By Lesley McClurg

Because of California’s historic drought, the state’s rice crop will be 30 percent below normal –- at 375,000 acres. Experts say the smaller planting will hurt the economy and wildlife that depend on shallow flooded fields.

Tim Johnson, the President of the California Rice Commission says the largest impact will be felt in the small towns like Colusa, Marysville and Yuba City where farmers and workers depend on the rice industry for jobs.

“But, also in places like the Port of West Sacramento where we export our rice internationally and the rice mills and rice driers you see around the community,” says Johnson.

The ripples will be felt statewide. Johnson says the fallowed acreage will costs California’s economy hundreds of millions of dollars.

Dry fields are also bad news for ducks and geese that depend on flooded rice fields for food and breeding grounds. Mark Bittlecomb is the Ducks Unlimited Western Regional Director.

“We’re fearful that disease could happen. Avian botulism outbreaks were just starting last December, and that could happen again this year if (waterfowl) are concentrated,” he says. “And it (disease) can go through the population rather quickly and you can see massive die-offs.”

Biologists and engineers are working with landowners to increase water efficiency so more habitat is available using less water.

This year’s planting is the smallest since 1991.

Link to Capital Public Radio

The Sand County Foundation, the California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation are accepting applications for the $10,000 California Leopold Conservation Award. The award honors California farmers, ranchers and other private landowners who demonstrate outstanding stewardship and management of natural resources.

“The Leopold Conservation Award celebrates the people and places where innovative and creative thinking and experimentation are taking place,” said Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm, recipient of the 2014 Leopold Conservation Award. “If you or a friend include conservation in your daily decision making – I hope you’ll submit a nomination. It’s okay to brag about good land stewardship.”

“Good intentions and luck take no farmer down the road to profitability and improved land health. Leopold Conservation Award recipients epitomize the creativity, drive and heartfelt conservation commitment it takes,” said Sand County Foundation President Brent Haglund.

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the Leopold Conservation Award inspires other landowners by example and provides a visible forum where farmers, ranchers and other private landowners are recognized as conservation leaders. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage, which he called “an evolutionary possibility and an ecological necessity.”

“California’s future gets brighter only if we all do our part,” said Sustainable Conservation Executive Director Ashley Boren. “The Leopold Conservation Award celebrates those deserving, but often overlooked, landowner heroes who do their part every day to steward our environment in ways that benefit people and the planet. All California farmers and ranchers committed to sound stewardship should consider applying to show how they’re leading the way to a more vibrant state.”

“The Leopold Conservation Award recognizes unique yet replicable strategies a farmer or rancher has developed in managing their land, to be the best steward of the natural resources on their farm or ranch. California farmers and ranchers are the most productive in the world and are trend setters at maximizing the fullest potential of their land to produce food and other agricultural products with the least environmental impacts,” said California Farm Bureau Federation President Paul Wenger.

Nominations must be postmarked by July 10, 2015, and mailed to Leopold Conservation Award c/o Sustainable Conservation, 98 Battery Street, Suite 302, San Francisco, CA 94111. The 2015 California Leopold Conservation Award will be presented in December at the California Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Meeting in Reno.

The California Leopold Conservation Award is possible thanks to generous contributions from many organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, American AgCredit, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, DuPont Pioneer and The Mosaic Company.

For application information, please visit www.leopoldconservationaward.org.

ABOUT THE LEOPOLD CONSERVATION AWARD
The Leopold Conservation Award is a competitive award that recognizes landowner achievement in voluntary conservation. The award consists of a crystal award depicting Aldo Leopold and $10,000. Sand County Foundation presents Leopold Conservation Awards in California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

ABOUT SAND COUNTY FOUNDATION
Sand County Foundation is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to working with private landowners to advance the use of ethical and scientifically sound land management practices that benefit the environment. www.sandcounty.net

ABOUT CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of more than 74,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 6.2 million Farm Bureau members. www.cfbf.com

ABOUT SUSTAINABLE CONSERVATION
Sustainable Conservation believes promoting a healthy environment can be good for business. Its award-winning air, water, wildlife and climate initiatives promote practical solutions and tangible results for California and its people. Founded in 1993, Sustainable Conservation’s effectiveness lies in building strong alliances with business, agriculture and government – and establishing models for environmental and economic sustainability that can be replicated across California and beyond. www.suscon.org

Link to news release

By Foon Rhee

With California stuck in a historic drought, there’s no shortage of blaming and shaming on who’s using how much water.

