Signup Deadline Announced for Restoring Alabama's Black Belt Prairie Landscapes

Auburn, Ala., February 24, 2026 - Alabama State Conservationist, Ben Malone, with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announces that the Fiscal Year 2026 signup deadline is May 1, 2026, for the:

• Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Restoring Alabama's Black Belt Prairie Landscapes.

NRCS offers voluntary programs to eligible landowners and agricultural producers to provide financial and technical assistance to help manage natural resources in a sustainable manner. Through these programs the agency approves contracts to provide financial assistance to help plan and implement conservation practices that address natural resource concerns or opportunities to help save energy, improve soil, water, plant, air, animal and related resources on agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest land.

RCPP promotes coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to expand our collective ability to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns. Through RCPP, NRCS seeks to co-invest with partners to implement projects that demonstrate innovative solutions to conservation challenges and provide measurable improvements and outcomes tied to the resource concerns they seek to address.

Alabama NRCS is partnering with the Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Committee, the Alabama Wildlife Federation, and the Alabama Agriculture Conservation and Development Commission to restore and enhance Black Belt Prairie ecosystems to support biodiversity, terrestrial habitat and improve soil health. The primary objective is to establish and maintain native prairie ecosystems by restoring deep-rooted native prairie species from existing soil seed banks. Conservation practices will be used to remove woody encroachment, treat invasive species, and reintroduce fire to regerminate the existing native seedbank. Native trees, grasses, forbs, and shrubs may also be planted to support terrestrial and riparian habitats. Additional benefits will be realized through prescribed grazing and associated infrastructure.

This project is available in the 19 counties of the Black Belt region and surrounding areas including Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Crenshaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, and Wilcox Counties. Priority will be given to Blackbelt Prairie soils. Those interested within the project counties (map below) should contact their local NRCS Field office in the county where the land is located. You can locate your local Service Center at farmers.gov/service-center-locator .

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis; however, selecting applications for funding is completed periodically through batching periods with specific cutoff dates. The cutoff date for this announcement is May 1, 2026. Applications received after this date will be held and considered for subsequent funding announcements as available funds permit.

For more information about Alabama NRCS and Programmatic initiatives, priorities and assessment/ranking criteria, visit online at www.al.nrcs.usda.gov . Additionally, visit your local USDA Service Center to determine eligibility; applicants are not eligible for USDA programs until they have ensured all Farm Bill eligibility requirements have been met.

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