Landowners Create Wildlife Habitat with Conservation Plants

Tom Helm recently created 350 acres of

grassland bird habitat on his property as part of the

Farm Billís Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program

(WHIP).

The Toston, Montana, seed grower knew the

projectís success depended on the type of grass he

planted. He chose ëTrailheadí basin wildrye,

selected and released

by the Natural

Resources

Conservation Service

(NRCS) Plant

Materials Program.

ìëTrailheadí is a

wonderful,

underutilized grass that

provides good habitat

for pheasants and

Hungarian partridges,î

Helm says.

Over the last three years alone, farmers and

ranchers planted over 3.2 million acres of Plant

Materials releases as part of Farm Bill cost-sharing.

These numbers are expected to rise in coming years.

ìThe 2002 Farm Bill represents the largest

investment in conservation on Americaís working

lands in history,î says NRCS Chief Bruce Knight.

ìThe use of conservation plants will be critical to

accomplishing the billís important mission.î

Greg Gould, landowner in Cascade County,

Montana, used three conservation plants for his

338-acre WHIP habitatóëTrailheadí along with

ëGarrisoní creeping foxtail

and ëLutanaí cicer milkvetch.

ìAssistance from the Plant

Materials Program regarding

varieties of grasses and

legumes to fit into upland and

sub-irrigated or flooded sites

was very beneficial,î he says.

The following plants are

examples of Plant Materials

species used in Farm Bill

programsósuch as the

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the

Environmental Quality Incentives Program

(EQIP)óto provide wildlife food, cover and nesting

habitat.

Montana grower Tom Helm

ëAztecí Maximilian sunflower

Native perennial for the central and

southern Great Plains. Good food

source for wildlife and livestock.

ëRimrockí Indian ricegrass

Native perennial for use in the Northern

Great Plains. Excellent for wildlife food

and cover and as a forage for livestock.

ëShelterí switchgrass

Native perennial for use in the eastern

U.S. to the Great Plains. ëShelterí

stands up to winter snowloads,

providing excellent spring nesting

habitat for game birds.

The NRCS Plant Materials Program eNewsletter for the conservation community

Visit us: http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov Subscribe to eNews: http://news-source.nrcs.usda.gov

Landowner Greg Gould
Creature Feature

Ring-necked Pheasant

Ring-necked pheasants are found in almost every state and use cropland

and areas of densely growing grasses and shrubs for food, cover and

nesting habitat. They eat mostly waste grains, seeds, plants and berries,

and depend on grassy cover often found in CRP, fencerows, roadsides,

ditch banks, shelterbelts, wetland edges and lightly grazed pastures for

nesting.

Pheasant habitat can be established through a mix of native grasses

such as switchgrass, big bluestem and indiangrass. These tall grasses have

rigid stems that tend to stand up in snow and native grasses require less

long-term maintenance.

Ask the Expert

Terry Conway, Plant Materials Specialist, Salina, Kansas

How can landowners enhance existing CRP stands for improved wildlife benefits?

NRCS offers producers an opportunity to improve their chances for

re-enrollment into CRP if they enhance existing stands with additional plant species for

diversity and subsequently better wildlife habitat. The NRCS Plant Materials Center in

Manhattan, Kansas, examined the effect of several seedbed preparation techniques and

seeding methods on the establishment of wildflower and legume species planted directly

into CRP stands. Results show the most successful method involves shallow disking or

burning early in the spring followed by drilling of the seed mixture.

For more info: http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/pubs/kspmstn240300.pdf

Contact: Terry Conway, terry.conway@ks.usda.gov.

Did You Know?

Did you know that Russian olive is now listed on the invasive species list in Colorado and

New Mexico? While it is still a popular shrub for windbreaks and shelterbelts in semi-arid and

saline environments, it also is very invasive in wet-saline and riparian areas, and has the ability

to displace native species.

For more info: http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/pubs/wapmctn470302.pdf.

Contact: Mark Stannard, Team Leader, Pullman, Washington Plant Materials Center, stannard@wsu.edu.

Quotable Quotes

ìThe only source of knowledge is experience.î óAlbert Einstein

The mission of the Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Materials Program is to develop, test and

transfer effective state-of-the-art plant science technology to meet customer and resource needs.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age,

disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require

alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDAís TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice

and TDD).To file a complaint of discrimination, write the USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW.

Washington, D.C., 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

 Visit us: http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov Subscribe to eNews: http://news-source.nrcs.usda.gov