Source: NC NRCS, 3/20/17

North Carolina NRCS is offering an additional opportunity for landowners interested in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) initiatives - Working Lands for Wildlife Golden Winged Warbler (WLFW – GWW), National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI), Organic Initiative, and Wildlife 5%, to sign-up at their local NRCS Field Office. Eligible applications received by April 21, 2017, will be considered for current year financial assistance.

The WLFW -GWW initiative provides technical and financial assistance for owners and managers of private lands who voluntarily choose to implement conservation practices for the species while continuing to manage the habitat as working lands. The suite of conservation practices was developed in partnership by NRCS and FWS to benefit the species. WLFW also provides landowners with regulatory predictability about the use of the conservation practices and the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The NWQI initiative is designed to help individual agricultural producers take actions to reduce the loss of sediment, nutrients and pathogens into waterways where water quality is a critical concern. The goal of NWQI is to implement conservation practices in sufficient quantity in a concentrated area so that agriculture no longer contributes to the impairment of water bodies within priority watersheds.

The Organic initiative provides financial assistance to implement a broad set of conservation practices to assist organic producers in addressing resource concerns.This assistance helps producers plan and implement conservation practices to support the environmental sustainability of their organic operations.

Wildlife 5% initiative is a priority within EQIP and is for the promotion of at-risk species habitat conservation. Wildlife 5% is focused on Early Successional and Pollinator Habitat, Forest Habitat, and Aquatic Habitat.

These initiatives are offered through EQIP. EQIP is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to plan and implement conservation practices that improve soil, water, plant, animal, air and related natural resources on agricultural land and non-industrial private forestland. EQIP may also help producers meet Federal, State, Tribal, and local environmental regulations.

For more information visit our NC North Carolina EQIP Website, or visit your local NRCS Field Office.