Special Initiatives

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Kansas producers in targeted areas of the Flint Hills, Gypsum Hills, and Smoky Hills have new funding opportunities to address the threat of woody encroachment on rangelands through the Great Plains Grassland Initiative (GPGI). GPGI is part of the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Working Lands For Wildlife (WLFW) framework, which aims to improve agricultural productivity and wildlife habitat on working lands. Producers in the GPGI target areas are eligible to receive Act Now funding; applications that receive a ranking score of greater than 30 points are preapproved for funding, while applications that receive less than 30 points will be batched and funded in ranking order as funding allows. GPGI is rancher driven, science informed, and agency supported, with Kansas ranchers leading the way to conserve intact grasslands. Fiscal Year 2021 application cutoff date is Friday, July 2 2021.