**US Department of Agriculture Grant and Partnership Programs that could
potentially address Tamarisk Research and Control**

Program name: **[Wetlands Reserve Program]{.underline}**

**Agency**: Natural Resources Conservation Service

**Funding Methodology**: Within-State competition based upon
State-specific priorities. State Conservationists, with input from State
Technical Committees, develop ranking criteria based upon broad national
guidelines. Options are permanent easement, 30-year easement, and
restoration cost-share agreements.

**Match**: USDA pays 75% of restoration costs; landowner pays 25%

**Authorizing legislation**: Reauthorized in the Farm Security and
Reinvestment Act of 2002

**Eligible entities**: Landowners of non-Federal lands and Tribes

**Contact information**: Leslie Deavers, 720-1067,

**Program's purpose**: A voluntary program offering landowners the
opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property.
The goal is to achieve the greatest wetland functions and values, along
with optimum wildlife habitat, on every acre enrolled in the program. 

Program name: **[Conservation Reserve Program]{.underline}**

**Agency:** FSA administers CRP, while technical support functions are
provided by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); USDA's
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; State
forestry agencies; Local soil and water conservation districts; and
Private sector providers of technical assistance.

**Funding Methodology**: Provides annual payments for retirement of
environmentally sensitive croplands and cost share for establishing and
maintaining cover; restores herbaceous vegetatin for 10 years; restores
forested vegetation for 15 years.

**Match**: 50% of establishment costs plus annual payment based on soil
rental rate; funding limit of \$50,000 per accepted application per
fiscal year

**Authorizing legislation:** Food Security Act of 1985, as amended, and
regulations published in 7 CFR, part 1410.

**Eligible entities:** Individuals and/or groups who have owned highly
erodable or cropped wetlands and for at least one year\
**Contact information:** Robert Stephenson, Director, Conservation and
Environmental Programs Division (FSA), 202-720-6221,
<Robert.stephenson@usda.gov> ; [Malcolm
Henning](mailto:malcolm.henning@usda.gov), National Program Manager
(NRCS), 202-720-1872, <malcolm.henning@usda.gov>

**Program's Purpose:** The Conservation Reserve Program reduces soil
erosion, protects the Nation\'s ability to produce food and fiber,
reduces sedimentation in streams and lakes, improves water quality,
establishes wildlife habitat, and enhances forest and wetland resources.
It encourages farmers to convert highly erodible cropland or other
environmentally sensitive acreage to vegetative cover, such as tame or
native grasses, wildlife plantings, trees, filterstrips, or riparian
buffers. Farmers receive an annual rental payment for the term of the
multi-year contract. Cost sharing is provided to establish the
vegetative cover practices.

Program name: **[Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program]{.underline}**

**Agency**: Natural Resources Conservation Service

**Funding Methodology:** Within-State competition based upon
State-specific priorities. State Conservationists, with input from State
Technical Committees, develop ranking criteria based upon broad national
guidelines. WHIP agreements between NRCS and the participant generally
last from 5 to 10 years from the date the agreement is signed.

**Match**: Provides both technical assistance and up to 75 percent
cost-share assistance to establish and improve fish and wildlife
habitat.

**Authorizing legislation:** Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of
2002 reauthorized WHIP

**Eligible entities:** Private landowners**,** owners of Federal land
when the primary benefit is on private or tribal lands, owners of state
and local government land on a limited basis, owners of tribal land

**Contact information:** [Martha Joseph](mailto:martha.joseph@usda.gov),
202-720-7157, <Martha.joseph@usda.gov>

**Program's purpose:** A voluntary program for people who want to
develop and improve wildlife habitat primarily on private land.

Program name: **[Environmental Quality Incentives Program]{.underline}**

**Agency**: Natural Resources Conservation Service

**Funding Methodology:** Within-State competition based upon
State-specific priorities. State Conservationists, with input from State
Technical Committees, develop ranking criteria based upon broad national
guidelines.

**Match**: EQIP may cost-share up to 75 percent of the costs of certain
conservation practices. Limited resource producers and beginning farmers
and ranchers may be eligible for cost-shares up to 90 percent.

**Authorizing legislation:** Reauthorized in the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill of 2002)

**Eligible entities:** Persons who are engaged in livestock or
agricultural production on eligible land may participate in the EQIP
program.

**Contact information:** [Gary Kobylski](mailto:gary.kobylski@usda.gov),
Acting National EQIP Manager, 202-720-1840, <gary.kobylski@usda.gov>.

**Program purpose:** To provide a voluntary conservation program for
farmers and ranchers that promotes agricultural production and
environmental quality as compatible national goals. EQIP offers
financial and technical help to assist eligible participants install or
implement structural and management practices on eligible agricultural
land.

