Phillips County Local Working Group Seeks Input on Local Resource Concerns

The Phillips County Local Working Group, led by the Phillips Conservation District, is gathering input from local stakeholders to determine local priority natural resource concerns to help the NRCS determine how to best deliver conservation assistance in Phillips County

Every year, local working groups allow farmers, ranchers, conservation partners, and other members of the community to discuss the natural resource needs for the county. Based on that feedback, the NRCS prepares and updates long range plans. That information is the basis for a targeted implementation plan (TIP), which is a strategy to help agricultural producers in an area implement conservation practices to address a specific resource concern.

The goal of Montana’s Focused Conservation strategy is to focus NRCS conservation investments in targeted areas to achieve clearly defined natural resource goals on a broader landscape as identified by local landowners and partners through the locally led process. Each TIP is the culmination of a multi-partnership effort that identifies a specific natural resource problem, sets goals and objectives, evaluates alternatives, establishes partner roles, and develops an implementation and monitoring plan.

Convened by local conservation districts, the local working group responsibilities include:

-Identifying the biggest conservation needs within the county.

-Prioritizing those conservation needs that can be addressed by NRCS programs.

-Recommending NRCS conservation program funding focus of a particular resource concern.

-Assisting NRCS with public outreach and information efforts.

Phillips County Local Working Group is seeking diverse input from the local community with agricultural interests and an understanding of existing natural resource issues. The group invites agricultural producers with crops and livestock, owners of nonindustrial private forest land, community agriculture, representatives of agricultural and environmental organizations, Tribal members and leadership, and representatives of other governmental agencies to carry out agricultural and natural resource conservation programs and activities to participate in local working group activities.

In 2021 and 2022, the group created surveys in hopes of receiving more input than in years past. Due to the success of those surveys, the Phillips Conservation District would like you to complete a new survey. The survey format has changed very little since 2021, even if YOUR priorities have not changed since 2021, be sure to fill out this survey as it will help determine NRCS fiscal year 2024 priorities in Phillips County.

This years Phillips County Local Working Group survey will be administered prior to an in-person meeting, please return the survey as soon as possible. The survey will primarily be distributed via Phillips County USDA Service Center email chain {Farmers.gov ([email protected])}. In addition, this public service announcement will be shared with Phillips County News (local newspaper) and KMMR (local radio), the Phillips Conservation District Facebook page and it will be accessible for pickup at USDA building or at https://phillipsconservationdistrict.com. If you are interested in filling out a survey or have any questions, please contact the Phillips Conservation District or Phillips County NRCS office located at 1120 Hwy 191 S., Suite 2, via phone number 406-654-1334, ext. 3, or via email at [email protected] . Surveys can be mailed upon request. An in-person meeting will be scheduled in August 2023 to discuss results of the survey and to brainstorm on possible solutions to our local natural resource concerns.

Local working group meeting notices are also posted on the Montana NRCS website at http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov. Use the USDA service center locator at http://www.farmers.gov/contact to find your local service center or look under the Contact Us tab on the Montana NRCS website.

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