WYOMING — On Oct. 28, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a historic $1.5 billion investment in 92 partner-driven conservation projects to aid farmers and forest landowners.
Selected RCPP projects, including those in Wyoming, are aiming to assist locally led conservation strategies to enhance natural resources in the face of a climate crisis. Wyoming will receive $35,284,000 in funding as part of the investment, and is also part of a proposal, but not the lead state, for another project totaling $21,250,000.
The investment is made through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), with funding available through the Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act.
In Wyoming, projects include:
- The Salt River Watershed Restoration Project with Trout Unlimited, Inc. as the lead partner
- The Promoting Landscape Resilience and Protecting Migration Corridors in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem project with Jackson Hole Land Trust as the lead partner
- The Tribal Buffalo Restoration in the Northern Great Plains Region with the InterTribal Buffalo Council as the lead partner (and South Dakota NRCS as the lead state)
Tri-State clean energy investments will also use some of their funding to support three Wind Power Purchase Agreements to to purchase power generated by wind turbines in Wyoming and Eastern Nebraska.
See a list of all 92 awarded projects here.
This investment announcements comes a week after Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and Colorado Governor Jared Polis jointly announced $3M in funding for climate resilience projects.
