Improve Water Quality in the Finger Lakes

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is announcing funding to help protect the Great Lakes as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). NRCS will provide financial and technical resources to improve surface water quality in the region. “The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is helping to improve the water quality for the many Americans who rely on the Great Lakes for their drinking water,” said Acting State Conservationist Dennis DeWeese. “In New York, the GLRI area includes portions of Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Cayuga, Oswego, Genesee, Livingston, Wyoming, Steuben, and Alleghany Counties, which drain into Lake Ontario.” The Great Lakes contain 20 percent of the earth’s fresh water and provide drinking water for more than 40 million people.NRCS in New York receives funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to provide financial and technical assistance to eligible landowners and farmers for conservation work. GLRI focuses on practices that have the highest benefit for reducing water quality degradation due to agricultural runoff, including waste storage facilities, residue management no-till, and nutrient management.This year NRCS will offer two signup periods for the GLRI program. Applicants who apply for funding by July 18, 2014 will be considered in the first funding round. Funding not utilized in round 1 will be available for applications received after July 18 but by August 15, 2014. To apply for funding through the GLRI program interested farmers and landowners should contact their local USDA office by the above listed signup dates. For more information on GLRI visit the website www.epa.gov/greatlakes/glri/index.html. If you are interested in applying for a conservation program please visit our web site for information on applying at: http://www.ny.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/general_information/how_to_apply.html. You may apply by visiting your local NRCS field office, which can be located using the web site: http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=NY.