Homeowners wag their fingers at farmers, farmers bash developers, environmentalists say fish need more water and so on. We’re all making value judgments on the best uses for precious water.

Within California’s huge and important agriculture industry, distinctions are being made between crops eaten domestically, ones that are exported and those consumed by animals, not people.

In this food fight, researchers at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences are doing some very interesting work, available at California WaterBlog. In studies that flew under the radar, they looked at how much water is needed to grow various crops – but in terms of the return on that investment in revenue and jobs.

“Pop per drop,” they call it, which has a nice ring to it.

A category of crops that include vegetables such as carrots and lettuce, along with garden plants and strawberries, produce the highest revenue for net water used ($14,318 per acre-foot). The broad category of fruits and nuts also ranks high ($2,392). Combined, these two categories account for nearly 90 percent of crop revenue, but less than half of irrigated acreage.

Grapes – table, wine and raisins – generate $3,129 per acre-foot. Corn and cotton are more in the middle of the pack. Rice ranks lower, but also provides important habitat for waterfowl.

Alfalfa ($357) and other pastureland ($91) provide the least revenue per acre-foot of water. Overall, livestock feed directly produces only 7 percent of revenue, but uses nearly 37 percent of water consumed by agriculture.

But before you tar them as villains, the researchers point out that ranches and dairies that rely on the feed generate nearly a quarter of the state’s agriculture production value.

Measured by jobs created for water consumed, the category of vegetables, garden plants and non-tree fruits also ranks highest (75 jobs for every 1,000 acre-feet). Melons and cucumbers do well (70 jobs), as do fresh tomatoes (62 jobs).

The job numbers fall off rather dramatically for other crops, including grapes, oranges and lemons. Much-vilified almonds and pistachios produce a paltry 4.6 jobs per 1,000 acre-feet. Alfalfa and pastureland again rank lowest because they are highly mechanized and require little labor in the fields.

The main takeaway is that it’s much more complicated than purely how much water it takes to produce a single almond, or head of lettuce or glass of wine – comparisons very popular these days, especially on the Internet.

As a whole, the state’s agricultural economy is getting whacked by the drought, now in its fourth year.

In preliminary estimates released this week by the UC Davis team, farmers are expected to have a net water shortage of 2.5 million acre-feet, 1 million more than last year. That would force them to fallow a projected 560,000 acres, or about 6 percent of average irrigated cropland.

The results: a $1.8 billion cost to agriculture (lost crop and livestock revenue and additional groundwater expenses) and 18,600 fewer jobs than if there were no drought.

These are the numbers that grab more headlines. They’re a good reminder that while city dwellers may not like brown lawns, in farm country, the lack of water is about people’s livelihoods.

By Padma Nagappan

California almonds and the farmers who grow them have received a lot of bad press in recent months as city dwellers facing mandatory water restrictions turn their ire on the thirsty crop.

While almonds and pistachios consume 10 percent of the state’s agricultural water supply, they also generate 20,800 jobs and $4.2 billion in annual revenues, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis.

Alfalfa, on the other hand, consumes more water than the nut trees and is planted on just as many acres, but employs only 5,000 workers.

“It’s not high in value like other crops, but it’s important because we need it to feed dairy cows, and milk is a high-value commodity in California,” said Josué Medellín-Azuara, a water economist with the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis.

Milk brings in $9.4 billion annually, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and is the farm industry’s No. 1 cash cow.

“There’s so much talk about how much water is used for a single almond,”  said Medellín-Azuara. “But a lot of other sectors also rely on the crops grown in California. They’re used as feedstock, as food, they go to food processing, so there are many downstream sectors that rely on agriculture.”

The report calculated that agriculture employs about 400,000 workers and generates $37 billion across 9.4 million acres of irrigated farmland. That represents 4 percent of California’s jobs and 2 percent of its economic output.

Not all crops are water hogs. Vegetables, horticulture, and non-tree fruits consume the least water and collectively employ the most workers—130,000—while generating $12.8 billion in combined sales.

The top five crops in revenue per unit of water use are grown on about 25 percent of California’s irrigated cropland and account for 16.4 percent of water use, the report says. Those crops are responsible for two-thirds of all crop-related employment.