Program name: **[Emergency Conservation Program]{.underline}**

**Agency**: Farm Services Agency with technical assistance from NRCS.

**Funding Methodology**: Subject to availability of funds, county FSA
committees, with concurrence by the FSA state committee, are authorized
to implement ECP for eligible farmers for all disasters except drought.
When severe drought conditions exist, the determination to implement the
program will be made by the Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs
(DAFP), FSA.

**Match:** Cost-share levels up to 64 percent are set by county FSA
committees. Eligibility for ECP assistance is determined by county FSA
committees based on individual on-site inspections, taking into account
the type and extent of damage. Individual or cumulative requests for
cost-sharing of \$20,000 or less per person per disaster may be approved
by county FSA committees, and of \$20,001 to \$62,500 by state FSA
committees. Cost-sharing over \$62,500 must be approved by DAFP.
Technical assistance may be provided by the Natural Resources
Conservation Service.

**Authorizing legislation**: Agricultural Credit Act of 1978, Title IV,
Public Law 95-334, 16 U.S.C. 2201-2205, as amended

**Eligible entities**: Private lands, Indian lands, U.S. lands meeting
certain conditions.

**Contact information**: USDA/FSA/CEPD, Stop 0513, 1400 Independence
Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-0513. Telephone: (202) 720-6221

**Program's purpose**: Provides emergency funding for farmers and
ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by wind erosion, floods,
hurricanes, or other natural disasters, and for carrying out emergency
water conservation measures during periods of severe drought.

Program name: **[Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program]{.underline}**

**Agency**: Farm Services Agency with technical support from NRCS.

**Funding Methodology**: A specific CREP project begins when a state,
Indian tribe, local government, or local nongovernment entity identifies
an agriculture-related environmental issue of state or national
significance. These parties and FSA then develop a project proposal to
address particular environmental issues and goals. Enrollment in a state
is limited to specific geographic areas and practices. CREP contracts
require a 10- to 15-year commitment to keep lands out of agricultural
production. CREP provides payments to participants who offer eligible
land.

**Match**: A federal annual rental rate, including an FSA state
committee-determined maintenance incentive payment, is offered, plus
cost-share of up to 50 percent of the eligible costs to install the
practice. Further, the program generally offers a sign-up incentive for
participants to install specific practices

**Authorizing legislation**: U.S. Code TITLE 16, CHAPTER 58, SUBCHAPTER
IV, Part I, subpart b

**Eligible entities**: The program is a partnership among producers;
tribal, state, and federal governments; and, in some cases, private
groups. CREP addresses high-priority conservation issues of both local
and national significance, such as loss of critical habitat for
threatened and endangered wildlife species, soil erosion, and reduced
habitat for fish populations such as salmon. The land must have been
owned or operated by the applicant for the previous 12 months and must
have been planted in crops 2 of the last 5 years and be physically and
legally capable of being planted in a normal manner. 

**Contact information**: Any county Department of Agriculture Service
Center.

**Program's purpose**: CREP is a voluntary land retirement program that
helps agricultural producers protect environmentally sensitive land,
decrease erosion, restore wildlife habitat, and safeguard ground and
surface water. Unique state and federal partnerships allow one to
receive incentive payments for installing specific conservation
practices. Through the CREP, farmers can receive annual rental payments
and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource conserving
covers on eligible land.

Program name: **[Conservation Innovation Grants]{.underline}**

**Agency**: Natural Resources Conservation Service

**Funding Methodology**: Environmental Quality Incentives Program funds
are used to award competitive grants to non-Federal governmental or
non-governmental organizations, Tribes, or individuals. CIG enables NRCS
to work with other public and private entities to accelerate technology
transfer and adoption of promising technologies and approaches to
address some of the Nation\'s most pressing natural resource concerns.

**Match**: Selected applicants may receive grants up to 50 percent of
the total project cost.  Applicants must provide nonfederal matching
funds for at least 50 percent of the project cost.  An exception allows
for beginning and limited resource farmers and ranchers, tribes and
community-based organizations representing these groups to obtain a
higher percentage of project matching funds from in-kind contributions. 
The federal contribution may not exceed \$1 million for a single
project. 

**Authorizing legislation**: Authorized as part of the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program with an unspecified annual funding level from
FY 2003 thru FY 2007.

**Eligible entities**: Environmental Quality Incentives Program funds
are used to award competitive grants to non-Federal governmental or
non-governmental organizations, Tribes, or individuals. Project must
include participation of producers eligible under the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program. Projects may be watershed based, regional,
multi-state, or nation-wide in scope.

**Contact information**: Carl Lucero, Natural Resources Specialist,
301-504-2222, email: <cig@usda.gov>

**Program's purpose**: Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) is a
voluntary program intended to stimulate the development and adoption of
innovative conservation approaches and technologies while leveraging
Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection, in
conjunction with agricultural production. CIG enables NRCS to work with
other public and private entities to accelerate technology transfer and
adoption of promising technologies and approaches to address some of the
Nation\'s most pressing natural resource concerns.

