Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Quality Deer Management EQIP Funding

Did anyone get approved for EQIP this Year? I didn't get approved for anything

I’m still waiting to hear back on CSP. Did you get denied or just haven’t heard back?

The DOGE issue and two shutdowns right at application time seems to have really have slowed down the process and some of the funding.

My current EQUIP contract goes through this year so I didn’t have a new application. Waiting to hear back on CSP. I believe the NRCS guys
have to have everything turned in for rankings next week.

What projects are y’all trying to get done?

I applied at the end of 2025 for 2026 and was told last Week didn't get any funding . Can apply again this October for next Year. Putting in Fire Breaks,burning and controlling invasives(Hack and Squirt)

Im going to proceed on my own minus the hack and squirt

I had a couple clients get EQIP contracts. Still waiting to hear back on CSP.

CSP rankings should be done next week. Few of my clients that applied got funded for EQIP

BraeBuckner can You explain CSP in a nutshell? Thanks

CSP is the Conservation Stewardship Program, which is a 5 year agreement instead of 1. It’s typically more suited for landowners who have multiple conservation objectives to achieve that requires a lot of work. EQIP is great for those who have one or two practices to complete. CSP is better for those who have multiple practices over a multi year timeframe. I’m not Brae obviously. 😁

Ha ha..Thanks Matt

If someone with a tract of land wanted to cut in a couple roads, food plots, and fire breaks, is either one of these programs possible? Is approval difficult? This is basically a wooded tract, with a portion of pasture that is leased out for hay.

Free money is free money, but when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is


Reading up on it more, and while it seems like it’s geared more towards farming/ag, there could be applications for rec land for wildlife management purposes. Sounds like a potentially slow process with paperwork involved, but that doesn’t really concern me. Definitely curious for everyone’s opinions and uses.

Fillmore, it's used a lot for wildlife and forestry purposes. A majority of my clients that get approved for it get funding for fire breaks, prescribed fire, invasive species management (usually privet removal in NE Alabama), tree planting, and pollinator plantings. There's an application process each year, deadline usually around Nov 1. Talk with your county NRCS office and the district conservationist can see which practices would benefit your property. This year took a while to get rankings out because of the government shutdown but sometimes that's just part of it

Thanks, Brae. Definitely going to look into it more and see if I can get a plan ahead of November. Thanks!

With this funding, is there a minimum amount of years you have to own the land to be able to apply for this kind of stuff?

Not sure on length of ownership requirements. First step is to go to the NRCS office and get registered with them. It’s not “free” money, you’re going to get a 1099 for the payments as income.

We have a couple of tracts we could have applied for that have gopher tortoises on them and another that we just replanted in longleaf pine. Feel pretty sure we could get approved pretty easy where the gophers are.