Oklahoma Conservation Commission Executive Director Trey Lam is worried about the recent layoffs at NRCS and gave the following response, “For nearly 90 years, Local Conservation Districts, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service have worked together to provide Oklahomans with soil and water conservation assistance and education. The dust doesn’t blow, flooding is less damaging and the water is cleaner and more plentiful because of this locally led, focused, and voluntary cooperative approach.
When one of the partners is weaker or has fewer resources, however, not only the partnership but Oklahoma in general suffers. The recent terminations of 35 Oklahoma NRCS staff and potentially another 20+ buy-outs may create a huge hole in the conservation delivery system. Challenges such as deteriorating soil health, invasive cedar trees, older flood control dams, frequent drought and flooding along with urban sprawl must be addressed or Oklahomans will pay the price. These terminations have eliminated an entire generation of conservationists who were up for taking on that challenge. Local Conservation Districts and OCC are ready to step up where we can, but we cannot fully fill in the gap with our current capacity.
With the pause in funding for several conservation programs, we understand why farmers’ and ranchers’ trust is dwindling. Many producers who applied for EQIP cost-share assistance are confused because some of them have not yet been paid. This is because these programs were funded through two different pools — The Inflation Reduction Act and the Farm Bill. Practices funded by the Inflation Reduction Act have been paused, while Farm Bill practices are being paid out. Many farmers were not made aware of which pool their application was funded through when they signed up and are now rightfully confused and upset as to why they aren’t receiving their funds after spending tens of thousands of dollars on qualified practices. We hope this trust can be rebuilt and the relationships between producers and conservationists remain strong.
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission hopes to ease Oklahomans’ transition and provide assistance wherever possible. We remain committed to the philosophy of leaving our land and water better than how we found it.”
Editors Note: On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that USDA will release the first tranche of funding that was paused due to the review of funding in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).The first tranche of released funding and additional announcements are forthcoming as soon as USDA continues to review IRA funding to ensure that we honor our sacred obligation to American taxpayers (See full story from Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins here)
