DIED,
Last year NRCS in CA had a "Native Pollinator" initiative that brought in an extra $1 million to their WHIP (for those who don't know Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program....we love our acronyms in the Gov). Anyway, I knew I wanted to have a pond in my backyard and I'm a habitat biologist so I wanted to get as much habitat back there as possible. They (NRCS)had trouble getting people to do projects for native pollinators so they prioritized my project because I not only wanted a pond, native grasses and trees I was willing to do some native wildflowers, bee blocks etc. I felt that this was no concession on my part since who wouldn't want some cool native forbs blooming from mid-spring to late summer.
I likely wouldn't have been funded had I not gone for the pollinator stuff. As it turned out, I got money for excavation of the pond, a 40 gpm solar pump, native grasses, trees and wildflowers. What a deal!
Unfortunately, it sounds like the additional pollinator money may have been a one shot deal. I would encourage you though to talk to your local NRCS folks in El Dorado County.
Beware though, not all offices are created equal. I live in Butte County and our people are willing to help out. Some gov't workers have figured out that they'll get paid whether they administer their program or not.
Although I don't cover your area, I do know who does for the Fish and Wildlife Service. I may be able to help you out if you don't have any luck with NRCS.
DD
By the way, I bought the 40SQF-5. My water is at 20 ft. down and with pumping I'll be pulling it from 30ft. I should be able to get 40 gpm with 1400 watts. The problem is that's a lot of panels!
Last edited by Duckdude; 01/28/10 12:10 PM.
