USDA-NRCS Public Conservation Virtual Meeting
NRCS News Release
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Wisconsin announced this year’s one statewide virtual Local Working Group (LWG) meeting. The virtual meeting will include a statewide presentation. Four breakout sessions (by administrative area) follow, allowing for further discussion and feedback . The virtual meeting will be held June 7, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Participants can call into a teleconference line or join audio and video though an internet browser, using a Microsoft Teams meeting link. Input gathered will help set priorities for U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs under the 2018 Farm Bill.
Analysis from the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association
The virtual meeting will discuss, among other programs, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. EQIP is a federal conservation program that offers technical and financial assistance to help landowners. Get help with needed conservation practices for water quality, soil health, wildlife and other natural resources. Scroll down on the EQIP page to Popular Practices and select Forest Stand Improvement to learn more.
Types of practices that can be cost-shared through EQIP include, but are not limited to:
- Managed Forest Law plans
- Tree planting
- Timber stand improvement
- Improving pollinator and wildlife habitat
- Reduce wildfire risk
- Prescribed burning
- Increase or maintain carbon storage
- Reduce risks of insect and diseases
This meeting advises NRCS on how best to set priorities and locally implement conservation programs. Private woodland owners are strongly encouraged to attend and support allocating funding to assist woodland owners with conservation efforts. Consequently, we must speak up to assure NRCS fairly allocates EQIP funding to woodland owners, as well as agricultural producers.
To join the statewide virtual meeting choose one of the following options:
- Teleconference: Call 1-202-650-0123, then type in access code 204169578# when prompted.
- Video and audio through Microsoft Teams: Click Here. For more information on how to connect via desktop, laptop or mobile device, download these step-by-step instructions.