A new report from the same institute released on Tuesday shows that California’s drought will lead to half a million acres of farmland being fallowed, resulting in a loss of 18,500 jobs and $2.7 billion in revenues.

Link to article

By Geoffrey Mohan

David “Mas” Masumoto settles on a patio chair on a cool San Joaquin Valley evening, perhaps the last one before summer converts the valley into a kiln. The author and organic farmer has just sold the last box of his “organic, ugly, fabulous” Gold Dust peaches and Rose Diamond nectarines, varieties that ripened early and came in small in this drought year.

Two of those sobriquets attached to his fruit are hard to dispute — they were cultivated organically on his 80-acre farm south of Fresno, and they are hard to call anything but fabulous, the petite stone fruit offering back a sweetly distilled fraction of the water that went into them. That water, and its parsimonious yield, are on the mind of Masumoto, whose literary ruminations on the fate of the peach and of small-scale farming cast him as the industry’s moral agronomist.

As someone who advocates sustainable farming, what lessons do you take from the drought?

My latest thing about the whole water situation is seeing this as an opportunity. Because it’s a driver of change, like sometimes natural disasters are. You know: out of a tornado, a town rebuilds itself as green. An earthquake happens and everyone realizes they have to bring things up to a seismic safety level.

It was a gradual disaster that “suddenly” hit now — as if it suddenly hit! People are saying, we have to be conscious of this, and what can we do to be sustainable? So all these questions are starting to arise, like, where should you be farming? Where should you not be farming? Based on water.

Why is this realization that California is in a drought happening now, as opposed to last year or the year before?

It was partly when urban people suddenly realized there’s something going on. As a writer, I love it, because it’s the power of story…. You have drama, you have tension, you have the conflict. Everyone starts to say, who’s the protagonist, the antagonist. Who’s the good guy? Who’s the bad guy?… You have characters.

Who are the characters, then?

[Gov. Jerry] Brown suddenly became this main character. Of course, he’s the governor, but he’s defending ag! This is a little twist in this story line, this plot. Out of this, is there going to rise a single voice as a spokesperson, either in ag or in urban use or the environment? The environmentalists, I sense, have been very quiet in this drought…. I think they’re trying to lay low, so no one will start saying, well, wait a minute. That’s why they love the statistics of ag using 80% of the state’s water. And it’s truly only 40%. It’s 80% of the developed water. What does that mean? It means a lot of water is still used in natural sources and it’s not counted. That’s why you get these number games — it takes a gallon of water for an almond! Again, as a story, it became the metaphor. It is, in one sense, the wrong metaphor…. Suddenly you have almonds becoming this character. I thought, wow, I’m glad it wasn’t peaches!

But I think because it has now become a story, suddenly people are interested in public policy. Because there is no clear political good or bad guy yet, they’re actually talking policy more.

How has the drought changed your cultivation practices?

We’ve been experimenting with this petite peach method this year, where we’re cutting back water use 30%, 40%, 50% on some select areas of the orchard to see how it responds. Part of my thinking initially was: How much are we over-watering to chase a cosmetic quality? And it’s mainly size. Can you not grow a small, water-efficient peach that has just as intense flavor? And you can.

I realize all these years I’ve been pumping them up with fertilizer and water to try to get them artificially big. So we backed off on the water. They’re small this year, but, good god, the flavor is great. It’s fantastic. It’s probably the most intense I’ve ever had.

Will consumers buy them or will they look for the big, cosmetically perfect fruit?

We’re trying to get the markets, our buyers, to understand it, and hopefully someone to eat one and say it doesn’t matter, the size…. A lot of the buyers are saying: This is great. Good, that means their consumers are kind of getting over the size issue. We’re calling them petite peaches, because if I called them drought-tolerant peaches, or water-deprived peaches, it doesn’t sound the same…. Part of it is branding. They trust our brand. They’ll go, “Oh, this is a Masumoto peach, let’s try it.” They are not seeing the big versus small.

If you look at fresh market grapes, every year they’ve gotten bigger and bigger. Think of strawberries. Do you remember there used to be little ones? They’re huge. They’re like a little fist. Because size is just driving it all. We don’t think of that in terms of what it’s costing us. What are we paying for to get that size? And I contend that a lot is water.

