Oklahoma Receives Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative Grant

Contact: Jasper Parker, 405-742-1243

June 8, 2006 — Oklahoma was among 24 states to receive a Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The CCPI is a voluntary program which provides competitive grants for state and local governments, tribes and non-governmental organizations to foster conservation partnerships.

The Nature Conservancy was awarded $59,500 for its proposal that will focus on conservation efforts on preservation and restoration of habitat for the greater prairie chicken in the southern Flint Hills portion of its range. Specifically, the proposal will target the tallgrass prairies of the Caney Watershed, a portion of the Greater Flint Hills in Kansas and Oklahoma, including significant portions of Osage and Washington counties, with minor acreages in Craig, Mayes, and Rogers counties.

NRCS received 81 proposals from 35 states. Thirty-eight entities in 24 states received grants totaling nearly $4 million. CCPI funds projects that focus technical and financial resources on conservation priorities in watersheds and airsheds of special significance. Airsheds are geographical areas that share the same air mass due to topography, meteorology and climate.

During the project planning phase, The Nature Conservancy will partner with other conservation entities and private landowners to delineate location and ownership of large, intact tallgrass prairie sites, assess prairie chicken use of these sites, clarify threats, and develop and study the most effective threat abatement strategies. In addition, the project will develop outreach methods and materials to further expand knowledge of the information.

All programs and services of the Natural Resources Conservation Service are provided in a nondiscriminatory manner.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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