Pensacola Bay Watershed Nutrient Reduction Project Open for Applications

Escambia County is requesting assistance and participation from landowners in the Sandy Hollow – Pine Barren Creek watershed area to work with USDA-NRCS on the Pensacola Bay Watershed Nutrient Reduction Project.

Landowners/ producers within the designated watershed area who are actively engaged in row crop, livestock and forest production may be eligible for conservation practice implementation cost share under the project. The project application deadline is Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

This project will restore resources injured by the Deep Water Horizon oil spill as outlined in the following Natural Resource Damage Assessment process. This following is included within the restoration plan:

● Restoration goal: Restore Water Quality

● Restoration type: Nutrient Reduction (Non-point source)

● Restoration approach: Reduce nutrient loads to coastal watershed

● Restoration techniques: Agricultural conservation practices

The primary goal for the nutrient reduction project is water quality improvement through nutrient and sediment reduction. This watershed-scale project restores water quality impacted by the DWH oil spill by reducing nutrients and the sediments carrying them into coastal waters. Given the success of USDA-NRCS Farm Bill programs such as EQIP and their strong acceptance by private landowners, there is a significant opportunity to implement conservation practices on private lands that would reduce the levels of nutrients and sediments entering the Gulf of Mexico from the Pensacola Bay watershed.

The USDA-NRCS would provide technical assistance to voluntary participants to develop conservation plans and would use all available conservation practices typically planned and funded by USDA-NRCS programs. The project goal is to make a discernible difference in water quality at the watershed level.

The proposed project will be implemented in a portion of the Pensacola Bay watershed located in Escambia County. The project boundaries would be as follows:

● Sandy Hollow-Pine Barren Creek watershed 

Contact the USDA-NRCS Molino field office at 850-840-9089 for further information on program details.