News Environment
Funding fact sheet: Funding available in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio for conservation practices

Landowners in the Western Lake Erie Basin tri-state area of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio are eligible for funding through the Tri-State Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) to implement conservation drainage practices. Applications are due Dec. 2. Application information is available online at www.mi.nrcs.usda.gov.

The funding is part of an effort between the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, USDA-NRCS and more than 30 partners in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio being led by the Indiana State Demartment of Agriculture. The program aims to work towards a 40 percent reduction of phosphorus by using a suite of conservation practices.

Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development director Gary McDowell said in a statement that this is “one of many opportunities available to farmers in the area… to help reduce nutrient loss and minimize future harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie.”

The Michigan funding will prioritize practice implementation in the Lime Creek, Niles Ditch, Stony Creek, LaPointe Drain, Covell Drain, and Silver Creek sub-watersheds within the WLEB. However, all agricultural lands within Michigan’s portion of the WLEB are eligible to apply. Eligible practices include but are not limited to nutrient management, waste storage structures, drainage water management, and more.