Merkley, Wyden Announce $1.75 Million to Bolster Regenerative Agriculture on Working Lands

Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) approved 3 grants-totaling $1,755,163.61-to fund conservation efforts in Oregon and across the region. This funding from the Conservation Partners Program will provide farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners with targeted technical assistance to improve stewardship on working lands and achieve specific conservation outcomes.

"Dynamic lands and ecosystems have defined Oregon for ages, supporting Oregon's world-class agriculture industry and our rural communities," said Merkley. "This $1.75 million in funding will help ensure our farmers, ranchers, and land stewards have the resources and tools they need to keep their lands resilient for years to come."

"Oregon's farmers, ranchers and rural landowners know full well that their opportunities for long-term success require much more than well-meaning wishes or good luck," said Wyden. "Maximizing those opportunities in Eastern and Central Oregon require smart and targeted investments just like these that equip them for wins that help them and their rural communities."

The Oregon awards are part of 27 grants from the NFWF totaling $14.7 million to support the implementation of voluntary conservation practices on farms and ranches across 21 states from the Midwest to Western grasslands. The grants will leverage approximately $7 million in matching contributions from grantees, generating a total impact of $21.7 million. The details of the 3 projects in Oregon are as follows:

1. $921,853.11 for Expanding Audubon Conservation Ranching in California and Columbia Plateau (OR, ID, WA). The National Audubon Society will expand the Audubon Conservation Ranching program in California rangelands and Columbia Plateau of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington by hiring new staff and sustaining current positions. Project will develop 12 new management plans covering 36,000 acres, provide technical assistance on financial programs to 8 landowners covering 10,000 acres, help restore 1,500 acres of ranchland habitat, and reach at least 500 people through workshops and meetings.
2. $509,962.18 for Enhancing Agricultural Resilience in the Deschutes Basin. The Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District will provide technical assistance to agricultural producers in Deschutes and Jefferson Counties to voluntarily improve irrigation systems, crop management, and habitat enhancement. Project will increase Farm Bill participation, foster community learning, and generate environmental benefits to improve wildlife habitat, soil health, and water quantity and quality in the Deschutes Basin on over 5,000 acres of irrigated land.
3. $323,348.32 for Empowering Northeastern Oregon's Ranching Community through Management Planning and Education. Wallowa Resources will deliver high-demand ranching skill sets to livestock operators, convene rangeland managers and stakeholders via an in-person summit for peer-to-peer learning, and support delivery of Natural Resource Conservation Service initiatives to private landowners engaged in whole ranch management planning. Project will increase the number of rangeland properties operating with best management plans in an imperiled grassland landscape of Wallowa County, northeast Oregon.

"The NFWF grant will bolster our local partnerships and our collective support for producers, ranchers and landowners here in NE Oregon through peer-to-peer learning, and a new annual Northeast Oregon Rangeland Summit, to develop long term management plans that improve grassland health, and ranching operation viability," said Marci Schreder, Wallowa Resources Stewardship Programs Director.

The NFWF awards mark the largest grant slate from the Conservation Partners Program, which supports efforts to accelerate the adoption of voluntary conservation practices and regenerative agriculture principles on private working lands. Since 2011, the Program has awarded 322 grants totaling more than $85 million and those grants have leveraged an additional $107 million in matching contributions, generating a total conservation investment of more than $192 million.

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