Session 3 – USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Opportunities for Conservation Technical and Financial Assistance

COVID-19 Protocols – As the main conference organizer, the Mitchell Center is required to have conference attendees follow University of Maine System COVID-19 protocols. Please go to the COVID-19 page for more information.

Morning Session: 8:30AM-10:30AM

Kennebec Room (First Floor)

Session Chairs:
Matt Walker, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bangor, ME
Ben Naumann, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bangor, ME

Are you looking for technical assistance and/or potential funding for your next conservation project? Navigating through the sea of federal funding sources for conservation can be daunting; however, many opportunities for your project are available. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) works closely with private landowners, managers, and partners who are interested in voluntary conservation on private land and beyond. NRCS may provide both technical and financial assistance for soil, water, air, plant, animal, human, and energy resource concerns. NRCS programs focus on addressing resource concerns through a variety of land management, partner, innovation, and easement programs. This session will provide an introduction to NRCS technical and financial assistance and will highlight NRCS project examples to help you formulate your own projects. Time will be provided to answer questions concerning specific conservation goals NRCS can assist with.

8:30AM – 8:55AM
Partnering with NRCS for Conservation

Ben Naumann1, Eileen Bader Hall2

  • 1. Assistant State Conservationist for Partnerships and Initiatives, NRCS
  • 2. Freshwater Restoration Manager, The Nature Conservancy

It takes a community to implement sound, on-the-ground conservation, especially for a variety of projects at multiple scales. Partnering with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for both technical and financial assistance could help with your large Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) project or water quality initiative. This discussion focuses on identifying the multiple ways individuals and groups can become an NRCS partner, help advise NRCS on implementing natural resources conservation provisions of Farm Bill legislation, and complete high-impact conservation projects together. We will also hear from Eileen Bader Hall from The Nature Conservancy on how Maine TNC is partnering with NRCS on the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and mechanisms for multiple partners to work collaboratively on large, complex AOP projects utilizing NRCS funding.

9:00AM – 9:25AM
Working with NRCS, a Client’s Perspective

Steve Tatko
Director of Maine Conservation and Land Management, AMC

Over ten years ago the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) started working together on road stream crossing barriers to aquatic organism passage (AOP). Within that time AMC, NRCS and more recently The Nature Conversancy and the Piscataquis Soil and Water District, have partnered to complete over 40 projects reconnecting approximately 40 stream miles for both native brook trout and endangered Atlantic salmon on AMC land. Steve Tatko will offer his land manager perspective of working with NRCS as a client and discuss: what a prospective NRCS client need to know; the flow of a project from start to finish; and how AMC has used that knowledge gained from NRCS to complete projects on its own.

9:30AM – 9:55AM
Introduction to the Natural Resources Conservation Service

Thomas Kielbasa1, Peter Abello2

  1. Public Affairs Specialist, NRCS
  2. District Conservationist, NRCS

Mainers are proud of the healthy water, air quality, soil, and wildlife habitat here in Northern New England, but keeping those natural resources intact can be a challenge. The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers technical and financial assistance to help farmers, landowners and forest managers address natural resource concerns on their land. Common free technical assistance can include resource assessments, and practice designs; financial assistance is available through a variety of popular NRCS conservation funding programs. Getting started is often as simple as contacting your local field office.

10:00AM – 10:25AM
Programs and Easement opportunities through the Natural Resources Conservation Service

Leslie Nelson1, Bill Jones2

  1. Resource Conservationist, NRCS
  2. Natural Resource Specialist for Easements, NRCS

Do you have a possible project on private land but don’t know what USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) program would best fit? This presentation provides program information for both land management practices, and easements to help you meet private landowner project goals.