News Release
USDA Selects First Projects of New, Innovative Program
Contact:
José A. Castro, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs
787-766-5206 x117 or 787-501-6144
Release No.: 2015-01
San Juan, PR, January 14, 2015 – U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, today announced that 100 high-impact projects across all 50 states and 4 territories, including the Caribbean Area, will receive more than $370 million as part of the new Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
RCPP’s historic focus on public-private partnerships provides private companies, local communities and other non-government partners with a way to invest in efforts to keep our land resilient and water clean, and promote tremendous economic growth in agriculture, construction, tourism and outdoor recreation, and other industries.
This year’s project in the Caribbean Area will accomplish a wide diversity of agricultural and natural resource goals from managing runoff, flooding and ponding, to controlling the seasonal high water table in the Yabucoa Agriculture Reserve.
“Partners are seeing the value of conservation and investing in their future,” Vilsack said. “These partnerships are forging a new path for getting conservation on the ground and are providing opportunities for communities to have a voice and ownership in protecting and improving our natural resources. The Regional Conservation Partnership Program ushers in a new era of conservation, and we’re excited about the down-the-road benefits from this new Farm Bill program.”
This year’s projects will engage hundreds of partners with wide-ranging interests, including communities, conservation districts, agribusiness, non-government organizations, for- and non-profit organizations, state and federal agencies and Tribal governments. In addition to USDA funds, partners’ will contribute an estimated $400 million, more than doubling USDA’s investment.
“RCPP puts our partners in the driver’s seat,” said Edwin Almodóvar, USDA’S Natural Resources Conservation Service Director in the Caribbean Area. “Projects are led locally, and demonstrate the value of strong public-private partnerships that deliver solutions to tough natural resource challenges.”
In Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture (PRDA), the Conservation District of Eastern Puerto Rico (CDEPR), the Puerto Rico Land Authority (PRLA) and the University of Puerto Rico Cooperative Extension Service (UPR-CES) are partnering with NRCS in the Caribbean Area on a 5-year RCPP project to control Excess Water and improve Water Quality in the fertile, level lowlands of the Yabucoa Agriculture Reserve (YAR). The 10,490-acre YAR in eastern Puerto Rico is specially-zoned to promote protection of prime agricultural land. A large area of the YAR is located in the Río Guayanés floodplain, where producers suffer damages from severe and prolonged flooding to plantain, banana and other starchy crops. Project partners aim to improve drainage and water flow in the YAR to reduce flooding duration, allow flood waters to return to the main channel of Río Guayanés and eliminate ponding of stagnant water. The project will manage runoff, flooding and ponding, while controlling the seasonal high water table, by planting critical areas, removing channel obstructions, protecting heavy use areas, and installing grassed waterways, lined waterways and outlets, water control structures, and water and sediment control basins.
More than 600 pre-proposals were submitted for RCPP in 2014. Of those, more than 200 were invited to submit full proposals. “With so many strong project proposals, the project selection process was extremely competitive. RCPP is a 5-year $1.2 billion USDA commitment; projects not selected in this first year may be eligible in subsequent years,” Almodóvar said.
For more information on Caribbean Area RCPP projects, visit the NRCS Caribbean Area’s webpage or view the full list of projects.
The next announcement of program funding for fiscal year 2016 will be made later in the year. To learn about technical and financial assistance available through conservation programs, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted or your local USDA service center.
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