Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative

10 Projects Selected for Funding Through Cooperative Conservation Partnership
Initiative

DAVIS, Calif., July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ten California projects,
sponsored by eight partnering organizations, have been selected for funding
through the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI), a new
program established in the 2008 Farm Bill and administered by the USDA's
Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The projects will receive a targeted portion of the funds available to the
Agency through conservation programs such as the Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP). "The conservation model in CCPI allows us to use a
more concerted approach to achieve success on projects that are of mutual
interest to NRCS and to partnering organizations in California," says Alan
Forkey, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs.

Agricultural producers interested in participating in a CCPI project will need
to be within the specified geographical boundaries of the project and
otherwise eligible for NRCS conservation programs.

The 2009 CCPI projects in California are as follows:

Alameda County Resource Conservation District:$132,000 for protecting water
quality and habitat on ranchland in Southern Alameda Creek Watershed: Alameda
County.

East Stanislaus Resource Conservation District:$250,000 for reducing off-farm
movement of agricultural pesticides: Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus
Counties.

Pit Resource Conservation District:$200,000 to improve habitat and restore
range and forest health: Lassen County.

San Mateo County Farm Bureau: $145,000 for increasing irrigation efficiency on
specialty crops: San Mateo County.

Western United Dairymen:$60,000 for improving the efficient use of manure as a
plant nutrient: Marin, Sonoma Counties.

Western United Dairymen:$300,000 for development of nutrient management plans
on dairies: Del Norte and Humboldt Counties.

Western United Dairymen:$1,200,000 for protecting water quality by helping
dairy operators improve their manure utilization systems: Tehama, Butte,
Fresno, Glenn, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, Sacramento, San Joaquin,
Stanislaus, Solano, Tulare, Yuba, and Yolo Counties.

Yager/Van Duzen Environmental Stewards: $300,000 for controlling sediment and
improving water quality in prioritized parts of the watershed: Humboldt
County.

Lodi Winegrape Commission:$353,405 for sustaining water quality and habitat on
private agricultural lands in northern San Joaquin Valley: San Joaquin County.

Mattole Restoration Council:$39,179 for to improve ecological sustainability
of ranch and non-industrial private forest operations: Humboldt and Mendocino
Counties.

For more information on the project goals and boundaries, contact your local
NRCS field office. For a listing of offices statewide see
http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=CA

SOURCE USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service

Anita Brown, +1-530-792-5644, or Alan Forkey, +1-530-792-5653, USDA - Natural
Resources Conservation Service