Gainesville, FL., Aug. 27, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced $25 million in Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) awarded to 58 entities across the nation for projects that test and prove innovative approaches to conserving America’s private lands. Recipients will demonstrate innovative approaches to improving soil health, increasing pollinator and wildlife habitat, addressing livestock manure management, producing on-farm energy savings and fostering water quality trading markets. Grant winners pay 50 percent of all project costs.
Of the awards announced, over $1.7 million will be used to develop approaches that benefit several states, including Florida. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation was awarded $230,000 to create a toolkit for assessment and mitigation of agricultural operations to benefit coral reefs; North Carolina State University was awarded $472,962 to refine and regionalize southern phosphorous assessment tools; the University of Arkansas was awarded $57,924 to identify methods to refine phosphorus indices and synthesize and extend lessons and outcomes; and the Xerces Society, Inc., was awarded $997,815 for developing the next steps in pollinator conservation.
“Conservation Innovation Grants help spur creativity and problem-solving in our nation’s farms, ranches and forests,” said Carlos Suarez, State Conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). “They allow the best minds in America to develop unique and innovative solutions that will help make conservation more efficient in the future.”
NRCS administers CIG as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Grants are awarded to state and local governments, federally recognized Indian tribes, non-governmental organizations and individuals. NRCS uses CIG to invest in innovative, on-the-ground conservation technologies and approaches with the goal of wide-scale adoption to address water quality and quantity, air quality, energy conservation, and environmental markets, among other natural resource issues.
For a complete list of CIG awardees and more information about NRCS conservation programs online, visit: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov.