O2O Exciting Tidbits
Photo by Kimberly Tillman
O2O Exciting Tidbit Post # 1 April, 2021
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:
- Camp Blanding (Army National Guard)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida Forest Service
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- Putnam Land Conservancy
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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