# Overview **of USDA –**  **NRCS Conservation Programs**  **Rob McAfee NRCS Chesapeake Bay Coordinator** **NRCS -**  **Born in response**  **to a National T ragedy** 

“Soil Conservation Act” of 1935 created Soil Conservation Service

# Who is NRCS Now?  **11,000 employ ees,**  **92% i**  **n county /field**  **offices**  **Most staff trained in soils, agronomy ,**  **range, engineering,**  **biologists (including**  **partners)**  **Private lands focus (70% o**  **f U.S.)**  **Voluntary p**  **rograms**  **Science based conservation**  **planning**

# Conservation **Operations**  

### Conservation Technical Assistance  

### Soil Survey  

### Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasts  

### Plant Material Centers  

### National Resources Inventory (NRI) and Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP)

# Conservation **Technical**

**Assistance CTA**  

### CTA is the help NRCS and its partners provide to land users to address opportunities, concerns, and problems related to the use of natural resources and to help land users make sound natural resource management decisions on private, tribal, and other non

- federal lands.  

### First 7 steps of planning process

## NRCS Farm Bill Program Delivery **Working Lands Programs**

• 

### Conservation **practices on ground –**  **cost -**  **share and planning**

# Environmental **Quality Incentives**

**Program (EQIP)**

• EQIPprovides technical and financial assistance to implement conservation practices that optimize environmental benefit while promoting agricultural production, forest management, and environmental quality as compatible goals **.**  FY 2010 Authorized $1,450,000,000

# EQIP National Priorities

• Reduction of nonpoint source pollution, such as nutrients, sediment, pesticides, or excess salinity in impaired watersheds • Conservation of ground and surface water resources • Reduction of emissions that contribute to air quality impairment • Reduction in soil erosion and sedimentation • Promotion of at - risk species habitat

# National **EQIP Initiatives and Statute Supported**  **Programs**  Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP)  EQIP Conservation Activity Plans (CAP)  Colorado River Basin Salinity Project  Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)  Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI)  Klamath Basin River Activities  Organic Program Initiative

# Agricultural **Water Enhancement**

**Program (AWEP)**  

### NRCS enters into partnership agreements with eligible entities and organizations that want to promote ground and surface water conservation or improve water quality on agricultural lands.  

### FY 2010 Authorized $73 million  

### Focus on water quantity and quality.  

### Leverage partner abilities

### Agricultural Water Enhancement Program

**(AWEP)** AWEP Priority Areas

Slide 11 • Eastern Snake Plains Aquifer

• Everglades

• Ogallala Aquifer

• Puget Sound

• Sacramento

• River Basin Red River

• Upper Mississippi River Basin

# Conservation **Innovation Grants** 

**(CIG)**

 Under CIG, EQIP funds are used to award competitive grants to non
- Federal governmental or non - governmental organizations, Tribes, or individuals.
 Accelerate technology transfer and adoption of promising technologies and approaches to address some of the Nation's most pressing natural resource concerns. 12

# CIG  

### National  

### Chesapeake and Mississippi River Basin  

### State Specific  

### FY 2010 $25 million available

13

# Cooperative **Conservation Partnership**  **Initiative (CCPI)**   

### The Farm Bill requires that 6 percent of the funds for EQIP and WHIP and 6 percent of the allowed acres for the CSP programs be reserved for support of producer contracts approved under this authority.

14

### Cooperative **Conservation Partnership**  **Initiative (CCPI)** 

Slide 15 CCPI is a voluntar y conser va tion initiati vethat enables the use of cer tain conser va tion prog rams (EQIP , WHIP , and CSP) along with resource of eligible par tners to provide financial and technical assistance to owners and operators of ag ricultural and nonindustrial pri

va te forest lands .

### Cooperative **Conservation Partnership**  **Initiative (CCPI)** 

Slide 16 An eligible entity ma

y apply for and be g ranted a CCPI project on behalf of a group of ag ricultural producers . An eligible entity ma y be a Federally

recognized T

ribe , State , unit of local g ove rnment, ag ricultural or silvicultural association, or other such g roup of ag ricultural producers .

### Agricultural **Management Assistance**  **(AMA)**

17 AMA provides financial assistance through long ter m contracts to ag ricultural producers on pri va te lands to:
• Constr uct or improvewater manag ement or ir rig ation str uctures
• Plant trees to for m windbreaks or to improvewater quality
• Mitig ate financial risks through the implementation of resource conser va tion practices including soil erosion control, integ rated pest manag ement or the transition to org anic far ming

### Agricultural **Management Assistance**  **(AMA)**
 AMA is available in 16 states:
 Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine  Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire  New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island  Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming

• FY 2010, apportionment $7.5 million

18

# Wildlife **Habitat Incentive**

**Program (WHIP)**  

### The purpose of WHIP is to help participants develop fish and wildlife habitat on private agricultural land, nonindustrial private forest land, and Tribal lands.  

