Contact: Mary Juhl; mary.juhl@state.mn.us, 612-358-5733
St. Paul, Minn. — Local governments can apply for multipurpose drainage management grants following the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) Board approving up to $2 million for these efforts at its October meeting. Up to $1 million is available in 2024, with up to an additional $1 million available in 2025.
Eligible applicants include counties, watershed districts, watershed management organizations, soil and water conservation districts and local government joint powers boards. Applicants must be working under a state-approved and locally adopted local water management plan, comprehensive watershed management plan or soil and water conservation district comprehensive plan.
"These grants will support multipurpose drainage management practices to reduce erosion and sedimentation, reduce peak flows and flooding and improve water quality, while also protecting drainage system efficiency and reducing the need for drainage system maintenance," BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke said.
Applications will be accepted starting Nov. 1. Local governments can apply for grants continually while funding remains available. BWSR staff will review applications during quarterly batching periods, which will occur on the first business day of the months of December 2023 and March, June, and September 2024. Local governments can learn more and apply for grants on BWSR’s website.
"The use of quarterly batching periods is a different approach to delivering these grants that we are trying so that the programming is more adaptable to the timelines drainage authorities are bound to as they do work on the systems they administer," Jaschke said.
Funding is provided by the Minnesota Clean Water Fund.
About the Minnesota Clean Water Fund: Minnesota voters approved the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment in 2008 to protect, enhance, and restore wetlands, prairies, forests, and fish, game, and wildlife habitat; to preserve arts and cultural heritage; to support parks and trails; and to protect, enhance, and restore lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater. The Clean Water Fund receives 33 percent of the sales tax revenue generated by the Legacy Amendment. More information about the Clean Water Fund is available here.
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Contact: Mary Juhl; mary.juhl@state.mn.us, 612-358-5733
St. Paul, Minn. — The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) will receive $25 million in Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) funding from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to support soil health initiatives across Minnesota. The Advancing Soil Health in Minnesota Agriculture project will offer financial incentives to producers for implementing soil health best management practices and systems such as no-till, strip-till, rotational grazing and cover crops.
“This funding is a valuable addition to a large-scale effort BWSR is undertaking to make soil health a top priority in Minnesota,” BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke said. “By improving soil health, we can reduce erosion from tilled fields, which is a significant source of sediment entering major waterways such as the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. These best management practices also offer benefits to producers by contributing to the long-term health of their soils.”
BWSR is one of 81 organizations selected by NRCS to receive an unprecedented $1.1 billion investment via RCPP, which takes a voluntary approach to expand the reach of conservation efforts and climate-smart agriculture through public-private partnerships.
“The NRCS, BWSR, and SWCDs work hand in hand to serve the producers of Minnesota,” said NRCS State Conservationist Troy Daniell. “Our partnership puts Minnesota at the forefront of climate smart agriculture. Continuous effort by Minnesota’s farmers and ranchers to improve and maintain soil health keeps our farms productive and resilient.”
Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) will help implement practices supported by the RCPP funding by working in partnership with local landowners.
“Managing soil health means something different on every farm,” said Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Executive Director LeAnn Buck. “This investment will provide additional expertise and services to help producers with adopting practices that contribute to healthier soils and increase productivity while also meeting their local resource needs and conditions.”
BWSR also received $21 million from the state’s general fund and $13 million from the state’s Clean Water Fund this year to support soil health programming throughout Minnesota. Soil health is one priority identified in the Minnesota’s Climate Action Framework.