RICHLAND COUNTY LONG RANGE PLAN 2019 Richland County Agriculture. Mark Henning USDA NRCS SIDNEY FIELD OFFICE RICHLAND COUNTY LONG RANGE PLAN 2019 Contents SECTION I INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 4 Vision ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 Mission .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Purpose ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Partners ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Term ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 SECTION II NATURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY ...................................................................................... 5 General Information ............................................................................................................................. 5 People ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Landcover/Land Use ............................................................................................................................. 6 Land Ownership .................................................................................................................................... 7 Petroleum Development ....................................................................................................................... 7 LRRs and MLRAs .................................................................................................................................... 9 MLRA 58A—Northern Rolling High Plains, Northern Part ................................................................ 9 MLRA 53A—Northern Dark Brown Glaciated Plains ......................................................................... 9 MLRA 54—Rolling Soft Shale Plain .................................................................................................. 10 Soils ..................................................................................................................................................... 10 Soil Associations .............................................................................................................................. 11 Prime Farmland, Farmland of Statewide Importance and Prime if Irrigated Farmland ................. 11 Hydric Soils ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Water .................................................................................................................................................. 13 Hydrography ................................................................................................................................... 13 Stream Flow .................................................................................................................................... 14 303(d) Listed Streams ..................................................................................................................... 17 Groundwater Resources ................................................................................................................. 17 Drinking Water ................................................................................................................................ 18 DryRedwater Regional Water Authority ......................................................................................... 18 Irrigated Lands, Water Rights, Irrigation Districts ........................................................................... 18 Utilities ................................................................................................................................................ 19 Air Quality ........................................................................................................................................... 19 Plants and Animals .............................................................................................................................. 20 Confined Animal Feeding Operations ............................................................................................. 20 Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Lands .......................................................................................... 20 pg. 1 RICHLAND COUNTY LONG RANGE PLAN 2019 Wetlands ......................................................................................................................................... 20 Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks State Wildlife Action Plan .......................................................... 21 Plant Species of Concern ................................................................................................................. 22 Noxious Weeds ............................................................................................................................... 23 Invasive Species............................................................................................................................... 24 Animal Species of Concern .............................................................................................................. 24 Greater Sage-Grouse ....................................................................................................................... 27 Grassland Birds ................................................................................................................................ 27 SECTION III CONSERVATION ACTIVITY ANALYSIS ................................................................................. 30 NRCS Conservation Practices Data ...................................................................................................... 30 Changes Over the Last Five to Ten Years Because Of Conservation Activities ................................... 30 USDA Farm Bill Programs .................................................................................................................... 30 Conservation Reserve Program ....................................................................................................... 30 Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) ....................................................................... 32 Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) ........................................................................................ 32 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) ....................................................................................... 32 Conservation Stewardship Program (CStwP) ................................................................................... 33 Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP).................................................................................... 34 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) .......................................................................... 34 Partnerships ........................................................................................................................................ 35 SECTION IV OPPORTUNITIES AND DESIRED OUTCOMES ..................................................................... 36 Widespread Ongoing Concerns .......................................................................................................... 36 Degraded Plant Condition, Rangeland (Rangeland Health and Livestock Production) .................. 36 Noxious weeds ................................................................................................................................ 36 Irrigation Efficiency ......................................................................................................................... 37 Soil Erosion ...................................................................................................................................... 37 New concerns ...................................................................................................................................... 37 Insufficient Water ........................................................................................................................... 37 SECTION V PRIORITIZATION ................................................................................................................... 39 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................................ 40 A1 Richland County ............................................................................................................................ 40 A2 Precipitation Ranges ..................................................................................................................... 41 A3 Relative Annual Effective Precipitation ........................................................................................ 42 A4 Landcover .....................................................................................................................................