From USDA:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that $150 million in funding is available for agricultural producers through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), USDA's largest conservation program, by acres impacted, that helps producers voluntarily improve the health and productivity of private and Tribal working lands. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) plans to add an estimated 10 million acres to the rolls of CSP during fiscal 2016.

"The Conservation Stewardship Program is one of our most popular programs with producers because it results in real change on the ground by boosting soil and air quality, conserving clean water and enhancing wildlife habitat," Vilsack said. "With this investment, we'll be able to build on the already record number of acres enrolled in USDA's conservation programs, enabling producers to achieve higher levels of conservation and adopt new and emerging conservation technologies on farms, ranches and forests."

NRCS accepts applications for CSP throughout the year, but producers should submit applications by March 31 to a USDA service centers to ensure they are considered for enrollment in 2016.

Participants with existing CSP contracts that will expire on Dec.31, 2016 have the option to renew their contracts for an additional five years if they agree to adopt additional activities to achieve higher levels of conservation on their lands. Applications to renew are also due by March 31.

​NRCS also makes CSP available to producers as an additional opportunity to participate in regional landscape-level conservation efforts including the Sage Grouse Initiative, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative, Longleaf Pine Initiative and Ogallala Aquifer Initiative.
Funding is available for more than 100 kinds of enhancements nationwide to help participants:

• Improve soil quality through use of cover crops, conservation crop rotations and other activities that increase soil productivity.
• Use water wisely and improve water quality through enhancements such as more efficient irrigation systems and weather monitoring.
• Restore habitat for wildlife and pollinators such as the greater sage-grouse, lesser prairie-chicken and monarch butterfly through the use of better grazing systems and improved plant management.

Learn more here: ​$150 Million for Working Lands

As hawks in the Reno and Sparks area go about their lives, University of Nevada, Reno graduate student Justin White and his team of enthusiastic interns are there for all the action and activities.

"We have found more than 70 nests and have set up 24 nest cameras," White, who is a geography student working on his doctorate, said. "This means we have driven enough kilometers to cross the United States twice just in Reno looking for nests. We have been able to measure things like chick survival, feeding intervals and parental roles relative to urban density."

White's Reno Hawk Project has two main goals: to gain insight into how nesting Red-tailed Hawks as one of the largest apex predators in the urban ecosystem are affected by different levels of urbanization, and to provide a platform for the University to connect with the local community and an opportunity for interested residents of the Truckee Meadows to join in the research. Since the fall of 2014, White, his team and community partners have sighted, recorded and documented several kinds of hawks and their activities.

Learn more here: ​http://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2015/the-reno-hawk-project_
​

Winnemucca, Nev. – The BLM Black Rock Field Office coordinated with Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Friends of Nevada Wilderness to install an exclosure fence around a spring in the Fly Canyon to protect a population of Desert Dace, a rare Nevada fish.

Wild horses and burros frequently use the spring at Fly Canyon as a water source and heavy use has caused damage to the spring habitat. The severity of these impacts has been compounded due to continuing drought conditions. Agency biologists were concerned that without some type of protection this Desert Dace population would not survive the summer. The exclosure will reduce impacts caused by heavy use while allowing wild horses and burros access to the water that flows out of the spring.

In 1985 USFWS listed the Desert Dace as a federally listed threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). At that time, the species was only known to occur in Soldier Meadows, another area managed by the BLM. In 2010, NDOW discovered a separate population of Desert Dace in a geothermal spring in Fly Canyon, located in the High Rock Lake Wilderness. Desert Dace are known to occur in only a small number of locations and require specific types of spring environments. The Fly Canyon population of Desert Dace is separate from that found in the Soldier Meadows area and may have different genetic traits.

While the protection of a species under the ESA was the driving force for the project, the land surrounding it is protected by the Wilderness Act, which prohibits the use of mechanized equipment in designated wilderness areas. By flying the materials in by helicopter and installing the fence by hand the partners prevented damage to the land while providing protection for the Desert Dace and the potential unique genetic of the species in Fly Canyon. 


