More Funds Equal More Coordinators

by Ken Sherraden, NRCS Natural Resource Specialist
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Salina, Kansas

The Kansas Buffer Partnership Program began its second year in September with a 25 percent increase in funding for more coordinators. The funding increase allows thirty-eight Kansas counties to participate in the program that encourages landowners to establish conservation buffer practices for erosion control, water quality benefits, and wildlife habitat.

Popular conservation buffer practices include filter strips, grassed waterways, riparian forest buffers, field windbreaks and contour grass buffers on terraces.

The counties selected to receive grants include Allen, Anderson, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Ford, Geary, Hodgeman, Jefferson, Kiowa, Leavenworth, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Miami, Mitchell, Montgomery, Nemaha, Ness, Osborne, Pawnee, Reno, Rice, Rooks, Rush, Shawnee, Thomas, and Washington. During the first year of the program, 25 coordinators were hired to work with landowners.

Counties were selected using a ranking process that included local county match ($), the percentage of county acreage in designated Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) high priority watersheds, and counties in designated Pheasant and Quail Initiative Areas.

Agencies and organizations in the Kansas Buffer Partnership include the State Conservation Commission (SCC) which administers the grants and distributes the partnership dollars to the selected counties. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) contributed $150,000. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) contributed $150,000. The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) contributed $5,000. Other partners include the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Pheasants Forever (PF).

A county could receive up to $10,000 to be used to hire a local county buffer coordinator. The coordinator will work out of the conservation district and NRCS office located in the county USDA Service Center and will assist that office in working with individuals interested in establishing conservation buffers. The buffer coordinator will be involved in a number of activities to promote conservation buffer practices to interested landowners and to assist them in enrolling in state and federal programs that provide technical assistance and financial incentives.

For more information about buffers, please contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service office or conservation district office located at you local county USDA Service Center.

For more information about NRCS programs, visit the Kansas NRCS web site at www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov.

This article is also available in Microsoft Word format.

More Funds Equal More Coordinators (DOC; 24 KB)

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Last Modified: 09/08/2008