About the Natural Resources Conservation Serice
The District is co-located at the local United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) office at 4044 3 Mile Road, Bay City, MI 48706.
​Originally founded in 1935 as the Soil Conservation Service, the mission and priority of NRCS is to provide resources to farmers and landowners to aid them in conservation, and to ensure the harmony of productive lands and a healthy environment.
​The USDA provides leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on sound public policy, the best available science, and efficient management. The Bay County Conservation District staff assist NRCS staff in programs, site visits and landowner assistance.
EQIP : Enviromental Quality Inventive Program
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is an NRCS program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and air quality, conserved ground and surface water, increased soil health and reduced soil erosion and sedimentation, and improved or created wildlife habitat. These benefits are implemented through conservation practices.
EQIP plans
EQIP plans
CSP : Conservation Stewardship Program
The Conservation Stewardship Program is an NRCS program that helps agricultural producers maintain and improve their existing conservation systems and adopt additional conservation activities to address priority resources concerns.
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​Participants earn CSP payments for conservation performance—the higher the performance, the higher the payment.
RCPP : Regional Conservation Partnership Program
The Regional Conservation Partnership Program promotes coordination between NRCS and its partners to deliver conservation assistance to producers and landowners. NRCS provides assistance to producers through partnership agreements and RCPP conservation program contracts.
CRP : Conservation Reserve Program
CRP is a land conservation program administered by the Farm Service Agency, another USDA agency and a sister agency to NRCS. In exchange for a yearly rental payment, farmers enrolled in the program agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. Contracts for land enrolled in CRP are 10-15 years in length. The long term goal of the program is to re-establish valuable land cover to help improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and reduce loss of wildlife habitat.
