conservation

Florida NRCS: Hurricane Season Begins

Clint Thompson Florida, Weather

With the 2020 Hurricane Season here, and the fact forecasters have predicted an active one, workers are finishing repairs in Florida from Hurricane Michael which hit back in October of 2018.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provided $20 million in Bay, Gulf, Gadsden and Walton counties to remove debris in canals, ditches and streams to prevent flooding and to stabilize streambanks and prevent erosion threatening homes, roads and utilities.

And NRCS in Florida wants to remind landowners that if your area suffers damage from a natural disaster, the Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP) can help relieve imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms and hurricanes. Aid may include financial and technical assistance to remove debris from streams, protect destabilized stream banks and establish cover on critically eroding lands, repair conservation practices and purchase flood plain easements.

Public and private landowners are eligible for assistance, but must be represented by a project sponsor, like a city, county, conservation district or a Native American tribe or organization. NRCS provides technical assistance and pays up to 75 percent of the construction. Local sources then contribute the remaining portion in the form of cash or in-kind services.

The process begins when the sponsor requests assistance from a local NRCS office staff visit the site and determine eligibility based on environmental impacts and economic analysis, then request funding from the NRCS national office. If Congress appropriates funds, the sponsor enters into a cooperative agreement to complete the work. Learn more about EWP on the NRCS website or contact your local USDA service center.