NRCS seeks new priority watersheds for the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative and National Water Quality Initiative

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Indiana announced it is accepting proposals to designate new priority watersheds for the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) and National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) through June 15.

Known as "America's River," the Mississippi River is North America's largest river, flowing over 2,300 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. The watershed not only provides drinking water, food, industrial opportunities and recreation for more than 18 million people, it also hosts a globally significant migratory flyway and is home to more than 325 bird species. Through MRBI, NRCS and its partners work with producers and landowners to implement voluntary conservation practices that improve water quality, restore wetlands, enhance wildlife habitat and sustain agricultural profitability in the Mississippi River Basin. New priority watershed proposals should address these resource concerns and align with state nutrient loss reduction strategies.

NWQI is a joint initiative between NRCS and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address agricultural sources of water pollution, specifically nutrients, sediment and pathogens in priority watersheds, with a special component for source water protection. This strategic approach leverages funds and provides streamlined assistance to help individual agricultural producers take needed actions in impaired watersheds. New priority watershed proposals can be located anywhere in Indiana and should address these resource concerns. NWQI also includes source water protection for ground and surface waters that may not face water pollution challenges that would otherwise make them eligible for NWQI.

"We see a positive impact across the state when we partner with producers to deliver conservation practices in critical watersheds," said Indiana NRCS State Conservationist Damarys Mortenson. "These focused partnerships allow us to maximize the delivery of our conservation efforts and achieve greater improvements to water quality, which benefits the participating producers, the public and our state's natural resources."

Projects must have a watershed assessment plan that meets NRCS guidelines to be eligible for implementation funding. Projects that do not have an approved plan can apply for planning phase funding which will provide time for watershed-level assessment, on-farm planning, and outreach to support the development of the multi-year implementation plan that will assist states with their nutrient loss reduction strategies or source water protection. Watershed assessment plans do not need to be developed with NRCS funding but do need to be approved by NRCS before the project is eligible for future implementation funding.

Projects with an already approved watershed assessment plan can apply for targeted Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and/or Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) funding for implementation of conservation practices over the course of several years. The approved assessment plan does not have to be a product of the planning phase but does need to meet the NRCS assessment plan criteria.

Partners who are interested in being a part of the planning phase or implementation phase should contact Jerod Chew, Assistant State Conservationist for Partnerships, at [email protected]for information and application materials. Application materials are due no later than June 15.

To learn more about MRBI visit: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs-initiatives/mississippi-river-basin-healthy-watersheds-initiative.

To learn more about NWQI, visit https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs-initiatives/national-water-quality-initiative.

For more information about NRCS and other technical and financial assistance available through conservation programs, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted or contact your district conservationist Find Your Local Service Center | Farmers.gov.