So, what’s the natural use of water? If these peaches are naturally small, I don’t need to water them as much. Let me just grow them naturally. I realized, I don’t think these peaches want to be big. What’s the matter with that? That’s my breakthrough: Oh, my god, I may have been over-watering all these years. Why? Because we had access [to water]. It was cheap. It was supposedly free. And it’s not now.

Link to article

According to USDA’s Farm to School Census, 36 percent of the U.S. public school districts that completed a questionnaire reported serving at least some locally produced foods in school lunches or breakfasts during school years 2011-12 or 2012-13. While fruits and vegetables topped the list of local foods served in schools in 2011-12, 45 percent of the school districts that used local foods reported serving locally produced milk, and 27 percent reported serving locally produced baked goods. Some States have State-produced foods, such as fruits and vegetables, grains, meats, and dairy products included in the products donated by USDA for use in school meals (a program called USDA Foods).

The DoD Fresh Program allows districts to use USDA funds to obtain fresh fruits and vegetables through the Department of Defense, which provides information to districts on foods that are sourced locally. The above chart appeared in “Many U.S. School Districts Serve Local Foods” in the March 2015 issue of ERS’s (Economic Research Service) Amber Waves magazine.

Link to USDA blog post

By Katie Fehrenbacher

Another year of crushing drought in California means new water cuts are in the works for both cities and farmers, who use up to 80 percent of the state’s water in an average year. In what is likely a sign of things to come, a group of farmers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta recently decided to voluntarily give up a quarter of their water by either fallowing the land or using other conservation methods.

Over the years, Silicon Valley—a region which has become synonymous with tech success—hasn’t been overly interested in funding water conservation technology, despite a drought taking place right in their backyard. Almost $12 billion was invested in Internet startups in 2014, compared to a few hundred million dollars in water startups.

But, it’s tech trends started in Silicon Valley— such as the Internet of things, big data, mobile, biotech and genetics, and nanotechnology —that could truly help farmers increase water efficiency. Founder and CEO of startup OnFarm, Lance Donny said a few years ago the agriculture industry was ripe for change and is “a sleeping giant” for digital tech.

It should be noted that farmers and cities mostly plan to reduce water use through new policies and better management, but here are some technologies I’ve been keeping an eye on that could help conserve more water in the state.

Sensor networks: Sensors and wireless networks are about as low cost as can be these days. Companies like Hortau, founded in 2002, use soil tension sensors—combined with data about temperature, weather and humidity—to manage smarter irrigation systems for farmers. These irrigation systems use gathered data to find more efficient times and better ways to use water.

Farm trade group American Farm Bureau Federation says 39 percent of farmers who grow water-needy corn or wheat now use sensor tech on their farms. Companies that already build sensor networks — like ThingWorx — for a variety of other industries are now targeting agriculture as new opportunities open up in the field.

While some companies are focused on making irrigation water go as far as possible, others are concentrating on protecting back-up water sources. Wisconsin-based startup Wellntel has developed a sensor system for monitoring ground water using sound waves, which farmers can then tap into like a savings account when surface water levels are low. It’s a far cry from the more traditional ground water measurement methods used today that rely on tape and chalk to monitor underground water.

Data analytics: Some farmers aren’t willing (or able) to pay for smart irrigation systems and instead rely on companies that can provide valuable analytics. For example, young startup PowWow Energy uses electricity data from basic smart meters that are installed on water pumps and networks to detect pump leaks. There’s no hardware to install and a farmer receives a text message if there’s an abnormal spike in water use (which corresponds with the spike in energy from the meter).

The Climate Corporation, which was founded in 2006 and acquired by Monsanto in 2013, is another company that is focused on helping farmers by analyzing massive amounts of data about environmental conditions. The firm delivers insight and recommendations to farmers based on the data, which can lead to water being used more efficiently.

Management software, social media: Basic software and social networking tools that are commonly used for communication in other industries are starting to be used widely in the agriculture industry and could lead to better conservation efforts.

The Farmer’s Business Network just raised $15 million from Google Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and DBL Investors to grow its social network for independent farmers. On the platform, farmers can compare and collaborate with others in the industry on issues including water use, irrigation tools and weather information to increase yield.

Last month, OnFarm launched a new update to its farm data management software, which included new tools for water management for drought-stricken farmers. The software helps farmers manage data like real-time soil moisture, water balance information, irrigation scheduling, water reporting and more.

