Kansas NRCS Awards Over $90,000 In Conservation Innovation Grants

July 2, 2007, Salina, Kansas – NRCS State Conservationist Harold L. Klaege today awarded over $90,000 in Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) to two projects in the state designed to develop and refine cutting-edge technologies and approaches that can help producers maintain viable agricultural operations. NRCS is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 grantees include Flint Hills Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area, Inc. for a brine site remediation demonstration project. Brine sites are caused by saltwater leaking or being released onto soil from a pipeline or containment facility. Flint Hills RC&D will remediate, or reclaim, brine sites by improving soil quality and establishing salt tolerant and native grasses.

The other grantee is the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers for the development of a Kansas Wheat Biomass Tool Kit. Once developed, the biomass tool will assist producers in making informed decisions about residue removal from their cropland, which is increasingly critical in light of the rapidly expanding ethanol industry’s recent ventures using crop residues for energy production.

"These grants offer a unique opportunity to strengthen cooperative conservation between public and private entities to promote innovative technologies and approaches to environmental enhancement and protection on working agricultural lands," said Klaege.

The CIG is a part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) administered by the NRCS. These competitive grants are available to state and local governments, tribes, non-governmental organizations, and individuals to promote the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies.

The CIG program funds pilot projects and conservation field trials that can last from one to three years. For FY 2007, the total value of the approved projects exceeds $180,000 after the grantees matched at least 50 percent. Grants for approved projects cannot exceed 50 percent of the total project cost. The federal contribution for a single Kansas awarded project cannot exceed $50,000.

Visit your local NRCS office to learn more about natural resources conservation. The office is located at your local USDA Service Center (listed in the telephone book under United States Government). More information about CIG and other natural resources conservation programs is also available on the Kansas Web site.

Last Modified: 06/27/2008