NRCS Announces Water Quality Conservation in San Pedro and Gila River Watersheds

Application Deadline for 2012 Funding – May 18 and June 15, 2012

PHOENIX, May 8, 2012—  The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announces a new Water Quality Initiative committed to improving impaired waterways in Arizona. NRCS will manage the initiative by making financial assistance available to farmers and ranchers in the selected watersheds throughout the state.

Through this effort, eligible producers in the targeted areas of the San Pedro and Gila River watersheds can receive technical and financial assistance to implement conservation practices that help provide cleaner water for their neighbors and communities. Using funds from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), NRCS will provide financial assistance to producers for implementing conservation practices that will reduce agriculture return flows into the river watersheds through irrigation water management and improved irrigation systems.

Producers who are along the San Pedro River, directly north and south of I-10 where the interstate passes over the river are may be for assistance and should contact the Willcox NRCS Field Office for more information and to apply. Interested landowners in the Gila River watershed, located half way between Gila Bend and Gillespie Dam and near the Cotton Center area may also be eligible. The Avondale NRCS Field Office is the contact for the Gila River watershed.

NRCS accepts applications for financial assistance on a continuous basis throughout the year. There will be two ranking periods for the Water Quality Initiative with the first ending on May 18 and the second on June 15, 2012. At the end of a ranking period, NRCS ranks all submitted proposals for funding consideration. This summer, NRCS will notify all applicants of the results of the rankings and begin developing contracts with selected applicants.

For more detailed information about the Water Quality Initiative for the San Pedro and Gila River watersheds, contact the appropriate NRCS field office directly. The Willcox NRCS Field Office can be reached at 520-384-2229 and the Avondale NRCS Field Office can be contacted at 623-535-5055.

 

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