BOISE, Feb. 26, 2016 – USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) today announced an investment of $25 million targeted to help agriculture producers improve water quality in high-priority streams and rivers across the country. Through the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI), NRCS will help agricultural producers in 187 priority watersheds apply conservation measures that contribute to cleaner water downstream, including three watersheds in Idaho.
“Clean water is in everyone’s interest and the best way to achieve it is through the types of partnerships forged by USDA programs like NWQI,” said Curtis Elke, NRCS Idaho state conservationist and director for the NWQI National board. “When farmers, ranchers, forest landowners and municipalities come together to improve water quality, we’re able to achieve bigger benefits.”
NWQI helps producers use the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to adopt conservation practices that improve water quality, such as improving soil nutrient management, planting cover crops, using conservation cropping systems, establishing filter strips and monitoring water quality. Since 2012, USDA has invested more than $100 million in producers participating in this initiative, leading to conservation systems placed on almost 500,000 acres in priority watersheds. Now in its fifth year, NWQI has expanded to include more small watersheds across the nation, and it builds on efforts to deliver high-impact conservation in areas such as the Mississippi River basin, Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes.
NRCS worked with state water quality agencies and other partners to select NWQI watersheds. State water quality agencies and local partners also provide assistance with watershed planning, additional dollars and assistance for conservation, along with outreach to farmers and ranchers. Through NWQI, these partnerships are growing and offering a model for collaborative work in other watersheds.
Idaho selected three NWQI watersheds for 2016. Those three watersheds are the Lower Sand Hollow, the Dixie Slough and the Outlet Boise River.
In 2016, NRCS is bolstering its water quality efforts by introducing a new evaluation tool in selected NWQI watersheds, one of which is Outlet Boise River. The tool will help producers assess how their farms or ranches are operating, the value of conservation already in place, and to identify areas they may want to improve and practices they may want to implement to get them there.
Known as a resource stewardship evaluation, this new tool integrates many of NRCS’ planning tools, and looks holistically at an agricultural operation’s current management and conservation activities across five natural resource concerns: soil management, water quality, water quantity, air quality and wildlife habitat. With a resource stewardship evaluation, NRCS helps producers develop a conservation plan that best meets their goals and prescribes the right conservation practices