Two eastern Idaho conservation projects get USDA funding
Two eastern Idaho projects are among 115 conservation projects across the country to be funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
Additional funding from project partners will more than double the financial impact of the program.
The Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Stabilization project will receive $1.1 million to help farmers employ several strategies to stabilize and recover groundwater levels.
Over the next two years, the Idaho Water Resources Board will work with producers to implement projects that include end-gun removal and pivot enhancements, surface water delivery improvements, flood irrigation enhancements, and conservation programs in the Thousand Springs area.
“Aquifer stabilization will help to recover spring discharges that are crucial to maintaining the minimum stream flows in the Snake River,” Idaho Department of Water Resources Senior Water Resource Planner Neeley Miller said in a news release Wednesday.
The Idaho Water Resource Board is the lead partner on the ESPA Aquifer Stabilization RCPP project; other partners include Ag Spring, Center for Management of Professional and Scientific Work, Ducks Unlimited, General Mills, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Department of Water Resources, Idaho Ground Water Appropriators, Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission, MillerCoors, The Nature Conservancy, Thousand Springs Water Users Association, Trout Unlimited, and Wood River Land Trust. These collaborating partners have committed to providing financial and technical assistance for RCPP projects each year.
The Blackfoot River Conservation Partnership will receive $500,000 in RCPP funding. The project, led by Trout Unlimited, is aimed at repairing riparian corridors in the Blackfoot River watershed and improving water delivery efficiencies. According to Trout Unlimited project director Matt Woodard, the project will benefit a unique population of Yellowstone Cutthroat trout.