### FY10 Authorized $85 million

19

# WHIP **National Priorities**  Promote the restoration of declining or important native fish and wildlife habitats.  Protect, restore, develop, or enhance fish and wildlife habitat to benefit at

- risk species.  Reduce the impacts of invasive species on fish and wildlife habitats.  Protect, restore, develop, or enhance declining or important aquatic wildlife species’ habitats.  Protect, restore, develop, or enhance important migration and other movement corridors for wildlife. Slide 20

## NRCS Farm Bill Program Delivery **Working Lands Programs**  Natural Resource Protection with Agricultural use retention (FRPP, GRP, HFRP)

# Farm and Ranch Land Protection

**Program (FRPP)**  

### FRPP: established to help farmers and ranchers keep their land in ag production.  

### Provides matching funds to State, Tribal, or local governments and nongovernmental organizations with existing farm and ranch land protection programs to purchase permanent conservation easements.

# FRPP
 

### Participating landowners agree to keep their land in ag uses and to develop and implement a conservation plan for any highly erodible land.  

### 2008 FB revised the program authority from purchasing conservation easements to facilitating the purchase of conservation

# FRPP
 

### NRCS has enrolled a total of 809,098 acres on 3,495 farms.  

### For every Federal dollar expended, cooperating entities and landowners contributed an additional $1.88

# Grassland Reserve Program
 

### Voluntary program that places an emphasis on supporting grazing operations, plant and animal biodiversity, and grassland and land containing shrubs or forbs under the greatest threat of conversion.  

### Provides financial assistance in the form of easement, rental contract, and cost - share payments for restoration.

# GRP
 

### 10, 15, 20 year rental contracts – and permanent easements through cooperative agreements with eligible entities  

### At the end of FY 2010 627,870 acres were enrolled toward the 1.22 million cap.  

### Priority given to acres coming out of CRP

# Healthy Forest Reserve Program

**(HFRP)**  

### HFRP: Purpose - to restore and enhance forest ecosystems to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered species, improve biodiversity, and enhance carbon sequestration.  

### Provides financial assistance in the form of easement, contract, and cost - share payments for specific conservation actions completed by the landowner.

# HFRP  

### Arkansas  

### Mississippi  

### Oklahoma  

### Maine  

### Oregon

### NRCS Farm Bill Program Delivery **Natural Resource**  **Protection &**  **Restoration Programs** 

• Easements and long - term contracts (WRP)

Before
After

## NRCS Farm Bill Program **Delivery Land**  **Stewardship (CSP)**   

### CSP encourages producers to address resource concerns in a comprehensive manner by:  Improving, maintaining, and managing existing conservation activities; and  Undertaking additional conservation activities

# NRCS Program Delivery **4. NR** **CS Landscape Initiati**  **ve s**  **FY2011 Pro**  **grams** Bay Delta various Chesapeake Ba

y W atershed Initiati

ve EQIP
- CCPI, WHIP
- CCPI Great Lakes R

estoration Initiati

ve EQIP , CT A, WHIP Illinois Ri ve r and Eucha
- Spa

vinaw Lake Initiati

ve EQIP Lesser Prairie Chic ken EQIP , WHIP Longleaf Pine Initiati

ve WHIP Mig rator y Bird Habitat Initiati ve EQIP , WRP , WHIP Mississippi Ri

ve r Basin Health

y W atershed Initiati

ve CCPI
- EQIP

, WHIP , CSP , WREP New England Forestr y Initiati ve WHIP Sage
- Grouse Initiati

ve EQIP , WHIP , WRP * Prog rams ma

y change

## NRCS **Landscape Initiatives**  **Chesapeake Bay Watershed** 

• Executive order directs USDA to “target resources to better protect the Bay and its rivers, particularly in agricultural conservation practices” • CBWI $34 million in F A obligated in FY2010

## NRCS Landscape **Initiatives** 

## Protecting **Sage Grouse** • Populations and habitat declining in 1 1 We stern states • Provide certainty to participants if sage grouse is ESA listed • Over $18 million in F

A obligated in FY10 (EQIP , WHIP)• Goal is to help 50 million birds coming down the Mississippi alluvial every year • 471,000 acres enrolled in FY2010 • $40 million (EQIP

, WHIP , WRP) 

## NRCS **Landscape Initiatives**  **Migratory Bird Habitat**

South central Louisiana lands before fl ooding After fl oodingBefore

After

– year 4 

## http://www

**.nrcs.usda.go v/pr**  **og rams/**