Four Nebraska watersheds are among 000 watersheds nationally in a new National Water Quality Initiative. The four are classified by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality as water quality impaired, says Craig Derickson, Natural Resources Conservation Service state conservationist.

As part of the initiative, cost-sharing will be made available to producers in the watershed to implement practices to improve the water quality in the watersheds. June 15 is the deadline for farmers in the watershed to apply.

Four Nebraska Watersheds To Earn Federal Conservation Funds

"NRCS has been working to provide voluntary, incentive-based conservation assistance to Nebraska landowners," Derickson says. "That has included working with partner agencies to help landowners and operators improve and protect watershed health. This new Water Quality Initiative will carry on the tradition of this partnership effort that has been highly effective in Nebraska."

The watersheds were identified with help from state agencies, partners and the NRCS State Technical Committee. In Nebraska they are:

Tom Mountford, assistant manager of the Lower Platte North NRD was encouraged to hear that Cottonwood Creek was selected to receive assistance through the initiative.  "These kinds of partnerships are so important," he says. We have a lot of good conservationists in the area, but with 50% of the watershed as highly erodible land, there is still more work to be done to protect water quality."

Burdett Piening, a landowner in the Conestoga watershed, says he was excited to have the opportunity to improve some of the conservation practices on his cropland.  "I like these programs because they help keep soil where it belongs."

Four Nebraska Watersheds To Earn Federal Conservation Funds

Interested participants may apply for financial assistance through the National Water Quality Initiative on a continuous basis throughout the year. Landowners and operators should check with the local NRCS office to see if their farm or ranch is located in one of the targeted watersheds. All applications for funding consideration, during this fiscal year, must be received by June 15, 2012. NRCS will notify all applicants of the results and begin developing contracts with selected applicants.

For more information about NRCS programs in Nebraska, visit www.ne.nrcs.usda.gov.