Annual Report 2002

Land, Water, People

Photo by Pat Hoeffken

acres of agricultural land. Restoration activities included 

completion of restoration plans to restore these properties 

plus an additional 985 acres (nine tracts) of easements held 

over from fiscal year 2001. Of these obligated restoration 

funds, approximately $134,000 were expended in fiscal year 

2002. 

As of fiscal year 2002, approximately 4,166 perpetual 

easement acres have been purchased in Emergency Watershed Protection-Floodplain Easement Program for Arkansas.

Buffers in Arkansas

USDA is carrying out the National Buffer Initiative to 

increase the awareness, acceptance, and use of buffer practices by landowners.

The national goal of two million miles, resulted in Arkansas assisting with installation of 2,657 acres of buffers 

through 2002.

Plant Materials

The Booneville Plant Materials Center serves parts of 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Arkansas Conservation Partnership (ACP) prohibit discrimination in 

all programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual 

orientation, or 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 USDA’s 

TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

Photo by Creston Shrum

Photo by Creston Shrum Photo by Creston Shrum

Photo by Creston Shrum

Printed on recycled paper.

Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. It is part of a national 

network of plant material centers, providing vegetative solutions to conservation problems.

The Booneville Plant Materials Center works with other 

agencies and groups to develop and demonstrate vegetative 

establishment methods. These plantings may consist of a 

few plants to larger area plantings.

Two of the many projects at the center include the the 

evaluation of switchgrass for biomass energy production in 

cooperation with the Department of Energy and Oklahoma 

State University; and the establishment of native grass species into a fescue sod using eight establishment methods.

The center is open to group tours and the staff is available 

for oral or poster presentations on native grass establishment and management for conservation meetings and groups 

interested in these plant materials for conservation purposes. 

To schedule a tour or presentation, call (479) 675-5182.

Cost-Share Programs

NRCS provides technical assistance for all 2002 Farm Bill 

programs.

In addition, many state agencies and non-profit organizations look to NRCS’ technical assistance for support of their 

conservation cost-share programs.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program

During 2002, more than 3,915 landowners applied for 

$24,527,000 in funds for statewide resource-concern areas. 

Program-funding levels limited funding to 1,127 applicants, 

who received a total of $6,837,000 in funding.

Approximately 1,168 clients were provided assistance 

associated with the Environmental Quality Incentives Program in fiscal year 2002, in addition to financial assistance.

Wetlands Reserve Program

During 2002, Arkansas funded and contracted 21 WRP 

easements on 22,000 acres, totaling $20,998,200.

Interest in WRP increased applicants to 320 with a project 

cost of $92 million.

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program

During 2002, $425,002 was approved to carry out 84 

WHIP contracts involving 18,679 acres. These, in addition 

to previous years’ accomplishments, total 387 contracts on 

70,536 acres in Arkansas.

To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 

326W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or 

call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Technician Dale Goff, a technician at the Booneville Plant 

Materials Center, plants a willow cutting to be studied 

for regional adaptability and ultimately used in stream 

bank erosion control.

Photo by Lance Tharel
Introduction

More than 250 NRCS employees serve all 75 Arkansas 

counties from 62 field service centers throughout the state.

NRCS offices are led by district conservationists, with 

NRCS and partner staff members of agronomists, biologists, foresters, resource and soil conservationists, engineers, 

soil scientists, soil conservation and engineering technicians, 

water management specialists and administrative support 

specialists. These employees work with private landowners 

to preserve and maintain the natural resources of Arkansas.

Earth Team

Through an emphasis on recruiting NRCS Earth Team volunteers, 76 percent of the state’s field service centers use volunteers. In FY 2002, 845 volunteers donated 18,654 hours to 

help NRCS accomplish the successes outlined in this report.

Volunteers are an invaluable asset to the NRCS. Their contributions, which range from clerical services to conservation education to field surveying, are central to the success 

we enjoy in the Natural State.

Small Watershed Program

NRCS uses the Small Watershed Program to reduce flooding problems; develop erosion control and run-off management plans; help landowners control erosion; improve water 

quality; and conserve irrigation water.

During 2002, NRCS provided $773,000 in financial assistance to develop 14 new long-term contracts in the Little Red 

River and Buffalo River tributaries watershed projects.

Soil Surveys

Modern soil surveys are available for 68 of the 75 counties 

in Arkansas. Digital soil maps are available for 27 counties 

and will be available for 10 additional counties by the end of 

2003.

Plans are also being developed to make revised and 

updated soil surveys available on CD-ROM.

Grazing Lands

Grazing lands technical assistance addresses one of Arkansas’ important resources. NRCS has four full-time grazing 

lands specialists on staff and another 56 employees who 

spend more than half of their time working on grassland 

projects.

Partnerships are very important tools used to promote 

grassland activities. The Arkansas Grazing Lands Advisory 

Committee was formed to provide leadership and direction to 

the grazing lands programs. AGLAC’s membership includes 

the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts, Arkansas Forage and Grassland Council, Cattlemen’s Association 

and Farm Bureau.

