The Wild Oak Story: Fitting Cost-Share Resources Together to Create an Exemplary Project Site
Solano RCD and the landowners worked with several agency partners to make the project at Wild Oak happen. Each partner brings not only funding, but also unique expertise to the site:
Department of Food and Agriculture's Healthy Soils Program (HSP)
Solano RCD received a competitive grant from this program to implement soil-building and carbon-sequestering projects at Wild Oak Vineyard, which serves as a Demonstration Site for these practices (hedgerows, cover crops, riparian and pollinator plantings, bird boxes).
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
Wild Oak's landowners applied for and were awarded cost share funds from the EQIP program to implement the same practices. EQIP is a cost share program, where funds go directly to the landowners once a specific practice is completed. In this case, and in others where Solano RCD is installing the conservation practices on a farm, most of the EQIP funds will eventually come to the RCD for installation and maintenance of the project.
US Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (USFWS)
These funds were awarded to Solano RCD for purchase of hedgerow supplies (plants, drip irrigation, mulch) and are used throughout Solano County on hedgerow projects. Wild Oak's 5700' hedgerow is the largest of these projects.
Cost Share Programs
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/eqip/
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Healthy Soils Program (HSP) https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/sweep/
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program