New funding chances for South Dakota's sensitive lands

By Scout Nelson

Updates from Huron, South Dakota’s Tony Sunseri, the State Conservationist, spotlighted new funding avenues with South Dakota's USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for Fiscal Year 2024. The primary focus is protecting and rejuvenating our sensitive lands.

This financial boost is courtesy of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). This initiative is crafted with a dual-purpose: safeguarding water resources and wildlife habitats, and motivating landowners to earmark their lands for farming.

Aspiring beneficiaries, take note - Applications are welcomed continuously. To ensure consideration for FY24 funding, make sure to send in your applications by November 13, 2023.

Here's an exciting detail; The Inflation Reduction Act has broadened the national priority sectors eligible for the ACEP grant.

Breaking down ACEP, we have two core branches:

The wetland reserve, a segment where NRCS closely collaborates with landowners to guard and revitalize agricultural wetlands.

The working lands unit, offering aid to partner programs focusing on the procurement of agricultural land easements.

Opting for wetland reserve easements opens a spectrum of benefits for landowners.

From enhancing wildlife habitats, reducing flood damage, improving groundwater, and offering outdoor activities, the benefits are plentiful. Landowners can secure their interest through long-term or 30-year easements. And for those interested in grazing, they can enroll with reserved grazing rights, adhering to an NRCS-approved plan.

The beauty of agricultural land easements lies in their multiplicity of benefits. Beyond preserving our food supply chain's integrity, they play a crucial role in upholding environmental health, promoting wildlife habitats, and shielding open spaces.

NRCS invites state and local authorities, non-government entities, and Native American Tribes to collaborate on farmland protection initiatives, promoting agricultural land conservation through easements.

To explore ACEP's services and South Dakota NRCS' assistance offerings, visit the ACEP webpage or speak with a local service center representative.

Photo Credit: gettyimages-alexeyrumyantsev