Washington, DC - An upcoming webinar on the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) will help potential applicants as they seek available funding. During the current round, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest up to $235 million to improve the nation's water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural production. Partners will match the Federal investment.

"This webinar is a great opportunity to directly engage with our partners," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Our goal is to leverage available Federal funding and produce more high-performing on-the-ground conservation solutions."

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will host the webinar, open to both conservation partners and the general public, on Thursday, June 4, 2015 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST. To join the webinar, visit https://usdanrcs.adobeconnect.com/r75qxphcya9/. Login to Adobe Connect using the Guest option and enter your name.

NRCS recently simplified the application process by creating new online tools: a pre-proposal fillable form, RCPP pre-application data entry tool and pre-proposal data entry tool instructions. These tools support partners as they fill out and submit their pre-proposal application.

RCPP empowers local leaders to work with multiple partners - such as private companies, local and tribal governments, universities, non-profit groups and other non-government partners - along with farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners to design solutions that work best for their region. Local partners and the federal government both invest funding and manpower to projects to maximize their impact.

USDA is now accepting pre-proposals for RCPP. Pre-proposals are due July 8, 2015.