Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape to lead new Regional Conservation Partnership Program
The Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape (SISL) partnership is excited to announce approval of a Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) for the 3.5-million-acre SISL area. RCPP is a partner-driven approach to conservation that funds innovative solutions to natural resource challenges. The Natural Resources Conservation Service within the US Department of Agriculture oversees the federal program.
This RCPP will increase private lands conservation on farms and forests in southern Indiana. NRCS will provide funding to the partnership over the next five years to permanently protect and restore over 2,500 acres of forestland through conservation easements, restore an additional 5,000 to 10,000 acres of oak-hickory forest ecosystems, and increase sustainable farming practices on tens of thousands of acres.
“Since nearly 90% of the land in SISL is owned and managed by private landowners, it is critical to our rural way of life, including our rich agricultural and natural heritage, that these landowners have the support and resources needed to sustainably manage their lands. Furthermore, having a landscape dominated by rural uses supports the critical missions of our four military installations and ranges.” Michael Spalding SISL Program Coordinator
Since designation in February 2022, the SISL partnership has been working on ways to advance the pace and scale of conservation in southern Indiana. This RCPP will help achieve many of the program’s goals. The diverse partnership advancing this project includes NSA Crane, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Training Center, The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative, American Bird Conservancy, Let the Sunshine IN, Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association, Indiana DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife, Central Indiana Land Trust, and Indiana State Department of Agriculture Division of Soil Conservation.
Landowners interested in learning more about conservation on their farms and forests should reach out to SISL Program Coordinator Michael Spalding at mspalding@sentinellandscapes.org or 812-855-1898.
“Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association educates our members and informs the general public about the benefits of good forest management, including the recognition that we are and will continue to lose our oak woodlands and forests without more action. By partnering on this RCPP, we can combine the power of our outreach and education with significant funding to private landowners to restore southern Indiana’s forests.” IFWOA Executive Director Liz Jackson
“Healthy oak-hickory forests are critical to supporting wildlife, regulating our climate and supplying valuable economic products,” said Indiana NRCS Acting State Conservationist Curtis Knueven. “While oak-hickory forests are still abundant across the eastern half of the United States, the conditions are lacking in most forests to support the next generation of trees. Projects like this one help ensure our forests are conserved, restored and made more resilient to climate change through proper management practices.”
Conservation Law Center (the Center) is an independent, non-profit organization that provides legal counsel to conservation organizations and works to improve state and federal conservation law and policy. The organization works with clients on a wide range of transactional, policy, and litigation matters pertaining to both regional and national conservation issues. The Center has particular interest and expertise endangered species protection and litigation, natural habitat protection, conservation easements, and the protection of freshwater ecosystems especially in the Great Lakes region.