Upper Yakima River Water Supply and Fish HabitatImprovements (#3149)
$17.8 Million in Technical and Financial Assistance Awarded to the Kittitas County CD for Landowners, Agricultural Producers, and Irrigation Water Management Entities
The Kittitas County Conservation District successfully secured $17 million the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The “Upper Yakima River Water Supply and Fish HabitatImprovements (#3149)” was one of 81 projects across the nation to be approved in November 2023. More than $17 million will be dedicated to projects and programs in irrigated crop lands of Kittitas County. The proposal includes $4 million in contributions to the project from state and local sources.
This project addresses critical needs for integrated conservation and restoration of watersheds in the Upper Yakima River in Central Washington. The Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (YBIP) is a 30-year water resiliency plan to:
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protect and enhance fish and natural resources,
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improve water availability and reliability,
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establish more efficient water markets,
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manage the variability of water supplies, and
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prepare for the uncertainties of climate change through operational and structural changes throughout the watershed.
RCPP project actions are grouped into 3 types: irrigation efficiency, habitat restoration and water quality.
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Habitat actions will increase stream miles available for safe fish passage by removing barriers and screening irrigation diversions and restore riparian habitat.
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Irrigation efficiency actions include piping/lining open ditches, reducing/eliminating irrigation return flows and the installation of water measurement/management structures.
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Water quality actions include eliminating irrigation return flows into steelhead waters and improving riparian habitat conditions.
These actions will have a positive cumulative effect on ESA threatened species Mid-Columbia Steelhead, a critical species of cultural and ecological importance and will have a positive cumulative effect on irrigation water availability.
The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) promotes coordination between NRCS and its partners (like the KCCD) to deliver conservation assistance to producers and landowners. With RCPP, partners are in the “driver’s seat” with technical and financial help from NRCS. Partners develop projects that deliver solutions to natural resource challenges. NRCS will work side-by-side with the KCCD and agricultural producers to conserve natural resources, leading to cleaner and more abundant water, healthier soil, enhanced wildlife habitat and many other benefits.
USDA Streamlines Regional Conservation Partnership Program, Invests Unprecedented $1 Billion in 81 Conservation Projects
November 1, 2023 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making historic investments to the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and streamlining the program to make it work better for producers and partners. This combination will deliver conservation at a scale never before achieved through RCPP. This year, more than $1 billion is being invested to advance partner-driven solutions to conservation on agricultural land through 81 projects.
RCPP leverages a voluntary approach to conservation that expands the reach of conservation efforts and climate-smart agriculture through public-private partnerships. Historic funding is made possible by both the Inflation Reduction Act, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, and the Farm Bill.
Partners also contributing funding for this project include:
