O2O Exciting Tidbits 2020 RCPP Now Started!

O2O Exciting Tidbits

Photo by Kimberly Tillman

O2O Exciting Tidbit Post # 1 April, 2021

Photo from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) website
This map is showing, in red, 14,327 acres that have been protected since 2017 to 2020.

2020 RCPP Working Group

The 2020 RCPP Now Started in the O2O!


Good news for the Ocala to Osceola (O2O)Partnership!  You may remember the announcement last April about the new O2O Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) $9.4 million award for the O2O.  We are happy to report that as of last month (March 2021), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) signed the foundational partnership agreement for the “2020 RCPP”. This RCPP will greatly expand our land protection and conservation efforts by bringing over $9.4 million of Farm Bill program funding to the O2O.   

The 2020 RCPP leverages over $11 million of match contribution from NFLT and five contributing partner organizations.  In total, more than $20,000,000 will be available to fund conservation easements, new conservation lands, and conservation management practices through Farm Bill and Partner programs.  In addition, the RCPP facilitates enhanced landowner outreach, greater public awareness of the O2O initiative, supports real estate transactions and conservation easement stewardship.  We estimate that because of this RCPP and Partner programs, more than 8,000 acres of new land protection and management will be funded in the O2O!

In addition to NFLT and the NRCS, the RCPP Partner organizations include:

This RCPP partnership will work together until 2026 to greatly expand land protection and conservation efforts in the O2O.

Notably, this new RCPP involves quantification of environmental, social, and economic outcomes.  To this end, NFLT will spearhead projects specifically designed to quantify ecological “lift”, climate resiliency and social impacts. Stay tuned for more about these new efforts!

We wanted to share the good news with all our Partners, and we will have more information and updates as the program progresses.  Visit O2OWildlifeCorridor’s website to learn more about the O2O Wildlife Corridor, the Partnership, and the RCPP. 

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