Biotech and genetics: It’s not just digital tools that farmers are using to battle the drought. Companies are also using sophisticated genomics and breeding techniques to make seeds and crops that are more drought-resistant and water efficient.

Chicago-based Chromatin uses gene stacking (combining more than one gene in a plant) to make different types of water-efficient sorghum, which is a type of grass that is used for animal feed, grain, biofuel and brewing. Chromatin’s investors include GE Capital and BP Ventures.

Cibus is also using gene-editing technology to create water-efficient crops. The startup makes seeds that are pest tolerant and/or drought-resistant to increase a farmer’s harvest. Another company called Arcadia Biosciences went public in April and has helped seed companies deploy water-conservative crops like rice.

Water cleaning & reuse: Water purification and desalination (a process that removes salt and minerals from water) has been around for decades and is an oft-used tool in countries around the world. Israel is a major proponent of the process and reuses about 80 percent of its municipal wastewater for irrigation.

Reverse osmosis is the standard most used for water cleaning technology, but generally uses a lot of energy and is expensive. A company called Desalitech, based in Newton, Massachusetts, hopes to change that by creating water systems that use significantly less energy and therefore accessible to both independent and commercial farms.

Other types of next-gen water cleaning systems are leveraging the latest in nanotechnology to create processes that can clean water with less energy. A startup called NanoH20 has developed nanotech-tweaked filtration techniques that cleans water faster and as a result was later bought by Korean giant LG last year for $200 million.

Weirder ways for water conservation: There’s other, more unusual, methods startups are using to help reduce water use both directly and indirectly.

Five-year-old California startup mOasis makes a super absorbent gel polymer called hydrogel that farmers can put in soil ahead of planting seasons. The hydrogel — which is the size of a grain of sand but can soak up 250 times its weight in water — absorbs excess water during irrigation and releases it as the soil dries out.

The company says using the gel can help farmers reduce water use by 20 percent, and cut water bills by 15 percent. The gel, developed at Stanford University, lasts about a year before it starts breaking down, and the company says it doesn’t leave behind bi-products that are environmentally questionable.

Permanently changing the paradigm of water-hungry industries could be another conceptual (and drastic) way to deliver water conservation in the long term. In California, cows raised for consumption consume massive amounts of alfalfa, which is one of the most water-intensive crops. If cows raised explicitly for meat were replaced with lab-grown versions it would put less strain on water resources.

Startup Modern Meadow—based in Brooklyn, New York—is also hoping to change consumers’ eating habits by developing lab-printed meat that can be used in food or for leather goods. Another company called Cultured Beef is also working on their own version of lab-grown burgers as a way to conserve water.

California’s drought isn’t expected to end anytime soon, but because of the drought water technology is finally starting to get a little more attention, and perhaps, just maybe, push Silicon Valley to finally do more.

Link to article

The Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award Program is California’s highest environmental honor. The program recognizes individuals, organizations, and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made notable, voluntary contributions in conserving California’s precious resources, protecting and enhancing our environment, building public-private partnerships and strengthening the State’s economy.

The annual Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award Program is administered by the California Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Food and Agriculture, the State Transportation Agency, the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and the Health and Human Services Agency.

Who May Apply/Eligibility

The awards will be presented for voluntary achievements culminated in 2014. Competition is open to all California residents, businesses, non-profit organizations, professional and trade associations, communities, state and local government entities, tribes, and federal agencies operating in California. Projects are deemed ineligible if they are the result of mitigation, litigation, or required by legislation. Those who applied previously are welcome to apply again.

