Agricultural News
Grant Awarded to OACD to Aid Farmers Protecting Lesser Prairie Chicken
Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:10:19 CST
Oklahoma City-Northwest Oklahoma farmers and ranchers will soon have additional help in protecting the habitat of the Lesser Prairie Chicken thanks to a grant recently awarded to the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). According to Sarah Pope, Programs Director for OACD this new grant funding will help provide additional technical assistance to landowners working to protect this threatened species on private land.
"We are really excited about the opportunity this grant from NFWF provides to us to continue our efforts to help landowners protect the Lesser Prairie Chicken," Pope said. "These funds will help us continue to build programs that not only help landowners undertake work to protect wildlife habitat but also help them to profit from good natural resource stewardship. We are very thankful for this help from NFWF."
According to Pope, OACD will receive $90 thousand from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to hire additional staff to provide assistance to landowners in areas of critical Prairie Chicken habitat to help develop conservation plans while helping coordinate activities among local conservation districts and their partners at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and wildlife agencies. Staff hired with the grant will also monitor participation in all ongoing state and federal programs designed to protect habitat and work to further develop and implement the wildlife credit program at OACD.
According to OACD President Joe Parker, the work made possible by this grant is another way the Oklahoma Conservation Partnership of local Conservation Districts, OACD, the Conservation Commission and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are helping landowners conserve the state's Natural Resources.
"This new initiative is a great way to promote conservation of our natural resources and to help agriculture producers practicing good stewardship on their land," Parker said. "With this new grant we will be able to help build on the ongoing efforts to protect the Lesser Prairie Chicken and hopefully help keep it off the endangered species list. This is an exciting partnership and we are glad to be a part of it."
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