Our Partners

Our landowners are the heartbeat of the Ogallala Land & Water Conservancy! They are local heroes. Each participating landowner voluntarily ceased agricultural irrigation for the good of the many, abandoning a way of life that has existed in their families for generations. As our priority partners, we work with them and for them to advance agricultural groundwater conservation in two paleochannels northwest and west of Cannon AFB, while transitioning irrigated farmland and ranchland to dryland cropping or grazing land. Together we are conserving a water supply that will serve future generations. 

The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), established through the 2014 Farm Bill, allows conservation partners with similar missions to collaborate with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to further the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of soil, water, and wildlife habitat in their region. In April 2021, the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts was awarded $6,911,311 from RCPP Critical Conservation Area funds to implement its New Mexico Ogallala Preservation and Conservation Initiative, 2021-2026, in eastern New Mexico. Leading the project are Executive Director Debbie Hughes and her team, Ken Leiting, John Tunberg, and Kenny Walker. RCPP and REPI work in tandem to protect the water and the land.

In 2021, the Curry County Commission committed $30,000 for the creation of a local land trust and elected to enter a 3-year contract with Central Curry SWCD to procure the professional services needed to execute their obligation to implement the REPI and RCPP project for Cannon AFB. Through a sole source request and determination, Central Curry SWCD awarded the Conservancy the contract, which provides essential funds for reimbursable operational expenses up to $150,000 annually, as approved by the Curry County Commission.

The Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (REPI) is the key tool of the Department of Defense (DoD) for combating encroachment that can limit or restrict military training, testing, and operations. Cannon AFB is utilizing REPI, under the direction of Jason Rose, Project Manager, and Jeff Davis, Technical Project Manager, to work in concert with the Conservancy to conserve water in the underground Ogallala Aquifer to ensure that Cannon has sufficient water for its continuous operation. The Cannon AFB/REPI project has currently been awarded $6,095,200. 

A key component of the REPI Program is the use of buffer partnerships among the Military Services, private conservation groups, and state and local governments, authorized by Congress to preserve compatible land uses and natural habitats near installations and ranges that help sustain critical, at-risk military mission capabilities. The State of New Mexico, through the Office of the State Engineer, is a vital buffer partnership providing $3.6 million to help meet the 50/50 required cost share for REPI to shut off irrigation wells for three consecutive years (2021-2024) as we await the availability of RCPP funding, along with additional funding from REPI and grants, that will be used to secure perpetual long-term conservation easements and/or water right purchase agreements.

In 2021, the City Commission elected to enter a one-year contract, renewable for two additional years, with Central Curry SWCD to procure the professional services needed to execute their obligation to implement the REPI and RCPP project for Cannon AFB. Through a sole source request and determination, Central Curry SWCD awarded the Conservancy the contract, which provides essential funds for reimbursable operational expenses up to $150,000 annually, as approved by the City Commission.