The arizona association of conservation districts (aacd) and conservation districts proposes to continue its arizona rangeland resource management program in partnership with the bureau of land…

The Arizona Association of Conservation Districts Inc. (AACD) received a $140,000 Cooperative Agreement award from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the Rangeland Resource Management program (CFDA 15.237) effective September 16, 2025, through September 15, 2030. This award continues AACD's established partnership with the BLM to deliver landscape-scale rangeland conservation and restoration services across Arizona. Building on 15 years of successful collaboration, AACD will lead multi-partner stakeholder engagement initiatives through statewide local work groups, develop conservation plans utilizing its proprietary ConserveAZ Portal in coordination with NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service), and coordinate NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) compliance and permitting activities. The program leverages AACD's technical capacity, including USDA-certified Technical Service Providers and BLM Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM)-certified range technicians, to advance rangeland management priorities aligned with BLM's multiple-use mission.

Key service deliverables include conservation planning facilitation, grazing and range management technical support, invasive species management, soils management, and collaborative data unification for conservation decision-making. AACD's established relationships with local producers, state and county governments, the U.S. Forest Service, and other stakeholders position the organization to deliver locally-led conservation implementation across Arizona's rangelands. The award reflects the BLM's continued investment in cooperative arrangements with non-profit conservation organizations to achieve landscape-scale resource management objectives on federal lands.

The arizona association of conservation districts (aacd) and conservation districts proposes to continue its arizona rangeland resource management program in partnership with the bureau of land management (BLM). Since 2010, we have successfully completed 36 conservation plans, treated over 43,598 acres of range land and forest land, completed 23,459 acres of pre-treatment monitoring, removed over 58,090 tons of biomass, and completed 12,000 acres of cultural resource surveys. Building on 15 years of successful partnership, we will continue to support BLM s multiple-use mission by leading landscape scale, multi-partner collaborative efforts to facilitate the conservation and restoration ofrangelands in arizona using a scalable model to fit BLM priorities and budgets.aacd and arizona s conservation districts have long-standing, trusted relationships with local producers, the AZ-BLM state office and AZ-BLM field offices, and other stakeholders like state and county governments, the US forest service (USFS), and the natural resources conservation service (nrcs) which enables US to deliver locally led conservation to arizona. Through stakeholder engagement that includes our statewide local work groups program, aacd s conserveaz portal, a unique, collaborative data platform that unifies multi-agency resource data for conservation planning developed with nrcs, and our robust technical team, which includes USDA certified technical serviceproviders (tsps) and BLM aim-certified range technicians, we have the ability and experience to continue supporting conservation practices and priorities that better support land management decisions regarding grazing and other range management treatments, soils management, and invasive species.activities to be performed include:statewide stakeholder outreach through local work groups (lwgs) via conservation districts.conservation planning utilizing the conserveaz portal and TSP certified planners to write plans.nepa and permit coordination.cultural resource surveys completed by AAA-certified archaeologists.pre- and post-treatment via standardized monitoring or BLM aim, using certified technical specialists.invasive species removal and fuels reduction, followed by biomass removal for renewable energy where applicable, to support grazing lands, soils management, and wildfire prevention.expected deliverables outcomes include:decreasing and or eliminating invasive plant species and limiting shrub encroachment within native forest, woodland, and riparian areas, and decreasing habitat fragmentation to support grazing lands.managing altered fire regimes and fuel loads to ensure the health and safety of public lands through hazardous fuels reduction.improving water quality and quantity through effective soils management.providing soils mapping ecological site descriptions for BLM, tying together with USFS and nrcs to complete a landscape scale data set for arizona.supporting multiple-use opportunities on BLM managed public lands while emphasizing BLM s multiple-use mandate through range management and soils management.continued strategic communication and community educational outreach.strengthening local, state, and national partnerships to manage and prevent the spread of invasive species to better support land management decisions regarding grazing and other range management treatments on public and private lands.supporting developing conservation plans.completing cultural resource surveys required to perform conservation work on AZ lands.intended beneficiaries are arizona s producers, permittees, and rural communities who rely on resilient rangelands and forest lands, as well as the general public, through improved ecosystem health, wildfire protection, healthy soils, and water quality and quantity.