Governor Taps Drought Relief Funds to Quench Parched Counties

Governor Mary Fallin has approved $300,000 in drought cost-share funds requested by the Emergency Drought Commission to help Tillman, Harmon, Jackson, Greer, and Texas counties as they suffer through an extreme-to-exceptional drought.

“I am pleased to approve funding for the conservation districts in the designated drought counties to provide assistance to our ag producers whose operations have been devastated over the past two and a half years by the severe drought,” said the Governor.

The Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC) worked with conservation districts in the five affected counties to determine the amount of cost-share funds needed by landowners and cooperators to provide water for livestock producers and restore pasture and rangeland. The Conservation Commission’s request was approved by the Emergency Drought Commission on November 8, 2013.

While the drought relief funds will be managed by OCC and conservation districts the same way as the statewide Conservation Cost-Share Program, the $1.3 million OCC approved for that program in September are separate from the drought relief funds, which will be used specifically for implementing drought relief measures in the five counties.