NRCS Town Hall Addresses Programs to Help Producers Post-Fire

A large crowd attended the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service town hall on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library. The talk focused on how the NRCS can help producers recover from the 2024 wildfires that have destroyed fences, water lines, grass and timber.

There are several programs available to help producers in replacing valuable assets that have been damaged by the fires.

Rusty Schwartz, High Plains Area Conservationist opened the program. He thanked Carrie Rogaczewski, district manager of the Sheridan County Conservation District, for setting up the town hall and providing the snacks.

Jackie Byam, State Conservationist, director for the state of Wyoming. She said that the NCRS is a federal agency, but they are a non-regulatory agency.

She had several slides that illustrated her talk to help producers understand what they do and who their partners are. Representatives from the Forest Service, Game and Fish, and the Farm Service Agency attended the meeting. “We will all be providing information as well,” she said

Andi Neugebauer-Bailey State Resource Conservationist talked about the Mission, and about what people could expect when they came into the office.

Their assistance is one-on-one system with the producers, to provide a personalized system. “We are going to work with you,” she added. She said they provide conservation planning for producers. She had slide showing some of the resource concerns common to Wyoming.

Brian Jensen Assistant State Conservation Partnership talked about fencing, which was probably the biggest expense producers are facing after the fires.

He said it is a huge practice nationwide. He said they don’t understand completely yet how fencing impacts wildlife. He added that fencing can be beneficial for wildlife as well as livestock, as in fencing highways to cut down on collisions between wildlife and motorists.

He said they hadn’t been talking about riparian impacts when they first started talking about post fire impacts.

Katie Vaporis Assistant State Conservationist for Programs talked about what specifically is available for help for producers affected by the fires. She added when they apply at NCRS, they should also drop by FSA offices as they help the NCRS with the paperwork.

She added that producers have to come to them first, before they do anything on the fence.

Some attendees voiced concerns about the fire break lines, and who was responsible for cleaning that up after the fire. Another asked who is responsible for fences that burning along the county roads, and the landowner is responsible for repairing those fences, not the county. One man questioned if they would help with temporary fencing in areas where only some of the pasture burned. He was urged to come in and talk more about that.

Andrew Cassiday NRCS District Conservationist and Courtney Yelton, County Executive Director of the Farm Services Agency in Sheridan. spoke at the program as well. Yelton said the FSA also has funding available for producers, and anyone interested should check with their office as well.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the programs available can contact the USDA NCRS at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/wyoming