“The project was critical to prevent the loss of this population of the Desert Dace, and we very much appreciate the assistance of both the BLM and USFWS in completion of the exclosure” says Jon Sjoberg, NDOW Chief of Fisheries. “With the protection now in place, NDOW will be continuing Desert Dace population and monitoring surveys over the next several years while inspecting the fence for functionality and maintenance.” Adjacent to Fly Canyon is the Soldier Meadows Area of Critical Environmental Concern, which the BLM manages to ensure harmony between recreational use of the area and the needs of its many sensitive species, such as the Desert Dace.

“The recovery of species like Desert Dace ultimately depends upon our ability to work together toward common goals. The determination and commitment of our partners at NDOW, BLM, USGS, and the Friends of Nevada Wilderness proves that we can come together to conserve Nevada’s imperiled species and most unique natural resources for future generations,” says Ted Koch, Field Supervisor for the USFWS’s Reno Fish and Wildlife Office.

For more information about the project, please contact Kathy Cadigan, Wildlife Biologist for the Black Rock Field Office at 775-623-1500 or kcadigan@blm.gov.

Carson City, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Carson City District, Sierra Front Field Office has launched the “Adopt-a-Space” Program to combat illegal dumping on public lands.  A workshop about the new program will be held on Thursday, September 25, from 5 - 7 p.m., at the Carson City District Office, 5665 Morgan Mill Road in Carson City. RSVPs for the open house are requested.

“This program facilitates creating public land stewards who will assist the BLM with keeping the public land free of litter so that all may enjoy,” said Leon Thomas, Field Manager. “We are looking for individuals, groups, schools, businesses, organizations and anyone who is interested in participating in this program.”

BLM staff will work closely with volunteer groups to guide them through the process of adopting a space. Pre-determined spots have been designated for the program. However, if there is an area in need of clean-up, BLM will work with individuals and groups to get it nominated and adopted.

For additional information please call 775-885-6000, email mhornsby@blm.gov, cgardner@blm.gov and adcallan@blm.gov.

Las Vegas, NV - Saturday September 27th volunteers from the Las Vegas valley will spend National Public Lands Day working in one of southern Nevada’s most loved places, the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. There are two projects taking place in the Spring Mountains to help expedite recovery after the Carpenter 1 fire of 2013. They will be hosted by two local partners, Go Mt. Charleston and Friends of Nevada Wilderness.

Part of the Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest, the Spring Mountains provide an escape from the summer heat, opportunities for winter snow play, and a sanctuary for biodiversity found nowhere else on Earth. This important and delicate ecosystem sees 1 million visitors each year, and can always benefit from volunteer’s attention.

In July 2013 almost 28,000 acres of the southern Spring Mountains burned in the Carpenter 1 fire. The U.S. Forest Service was required to keep some recreation areas closed to the public until the resulting hazards could be mitigated. One impacted site is the Mt. Charleston National Recreation Trail (NRT), formerly known as the South Loop Trail. Much work remains until this trail and other areas will be ready for visitors. However, Friends of Nevada Wilderness and volunteers have been granted access to improve lower sections. Volunteers from the local Spring Mountain Youth Camp and local REI employees will learn about natural fire ecology and trail maintenance techniques through hands on practice.

GO Mt. Charleston will work with volunteers in Kyle Canyon collecting native seeds for germination and re-seeding last year’s burned areas. The Great Basin Institute works closely with the US Forest Service on plant restoration in the Spring Mountains and will help volunteers learn about Mojave Desert plant species. This family friendly event focuses on natural fire ecology and our part in the process. Volunteer efforts like these are instrumental in the recovery process.

Founded in 1984, Friends of Nevada has helped protect over 3 million acres of Nevada’s wild lands by leading efforts in the expansion or designation of all 68 wildernesses in the state, including the creation of Mt. Charleston Wilderness. Over the past thirty years, Friends of Nevada Wilderness has also grown a nationally recognized and award-winning Wilderness Stewardship Volunteer Program, generating over $1 million of in-kind services to benefit Nevada’s public lands.