USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Louisiana Announces Regional Conservation Partnership Program 2026 Signup Dates

ALEXANDRIA, December 19, 2025

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) in Louisiana announced today that it is opening an application period for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Arkansas-Louisiana Conservation Delivery Network (AR-LA CDN) Open Pine Landscape Restoration #2 Project. Louisiana farmers and landowners have until January 30, 2026, to submit applications to be considered for 2026 funding.

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.

Arkansas serves as the lead state and the American Bird Conservancy serves as the lead partner for this RCPP project. The project will address terrestrial wildlife habitat, fire management, and water quality concerns in Arkansas and Louisiana. By implementing open pine forest management practices across private lands in these two states, the project will advance the recovery of species of conservation concern. The loss of open forest structure and plant diversity has caused declines in wildlife like the Northern Bobwhite, Henslow's and LeConte's Sparrows, Louisiana Pine Snake, Red-Cockaded Woodpecker and more. The project's goal is to open forest conditions for the benefit of these species.

The AR-LA CDN Open Pine Landscape Restoration #2 Project covers 20 parishes in northern and central Louisiana. Parishes in the service area include Avoyelles, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Catahoula, Claiborne, DeSoto, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Union, Webster, and Winn. For more information and to reach out to your local biologist, please visit openpine.org.

Individuals and other entities actively engaged in agricultural production are eligible to participate in RCPP. RCPP offers a continuous application sign-up. However, to be considered for 2026 funding, applications must be received by January 30, 2026. Applicants can sign up for the 2026 program year by contacting their local USDA NRCS field service center.

All applications will be evaluated for funding based on how well they align with project priorities using procedures to optimize environmental benefits. Applications ranking highest in a funding category will be funded according to priority and are subject to availability of program funds.

More Information
To learn more about NRCS programs, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center. Producers can also apply for NRCS programs, manage conservation plans and contracts, and view and print conservation maps by logging into their farmers.gov account. If you don't have an account, sign up today.

For 90 years, NRCS has helped farmers, ranchers and forestland owners make investments in their operations and local communities to improve the quality of our air, water, soil, and wildlife habitat. NRCS uses the latest science and technology to help keep working lands working, boost agricultural economies, and increase the competitiveness of American agriculture. NRCS provides one-on-one, personalized advice and financial assistance and works with producers to help them reach their goals through voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs. For more information, visit nrcs.usda.gov.

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