Conservation Programs Focusing on Underserved, Socially Disadvantaged Landowners

The Missouri Bootheel was once a massive bottomland forest interspersed by an interconnected system of rivers, oxbow lakes, sloughs and wetlands. However, much of the timber in the Bootheel was cut at the turn of the 20th century, and the water was drained to make way for agricultural growth.

Though most of the historic bottomland habitat can never return to the Bootheel, located in the southeastern corner of the state bordering Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, Ducks Unlimited (DU) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are working with Missouri landowners to utilize a suite of federal and state-funded programs to promote regenerative agriculture practices and natural resource management.

“The partnership with DU greatly increases NRCS’s outreach capacity to connect and provide financial and technical assistance to historically underserved and socially disadvantaged landowners,” said Scott Edwards, Missouri NRCS state conservationist. “We look forward to continuing outreach collaboration with DU.”

Four DU conservation consultants, Dave Wissehr, Tony Jaco, Brad Pobst and Roger Frazier, are working to reduce soil erosion, conserve water, improve water quality, mitigate flooding and protect wildlife habitat. These conservation efforts are primarily focused in Southeast Missouri, but the team works in Southern Illinois, Northeast Arkansas and Western Kentucky as well.

“This is a talented group of folks who are moving the needle in so many different ways,” said Mark Flaspohler, DU’s director of conservation programs. “They’re working with historically underserved and socially disadvantaged landowners, securing easements, doing climate-smart rice work with producers and writing their own grants. They just secured $1.3 million from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.”

Pobst, Frazier and Jaco are leading efforts to administer voluntary on-farm conservation practices. NRCS, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), offers financial incentives and technical assistance to landowners who qualify for the Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE), Environmental Quality Incentives (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship (CSP) programs.

DU’s conservation consultants identify and walk landowners through an extensive application process. When an applicant qualifies for a program, these consultants continue to guide and act as a resource for the landowner. The WRE partnership with NRCS focuses on working with historically underserved and socially disadvantaged landowners who may not be aware of the programs available or have not participated in the past.

“The main portion of my job is to get qualified landowners enrolled into the WRE program, but if that doesn’t work, we look at other state and USDA programs,” Pobst said. “It’s working out well. We contact potential enrollees and applicants daily, explaining the different programs so they know what they’re getting into. Most of these folks have never been enrolled in a government program. It’s a lengthy process.”

Wissehr and Jaco also administer the Rice Stewardship Partnership (RSP), founded by USA Rice and DU in 2013. This unique partnership between farmers and conservationists offers rice producers assistance to address water quantity, water quality and wildlife habitat on working rice lands, which provide critical habitat for migratory waterfowl. In 2022, the USDA awarded the RSP and the National Black Growers Council an $80 million Climate Smart Commodities Grant to benefit producers, including those who have been historically underserved.

“The sign-ups have been completed, and we are working through the process of funding projects that scored the highest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Jaco said. “Contracts are being developed with producers who were awarded funding to assist them in several ways and practices to help them grow rice in a climate-smart manner. This latest effort will benefit hundreds of rice producers across several states.”

Another component of the Bootheel’s WRE program is the inventory and maintenance of existing easements on over 37,000 acres. Some easements require updated management plans that address bottomland forests, wildlife habitat, water management and invasive plants. Consultants meet with landowners to determine the best path forward and consider other enrollment options that fit on-farm goals.

“WRE is the most beneficial to land conservation, but it might not always be a good fit for a landowner. But that never stops us from working with farmers or producers invested in land stewardship and climate-smart practices,” Frazier said. “It’s important that we don’t go into these conversations with a single program in mind because it may not be the one you’re going to be able to work with them on. You must be willing to pivot to something else.”

Media Contact:

Joe Genzel
(309) 453-0979
jgenzel@ducks.org