Program name: **[Grassland Reserve Program]{.underline}**

**Agency**: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Services
Agency, and Forest Service are coordinating this program.

**Funding Methodology**: Applications will be rated based on ranking and
selection criteria developed in the states following broad national
guidelines. USDA proposes that land eligibility criteria should focus on
preserving the nation's most critical grassland resources, the native
and natural grasslands and shrublands.

**Match**: Participants may choose a 10, 15, 20, or 30 year contract
with USDA providing annual payments of not more than 75% of the grazing
value of the land covered by the agreement for the length of the
agreement.

**Authorizing legislation**: Section 2401 of the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-171) amended the Food Security Act
of 1985 to authorize this program.

**Eligible entities**: Offers for enrollment must contain at least 40
contiguous acres unless special circumstances, as determined by the NRCS
State Conservationist, exist that allow accepting a smaller acreage.

**Contact information**: NRCS -- Floyd Wood, 202-720-0242, email:
<floyd.wood@usda.gov> FSA -- Jim Williams, 202-720-9562, email:
<jim.williams@wdc.usda.gov> .

**Program's purpose**: GRP helps landowners restore and protect
grassland, rangeland, pastureland, shrubland and certain other lands and
provides assistance for rehabilitating grasslands.

Program name: **[Conservation Technical Assistance]{.underline}**

**Agency**: Natural Resources Conservation Service

**Funding Methodology**: Eligible participants contact their local
USDA-NRCS office to request assistance. Assistance is provided to land
users voluntarily applying conservation and to those who must comply
with local or State laws and regulations.

**Match**: Not applicable.

**Authorizing legislation**: NRCS and CTA established by Department of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6962) which combined
the authorities of the former Soil Conservation Service (Soil
Conservation Act of 1935) with seven cost-share programs for natural
resource conservation.

**Eligible entities**: This program provides technical assistance to
participants in USDA cost-share and conservation incentive programs.
(Assistance is funded on a reimbursable basis from the Commodity Credit
Corporation.) Private land users, communities, units of state and local
government, and other federal agencies are eligible recipients.

**Contact information**: [Walley Turner](mailto:walley.turner@usda.gov),
National Program Manager, 202-720-1875, email: walley.turner@usda.gov

**Program's purpose**: The Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA)
program provides voluntary conservation technical assistance to
land-users, communities, units of state and local government, and other
Federal agencies in planning and implementing conservation systems. This
assistance is for planning and implementing conservation practices that
address natural resource issues. It helps people voluntarily conserve,
improve and sustain natural resources. Technical assistance is for
planning and implementing natural resource solutions to reduce erosion,
improve soil health, improve water quantity and quality, improve and
conserve wetlands, enhance fish and wildlife habitat, improve air
quality, improve pasture and range health, reduce upstream flooding,
improve woodlands, and address other natural resource issues. The CTA
program supports the National Resources Inventory (NRI). The NRI is a
statistically based survey to assess conditions and trends of soil,
water, and related resources on non-Federal lands in the United States.

Program name: **[Plant Materials Program]{.underline}**

**Agency**: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

**Funding Methodology**: NRCS field offices receive technical
information and transfer it to end users (e.g., farmers and ranchers).

**Match**: Not applicable.

**Authorizing legislation**: The program operates under the basic
authority of P.L. 74-46, Apr, 27, 1935, Ch., 85, Sec. 1, 49 Stat. 163,
16 U.S.C. 590 \[a-f\]. Other authorities include: 7 CFR Part 613, P.L.
95-192, P.L. 74-210 (7 U.S.C. 1010-1011), and 7 U.S.C. 6962

**Eligible entities**: It is limited to conservation cooperators\'
properties in conjunction with conservation districts, State
Agricultural Experiment Stations, State Crop Improvement Associations
and other federal and state agencies. Plants or seed are not provided to
the general public, and the public is not eligible to participate in the
program.

**Contact information**: Robert Escheman, National Plant Materials
Specialist, 609-561-3223 X20, email: <Robert.escheman@usda.gov>.

**Program's purpose**: Technical assistance through plant science
technology to NRCS field offices for transfer to end users (e.g.,
landowners and land managers). The program functions in this capacity by
providing vegetative solutions for natural resource problems. It
develops plant releases (i.e., materials) and information technology on
how to establish and manage plant species. The program emphasizes field
testing to determine a plant\'s value and restoration techniques. It is
limited to conservation cooperators\' properties in conjunction with
conservation districts, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, State
Crop Improvement Associations and other federal and state agencies.
Plants or seed are not provided to the general public, and the public is
not eligible to participate in the program.