What is the Lower Colorado River Resource Conservation
& Development Program?
The Lower Colorado River
RC&D Council covers the vast and largely rural western Arizona counties of
LaPaz, Mohave, and Yuma. The Lower Colorado River RC&D is one of 375 United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) authorized councils nationwide.
Although the RC&D program is a USDA program administered by the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the council is not a unit
of government. It is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
corporation, locally organized and directed. Local units of government and
some area nonprofit organizations are the sponsors of the Lower Colorado
River RC&D. These sponsors appoint a RC&D council member and an alternate.
The RC&D Council elects an executive committee to manage and operate the
program. These sponsors and their council members introduce projects to the
executive committee for approval. Once approved; the
Project Subcommittee, the Project Sponsor, and the project applicant will
develop, initiate, and carry the project to completion. Although the Lower
Colorado RC&D is not a source of grant money and does not directly provide
project funds, it assists in locating and securing funds to complete
projects.
USDA authorized the Lower
Colorado River Resource Conservation & Development Area under the authority
of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962 (Public Law 87-703). USDA funds are
made available annually for the Lower Colorado River RC&D overhead, which
includes a full-time coordinator, an office and equipment, a vehicle, and
technical assistance as deemed appropriate. Operating funds come from the
dues paid by each sponsoring organization, and grants obtained from state
and federal government sources, private organizations, or individuals.
