#  PRESS RELEASE![](media/image1.jpeg){width="0.9in" height="0.6284722222222222in"}![](media/image2.jpeg){width="1.3402777777777777in" height="0.9055555555555556in"}

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

> FARM SERVICE AGENCY
>
> Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

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**New Wildlife CRP Program Starts in Washington**

Spokane, WA, (July 1 , 2008) -- Washington farmers have a new
opportunity this year to enroll acreage in the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's popular Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) through an
initiative that focuses specifically on wildlife -- State Acres For
Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE). Farmers and ranchers may enroll in the
program at Farm Service Agency offices beginning immediately.

USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) has teamed with the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), the Colville Confederated Tribes
and other groups and agencies across the country, to address high
priority wildlife habitat needs through the new program. The program
targets four habitat types in Washington state: Roosevelt Elk on the
Olympic Peninsula; shrub-steppe in parts of Grant, Lincoln and Okanogan
counties; Palouse Prairie in Whitman County, and field edges along
irrigated cropland in Adams, Franklin and Grant counties. The goal is to
restore or enhance 8,200 acres in Washington state.

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\"About 75 percent of land in Washington is privately owned. It is
imperative we encourage private landowners to create and maintain
wildlife habitat,\" said FSA State Executive Director Jack Silzel. \"The
SAFE program provides that incentive.\"

"The benefits to wildlife from CRP acreage are well documented for sage
grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, waterfowl, pheasants and other species,"
said Dr. Jeff Koenings, director of the Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife (WDFW). "This new initiative allows us to target assistance
to landowners for specific types of wildlife conservation on Washington
farms to help ensure those benefits continue."

Koenings applauded the Farm Service Agency and all of the many public
and private partners involved in the SAFE initiative, including the
Natural Resources Conservation Service, conservation districts,
Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and
Intermountain West Joint Venture.

"We recognize that the kinds of projects involved will be more complex
and difficult to establish than traditional CRP projects," he said, "so
we especially appreciate the willingness of the Farm Service Agency to
work with us for the best wildlife habitat possible."

Cooperating landowners receive habitat establishment and maintenance
cost-share, incentive, and rental payments in return for contracts to
provide specific elements of wildlife habitat.

Producers can submit offers to voluntarily enroll acres in CRP-SAFE
contracts for 10-15 years with USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation.
Enrollment for SAFE is non-competitive and producers may sign-up at any
time. An end date has not been established for enrollment.

Land must have a cropping history necessary for eligibility. It must
also be located within one of the four designated SAFE project areas.

The Eastern Washington Shrub-Steppe SAFE targets up to 5,200 acres in
the Crab Creek drainage in Lincoln, Grant, and Adams counties, the
southwest portion of the Colville Indian Reservation in Okanogan County,
and the South Moses Coulee in Grant County. Enrolled acreage will
provide habitat for shrub-steppe dependent species that have declined
because of ongoing habitat loss and fragmentation throughout the West.

The Palouse Prairie SAFE will enroll up to 2,000 acres primarily in
northern and eastern Whitman County to improve and increase habitat for
a variety of wildlife species by re-establishing diverse stands of
grasses, forbs and shrubs. Converting cropland to fields and corridors
of permanent

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native plant communities will benefit species such as the grasshopper
sparrow, savannah sparrow and long-billed curlew. It will also benefit
native pollinators, game animals and help preserve rare plants.

The Columbia Basin SAFE aims for enrolling up to 500 acres within
portions of several designated irrigation blocks in Grant, Adams and
Franklin counties to benefit wildlife associated with agriculture, such
as ring-necked pheasant, California quail, burrowing owl and Washington
ground squirrel.

The Coastal Roosevelt Elk SAFE targets up to 500 acres of high quality
elk winter forage fields in river bottoms and floodplain areas in
portions of Grays Harbor, Pacific, Clallam and Mason counties. Olympic
elk herds have been declining from both increased mortality and
decreased productivity due to loss of habitat quantity and quality
according to WDFW.

Farmers in any of the four areas can find more information about SAFE at
their local Farm Service Agency or from their local Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist or at
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/safe08.pdf.

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