Upper Arkansas Soil Conservation District

Upper Arkansas Soil Conservation District is a U.S. local government entity that receives federal conservation grants as a prime recipient and participates in sub-recipient soil and rangeland conservation programs under Colorado Department of Agriculture cooperative agreements. The district has received three federal awards totaling $130 thousand across the past two years, operating exclusively as a grant recipient rather than a federal contractor.

The district's prime work centers on rangeland infrastructure improvements and maintenance. It holds a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, Region 2 Rocky Mountain Region, awarded September 7, 2023, with an ultimate completion date of August 30, 2033, focused on rangeland-related grant activities. As a sub-recipient, Upper Arkansas Soil Conservation District participates in two Colorado Department of Agriculture grants: a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) under the Saving Tomorrow's Agriculture Resources (STAR) Program awarded April 5, 2023, and a STAR Plus program grant awarded July 20, 2024. In both sub-recipient roles, the district assists agricultural producers in implementing best management practices (BMPs) for soil health and rangeland management, providing matching grants to producers to fund those practices.

Customer concentration is distributed across three Department of Agriculture divisions—the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region, the National Resources Conservation Service, and the Farm Service Agency Kansas City Commodity Office. Activity is sparse: two awards in 2023 and one in 2024. The district functions as a pass-through vehicle for federal conservation dollars directed to local agricultural producers rather than as a service provider or contractor competing on federal procurement vehicles; its role is conservation practice delivery and producer support in the Upper Arkansas region of Colorado.