NRCS To Provide Assistance For Ag Producers Impacted By The St. Mary Canal Siphon Failure

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been working closely with the Bureau of Reclamation, Milk River Joint Board of Control, the Blackfeet Nation, The Fort Belknap Indian Community, the state of Montana, conservation districts, and many other stakeholders since the June failure of the St. Mary Canal Siphon. NRCS is assessing the needs of farmers and ranchers directly impacted by the loss of water into the St. Mary Canal and associated irrigation districts of the Milk River system.

“While the Bureau of Reclamation and other key partners coordinate the essential repairs to the St. Mary Canal Siphon and other components of the Milk River Project, we are working to create and fund an initiative to help ag producers avoid negative impacts to their natural resources related to the loss of irrigation water,” said Tom Watson, NRCS State Conservationist for Montana.

The St. Mary EQIP initiative will help to offset potential affects like increased soil erosion and decreased forage production on ag operations that usually irrigate with water from the Milk River Project. The initiative will also provide alternatives to ranchers on the Blackfeet Reservation that use the St. Mary Canal as a livestock barrier or for stockwater.

“Our staff are working to finalize details of the initiative like which conservation practices will be offered and a date for the application batching period,” said Watson. “The farmers and ranchers along the Hi-Line steward our private lands and are critical to rural economies. We want to help them be ecologically and economically viable through this situation.”

The St. Mary EQIP initiative will be supported by fiscal year 2025 funding. The application batching date will likely occur in early fall. Public notices will be issued once the date has been set and initiative specifics are decided.