Northeast Iowa RC & D fears federal funding loss

Budget cuts approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in February--if approved by the U.S. Senate in March--would eliminate federal funding for resource conservation and development programs in Iowa, including Northeast Iowa RC & D.

Northeast Iowa RC & D is one of 17 resource conservation and development programs in Iowa, each which receives around $120,000 annually in federal funding.  Losing the federal funding would mean "a different ballgame" for the Postville-based organization, says Project Director Paul Berland.  Northeast Iowa RC & D serves six counties--Winneshiek, Allamakee, Howard, Fayette, Clayton and Buchanan.  It has seven full-time and eight part-time employees and contracts with another 30 employees.

Berland says U.S. Senators Tom Harkin and Charles Grassley have been supportive of the resource conservation and development programs, but this is the first year the House of Representatives has left funding of the RC & Ds out of its budget.

Berland says Northeast Iowa RC & D uses grants to pay for some of its programs, so the loss of federal funding would still leave the agency with "a fighting chance" of survival.  But he says many other RC & Ds might not be as fortunate.

The fate of the RC & Ds will not be known until Congress agrees on a federal spending budget.