Longleaf Pine Announced as a Critical Conservation Area for the USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program

On May 27, 2014, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow to launch a new era in American conservation efforts with a historic focus on public-private partnership.  The new conservation program, called the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), will competitively award funds to conservation projects designed by local partners specifically for their region.  Through RCPP, partners propose conservation projects to improve soil health, water quality and water use efficiency, wildlife habitat, and other related natural resources on private lands.  

Thirty-five percent of total program funding will be directed to critical conservation areas, including: the Great Lakes Region, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Mississippi River Basin, Longleaf Pine Range, Columbia River Basin, California Bay Delta, Prairie Grasslands, and the Colorado River Basin.  For more information on this exciting announcement, please visit the USDA's press release. 

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