Applications & Award Categories

• Environmental Education (Apply Here, PDF)
  Unique and exemplary educational programs that raise awareness of, and involvement in, environmental issues. Applicants with programs for K-12 students must submit standards-aligned curriculum materials and/or delineate web-based, standards-aligned curriculum materials.
• Ecosystem and Land Use Stewardship (Apply Here, PDF)
  Innovative and sustainable approaches to land, water and resource management that restore or protect natural conditions, functions and processes, and provide economic, social and environmental benefits including productivity and sustainability of forests, farms or other natural resource lands, or conservation of open spaces. Examples of Ecosystem Services related to Agriculture can be found on the California Department of Agriculture’s website.
• Climate Change (Apply Here, PDF)
  Innovative and forward thinking projects/programs that 1) reduce/mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and/or adapt to the adverse effects of climate change on public health and our vast natural resources; and 2) provide economic and business-related benefits.
• Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Dealers (Apply Here, PDF) Efforts made by a California automobile dealer or dealership group to enhance and promote the sale of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) within the state.
• Sustainable Practices, Communities or Facilities (Apply Here, PDF)
  Pioneering efforts and/or completed projects that demonstrate 1) efforts to integrate environmental values and conservation of natural resources into comprehensive, long-term and management of businesses and facility; or 2) effective project design or development of local communities and landscapes that make efficient use of land, which includes multimodal transportation options and connectivity, improved economic vitality, the availability of affordable housing, the protection of public health and safety, optimized energy efficiency and the conservation of local watersheds, habitats and other sensitive lands.
• Waste Reduction (Apply Here, PDF)
  Exemplary achievements in conserving and protecting natural resources and reducing costs by incorporating efforts such as waste prevention, reuse, recycling, composting, environmentally-preferable purchasing, and product design and stewardship.

Selection/Criteria (for all categories except Ecosystem and Land Use Services and Zero Emission Vehicle Dealers)

A Selection Committee will evaluate applications for strength in eight specific areas: Results, Transferability/Scalability, Environmental Impact, Resource Conservation Impact, Economic Progress, Innovation/Uniqueness, Pollution Prevention, Public Health, and Environmental Justice. These criteria will be considered in the competitive weighting of nominations and are described below. Evaluations will take into consideration differences in size, region, and scope of projects, as needed.

• Results: Steps taken to achieve results are described; results are defined in measurable terms; environmental and economic benefits are identified and documented.
• Transferability/Scalability: Project concept can be scaled and/or transferred to other parties such that impact (or could have potential impact) on State environmental and economic goals is measurable and significant.
• Environmental/Resource Conservation Impact: Accomplishment includes more than one environmental media or resource; project or program has long lasting and sustainable impact; magnitude of impact is described and significant.
•  Economic Progress: California’s economy is enhanced; measurable benefits are identified and realized; new/better jobs are created and new markets developed.
• Environmental and Economic Partnerships: Project or program fosters unique, cooperative and collaborative approaches between the private, public and/or non-profit sectors to achieve demonstrable results in both environmental and economic improvement.
• Innovation/Uniqueness: Demonstrates basic practice to unique, innovative practice; a paradigm shift in approach; demonstrates a “pioneer” spirit; ahead of the marketplace and profitability.
• Pollution Prevention: Achieves measurable reductions in the generation of waste through source reduction; increased public-private awareness of pollution prevention; exemplifies best practices with a cross-media focus.
• Public Health: Achieves measurable improvements to community environments (social, economic, physical, and services) that result in tangible benefits to public health.
• Environmental Justice: Significantly raises the awareness and addresses environmental issues in areas adversely affected by environmental pollution and hazards; builds and/or raises the involvement of local/grassroots communities and/or California tribal communities in the project or program; builds community leadership/stewardship to address environmental issues.

The deliberative process of the Selection Committee is confidential and all decisions are final subject to applicable California state law. A nomination may be considered in a category different from that in which it is nominated.

For any questions regarding the application process, please contact Nilan Watmore at Nilan.Watmore@calepa.ca.gov.

Link to GEELA web page

 

An upcoming webinar on the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) will help potential applicants as they seek available funding. During the current round, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest up to $235 million to improve the nation’s water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural production. Partners will match the Federal investment.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will host the webinar, open to both conservation partners and the general public, on Thursday, June 4, 2015 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST. To join the webinar, visit https://usdanrcs.adobeconnect.com/r75qxphcya9/

NRCS recently simplified the application process by creating new online tools: a pre-proposal fillable form, RCPP pre-application data entry tool and pre-proposal data entry tool instructions. These tools support partners as they fill out and submit their pre-proposal application.

RCPP empowers local leaders to work with multiple partners — such as private companies, local and tribal governments, universities, non-profit groups and other non-government partners — along with farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners to design solutions that work best for their region. Local partners and the federal government both invest funding and manpower to projects to maximize their impact.

USDA is now accepting pre-proposals for RCPP. Pre-proposals are due July 8, 2015. For more information on applying, visit the RCPP website.