The Sonoma County Venture Conservation (SCVC) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) is a collaboration of partners, funders, residents, farmers, and ranchers working to conserve and restore land in Sonoma County to ensure resilience to climate change through healthy soils, high-quality surface and groundwater supplies, healthy habitat for fish and wildlife, and a thriving agricultural industry.
Sobre la subvención
The Partnership received a five-year $8,049,000 grant from NRCS for the following program elements:
- Data analysis – To identify high-priority, multiple-benefit, integrated projects.
- Conservation Easements (through NRCS’ Agricultural Conservation Easement Program) – A voluntary legal agreement that protects identified conservation values on a property; negotiated with willing landowners; runs with the land.
- Conservation Planning – A voluntary process to develop a site-specific plan that balances a landowner or manager’s individual needs, goals and timelines with practices that preserve and enhance natural resources on the property.
- On-farm Conservation Practices (through NRCS’ Environmental Quality Incentives Program) – Installation of best management practices that meet both agricultural production and environmental quality goals.
Asociación de conservación de empresas del condado de Sonoma
The SCVC partnership allows for work across boundaries in a cooperative, proactive, and integrative way to conserve working and natural lands that will result in substantive improvements in water, soil, and habitat quality, with an emphasis on climate resiliency, healthy riparian corridors, groundwater recharge, and fish and wildlife habitat. This ‘venture conservation’ approach uses federal funding through the RCPP as seed money to be matched with local and State funding sources.
Regional Conservation Partnership Program
The purpose of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program is to promote coordination between NRCS and its partners to deliver conservation assistance to agricultural producers and landowners. NRCS provides assistance to producers through partnership agreements and through conservation program contracts or easement agreements. The Sonoma County Venture Conservation RCPP will focus on four resource concerns: water quantity, water quality, soil health, and fish and wildlife habitat.
Dirigido por el Distrito de Espacio Abierto y Preservación Agrícola del Condado de Sonoma (Ag + Open Space) en asociación con socios principales y un comité asesor técnico, el SCVC aprovecha el conocimiento, la financiación y los recursos locales con dólares federales del USDA-NRCS a través del Programa de Asociación de Conservación Regional . La Asociación está proporcionando $ 12,774,555 en fondos de contrapartida.
Socios y roles
Comité Directivo de RCPP
- Sonoma County Ag + Open Space – Lead agency for grant administration, public relations and community outreach, data collection and analysis, and in acquiring conservation easements from willing landowners.
- Local NRCS office – Responsible for disbursing partnership funds on a reimbursement basis; lead agency responsible for contracting with willing landowners for EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Partnership) and CSP (Conservation Stewardship Program) projects on the ground, partner in community outreach.
- State NRCS office – Partner in conservation easement acquisition.
- Sonoma Resource Conservation District – One of two lead agencies in developing and implementing conservation plans with willing landowners, partner in prioritization, ranking criteria, and community outreach.
- Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District – One of two lead agencies in developing and implementing conservation plans with willing landowners, partner in prioritization, ranking criteria, and community outreach.
- Sonoma Land Trust – Partner in conservation easement acquisition, collaborating on prioritization and ranking criteria, and community outreach.
- Sonoma County Water Agency – Partner in providing data and analysis, collaborating on prioritization and ranking criteria, and community outreach.
- Pepperwood Preserve – Partner in providing data and analysis, collaborating on prioritization and ranking criteria, and community outreach.
Comité Asesor Técnico del RCPP
- Varias organizaciones y agencias adicionales que ayudan en el éxito de SCVC a través de la experiencia, los fondos de contrapartida y el aprovechamiento de los programas existentes.
Metas del programa RCPP
- Desarrollar una visión compartida, proactiva y positiva para la conservación de las tierras de trabajo y las áreas naturales que resulte en sistemas agrícolas que tengan menos conflictos y sean más simbióticos con los recursos naturales.
- Fortalecer la resiliencia de los sistemas agrícolas y naturales del condado de Sonoma a la sequía y el cambio climático mediante la implementación de la visión compartida para la conservación de las tierras de trabajo y las áreas naturales.
For more information about this program, visit the Sonoma County Venture Conservation Partnership webpage.