Range Improvement Loan Program

Agriculture, Programs, Range
The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) offers a low interest loan program as an incentive for private landowners to do range improvement practices.  Currently the rate is 1.5% and there is a maximum loan amount of $75,000.  Repayment is scheduled for a maximum of 10 years with annual payments. For more information contact Bill Herbolich, DNRC, 406-444-6668, or http://dnrc.mt.gov/divisions/cardd/conservation-districts/range-improvement-loan-program.  
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Water Rights Workshops

Agriculture, Workshops
The Lewis & Clark County Farm Bureau is hosting workshops on filing claims for exempt domestic wells. You may have received a letter about this in the past year. If you're interested, see the image below.
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April Board Meeting

310 Permits, Agriculture, Budget, Cost Share, Meeting Minutes, Meeting Notices, Meetings, NRCS, Programs
The next regular meeting of the Lewis & Clark Conservation District will be April 11, 2019 and will take place in the USDA Service Center Conference Room, 790 Colleen Street, Helena MT 59601.  All meetings of the Conservation District are open to the public. March meeting minutes April agenda In May the CD is co-hosting natural resource planning meetings across Lewis & Clark County along with the NRCS staff from the Helena Field Office. These meetings will be very important for agricultural landowners in the county who hope to utilize EQIP funds from NRCS in coming years, since they are changing how they will be doing that funding. Please attend! If you cannot be there, please fill out the survey on the back of this flyer about the meetings. Meeting…
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Montana Focused Conservation-A District Perspective

Agriculture, Cost Share, Meetings, NRCS, Planning, Programs
            Montana Focused Conservation; the newest buzzword, along with “moving the needle”, “random acts of conservation”, “targeted investment”, coming to a Field Office near you in Montana.             The CD has been working hard to determine how this will affect our traditional customers, agricultural landowners.  The biggest change is that even though landowners will still be able to submit applications for EQIP, funds will only be available in a county under that program in targeted or focused fund pools.  The so-called “shotgun” approach will no longer be used.             For example, let’s say that you as a landowner would like to do a cross-fence in your grazing pasture, along with some off-stream livestock water.  You can still come into the NRCS Field Office and put in an application for EQIP…
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Lewis & Clark County Day on the Range

Agriculture, Education, Events, Monitoring, Planning, Plant materials, Programs, Range, Training
Please join the NRCS and the Lewis and Clark Conservation District for a Day on the Range on August 14, 2018.  It runs from 10-3 and the cost will be $10/person to help cover lunch. Range Monitoring Invasive Species insect releases and monitoring Rainfall simulator Montana Wild presentation on Raptors   Please register by August 3, 2018!!!   Directions: Out of Augusta, take Benchmark Road, follow it past Nilan Reservoir (to your right).  At the Y where Benchmark Road takes a left, continue onto Beaver Willow Road.  Scoutana is just before the next Y in the road.  It’s about 15 or 16 miles out of Augusta and should take about ½ an hour out of Augusta. For more information contact the Lewis & Clark Conservation District at 406-449-5000 ext. 112…
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A Day in Augusta

310 Permits, Agriculture, Cost Share, Flooding, Programs, Water Quality, Watershed
For landowners in the Augusta or Dearborn areas who were affected by the flooding this past week, we want to let you know that we're going to be in Augusta at the Youth Center/Senior Center/ Public Health office on June 29 from 10-2 collecting information on bridge and culvert damage as well as stream damage.  We'll have permit forms--regular and emergency--bridge and culvert installation information, and other information for you.   We're also hoping to have any program information from the Farm Service Agency and information on whether the Conservation District will have funding available to assist with bridge and culvert projects. In addition, we plan to bring water test supplies.  The Conservation District has a reimbursement program and we will reimburse the cost up to $25 of your test kit…
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