NRCS conservation of wildlife corridors

USDA Expands Migratory Big Game Pilot to Broader Landscape Initiative, Expanding.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding its partnership to support the voluntary conservation of private working lands and migratory big game populations from the state of Wyoming to also include Idaho and Montana. USDA’s Migratory Big Game Initiative provides a new package of investments in key conservation programs for fiscal year 2024, which includes funding to support increased staffing capacity and the deployment of streamlined program application processes for agricultural producers and landowners. Producers in Idaho will be able to apply for conservation programs offered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA) that meet their unique needs starting this fall.  

“We’re pleased to announce the expansion of this initiative,” said acting State Conservationist for NRCS Idaho Bruce Sandoval. “It will help create new and enhanced opportunities through USDA’s conservation programs to keep working lands working and give farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners new opportunities to conserve wildlife and migration corridors.”

USDA will offer producers a package of opportunities they can choose from to meet their operations’ unique needs. Programs include the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) and Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (Grassland CRP) and will be available across a wide range of lands including grasslands, shrublands, and forested habitats located on tribal and privately owned working lands. This opportunity is available statewide, but priority areas of: the Panhandle Complex, the Lemhi Valley Complex, the Smoky-Boise Complex, the Big Desert-Mountain Valley Complex and the Rocky Point complex, which were developed in coordination with state wildlife agencies, will be given preference.