(PARK CITY, Utah) April 22, 2020 –
Last week, the Summit Land Conservancy, Park City’s local accredited land trust, was chosen as a recipient for the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) Regional Conservation Partnership Program. The Conservancy was awarded a $9.4 million grant to support their Utah Headwaters Initiative proposal. Over the course of five years, the Utah Headwaters Initiative will work to enhance the agricultural and environmental resources within the headwaters of the Weber and Provo Rivers by preserving lands through conservation easements, stream restoration practices and upland land management activities.
“It took months to make that application and four full-time staff,” stated Cheryl Fox, Executive Director of the Summit Land Conservancy. “This funding will be shared by our many partners to further our overall purpose to save land and our valuable watersheds of the Wasatch Back.”
The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which falls under the 2018 Farm Bill, is a partner-driven approach to conservation that funds solutions to natural resource challenges on agricultural land. The NRCS has invested $206 million into 48 partner-driven conservation projects across 29 states through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. The program brings together a wide array of local and national partners, including Native American tribes, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, private industry, conservation districts, water districts, universities and many others. Partners, including the Summit Land Conservancy, are making nearly $300 million in contributions to leverage RCCP funds.
“I’m excited to announce the first RCPP awards under the 2018 Farm Bill,” said NRCS Chief Matthew Lohr. “Through collaboration and aligning our resources toward a common goal, we’re making an impact for natural resource conservation that could never have been realized on our own.”
The Provo and Weber River Watersheds provide drinking water to roughly 65% of Utah’s population. The Weber River, however, is considered one of Utah’s most degraded and at-risk river basins due to habitat fragmentation, water degradation, and increasing water demands from urban infrastructure. Both rivers are home to popular premiere fisheries providing recreational opportunities for anglers and habitat for threatened species such as the Bonneville Cutthroat trout and Bluehead Sucker. The Utah Headwaters Initiative will work both below and above the banks of these rivers to improve aquatic habitat, preserve and enhance adjacent agricultural lands while documenting the carbon sequestration occurring on those lands, and connecting the public to these resources.
Trout Unlimited, a lead partner and supporter of the Utah Headwaters Initiative, works to protect critical habitat, reconnect degraded waterways, and restore coldwater fishery populations. “Trout Unlimited is thrilled to continue our collaborative conservation efforts with Summit Land Conservancy, agricultural producers and water rights holders on the Weber and Upper Provo Rivers to improve these important coldwater fisheries and water quality,” stated Paul Burnett, Utah Water and Habitat Program Lead at Trout Unlimited.
Work through the RCPP will allow the Conservancy to protect wetlands and valuable wildlife habitat that are not agriculturally productive, or eligible for other Farm Bill funding like the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program-ALE program that make most of the land trust’s projects possible. The RCPP funding will also allow the land trust to protect smaller land parcels that may not meet the criteria for other programs. The Conservancy’s proposal also includes trail building and public access through select agricultural landscapes.
“The RCPP grant will help us preserve and enhance opportunities for people to see real agriculture in action,” said Fox.
The Summit Land Conservancy’s Utah Headwaters Initiative works with and has gained support from partners including: Bill White Farms, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, David Kelby Johnson Memorial Foundation, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Gregg Simonds/Open Range Consulting, Mountain Trails Foundation, Oakley City, Pure Midway, Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District, South Summit Trails Foundation, Starks Funeral Home, Summit County, Trout Unlimited, Wild Utah Project, Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, and private landowners throughout Summit, Morgan and Wasatch Counties.
