Signup Deadline Announced for Alabama’s Streambank Restoration Initiative

Auburn, Ala., December 17, 2025 - Alabama State Conservationist, Ben Malone, with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announces that the Fiscal Year 2026 signup deadline is January 23^rd, 2026, for the:

• Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Streambank Restoration Initiative in the Paint Rock River, Big Canoe Creek, and Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River watersheds.

NRCS offers voluntary programs to eligible landowners and agricultural producers to provide financial and technical assistance to help manage natural resources in a sustainable manner. Through these programs the agency approves contracts to provide financial assistance to help plan and implement conservation practices that address natural resource concerns or opportunities to help save energy, improve soil, water, plant, air, animal and related resources on agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest land. More specifically:

RCPP: promotes coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to expand our collective ability to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns. Through RCPP, NRCS seeks to co-invest with partners to implement projects that demonstrate innovative solutions to conservation challenges and provide measurable improvements and outcomes tied to the resource concerns they seek to address. The RCPP project under this announcement is available for Streambank Restorations. In Alabama, The Nature Conservancy plans to reduce sedimentation, toxic pollution, nutrient runoff, and other stresses within several waterbodies in the Paint Rock, Big Canoe Creek, and Locust Fork watersheds. Implementing streambank restoration practices along these targeted waterbodies will improve water quality for both unique aquatic biota and public water supply; reduce property loss for agricultural producers who own property along these waterways; and support the multi-partner goal of protecting Strategic Habitat Units (SHUs) in the state of Alabama.

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis; however, selecting applications for funding is completed periodically through batching periods with specific cutoff dates. The cutoff date for this announcement is January 23rd, 2026. Applications received after this date will be held and considered for subsequent funding announcements as available funds permit.

For more information about Alabama NRCS and Programmatic initiatives, priorities and assessment/ranking criteria, visit online at www.al.nrcs.usda.gov . Additionally, visit your local USDA Service Center to determine eligibility; applicants are not eligible for USDA programs until they have ensured all Farm Bill eligibility requirements have been met. You can locate your local Service Center at farmers.gov/service-center-locator .