In 2002, AGLAC, in cooperation with NRCS and the 

Cooperative Extension Service, conducted 49 workshops 

around the state. More than 800 landowners and ranchers 

attended the workshops.

Resource Conservation & Development

NRCS worked with the seven RC&D councils to increase 

and expand funding for rural development programs.

Arkansas, being predominately a rural state, relies on volunteer fire departments for residential fire protection.

Approximately 700 volunteer fire departments from across 

the state are participating in the Rural Fire Protection Program and have a master fire plan. More than $4.4 million has 

been distributed across the state and approximately 400 fire 

department leaders have attended education classes.

Current insurance premium savings are estimated at more 

than $25.5 million annually.

Emergency Watershed Protection

The Emergency Watershed Protection - Floodplain Easement Program goal is to reduce the recurring cost of flood 

damage in areas prone to flooding while restoring or protecting fish and wildlife habitat, especially wetland habitat, and 

the species that use these habitats such as migratory waterfowl and songbirds.

Approximately $2,216,000 dollars were expended in fiscal 

year 2002 to purchase Emergency Watershed Protection 

floodplain easements on five tracts of land totaling 3,181 

Kalven L. Trice

State Conservationist

Whoever said the grass isn’t always 

green on the other side of the fence, 

hasn’t visited the John Spain farm in 

Northwest Arkansas.

Over the past 18 years, the Spains 

have converted their property into a 

well-defined, well-managed rotational 

grazing program, resulting in a 100 percent increase in production. When they 

changed to the management intensive 

grazing program, they saw another 91 

percent increase in production.

“We decreased our acreage under 

the rotational grazing program to 300 

acres, but were still able to maintain 

130 cows. The new grazing program 

increased cow size and allowed us to 

sell some hay,” Spain said.

When their feed bill steadily climbed 

as their production climbed, the Spains 

decided to switch to managed intensive 

grazing. Before the change their grain 

expenses exceeded $20,000 a year.

“We started small and cheap,” Spain 

said. “We converted a 24-acre pasture 

into four, six-acre paddocks, using the 

least expensive wire and posts we could 

find. I had 65 cows in each herd, so the 

six-acre paddocks gave me a stock density of 11 pairs per acre.”

Now the Spains run 65 fall calving 

cows and calves, 55 spring calving cows 

with calves, 47 yearlings and 52 “salebarn type” cows on 219 acres of forage. 

One hundred fifteen acres of this is 

Bermuda, clover and annual ryegrass, 

divided into 19 separate paddocks and 

over seeded each fall with rye.

“I provide the cows with approximately three days of grazing per paddock and make a complete rotation 

over all paddocks every 28 days,” he 

said. “The cows enjoy moving to new 

forage every few days and since the 

cows are confined to smaller areas, it 

makes it easier to check on them. Now 

my pastures always look like a golf 

course.

“The willingness to practice flexibility not only helped us get where we are 

today, but it will take us where we’re 

going tomorrow,” Spain said.

John Spain’s cattle benefit from his grazing program.

Conservation of Private Grazing Lands

Jeff Mays, a volunteer fireman in Marshall, connects a 

hose to a hydrant to fill the department’s tanker truck 

purchased with a $12,000 grant from RC&D.

Photo by Pat Hoeffken

Photo by Creston Shrum

The signing of the 2002 Farm Bill represents the single 

largest investment in private lands conservation in our 

nation’s history - $13 billion during the next six years. 

The farm bill provides a great deal of flexibility for Arkansas’ farmers and ranchers, and increases funding in programs to offer more farmers and ranchers more options 

for addressing their natural resource challenges.

While the Natural Resources Conservation Service is 

still in the process of finalizing rules for several programs, 

we have accomplished much in Arkansas to be proud of.

The efforts of each employee, partner and volunteer provided our customers with more than $6.8 million in Environmental Quality Incentives Program cost-share funding; 

$425,000 in Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program funding; 

approximately $21 million in Wetlands Reserve Program 

funding; and more than $2.2 million for Emergency Watershed Protection Program floodplain easement purchases.

Through this new farm bill, we are being encouraged 

to look beyond individual programs and focus on overall 

conservation goals. Farm bill programs offer voluntary 

solutions for helping landowners in Arkansas comply with 

the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air 

Act, and other regulations. The farm bill also greatly 

enhances the ability of operators to protect wetlands, water 

quality, and wildlife habitat in ways that go beyond regulatory requirements.

One feature of the 2002 Farm Bill we are currently 

working on is the implementation of outside services 

(technical service providers) to assist in the delivery of 

conservation.

In creating the technical service provider process, we 

are actually creating a whole new industry of conservation service providers in Arkansas. Our customers will 

have the option to hire the technical service provider they 

choose to accomplish the work the new farm bill provides 

so much funding for.

The new farm bill, along with being the single greatest 

commitment of resources to conservation on private land, 

poses a big job now for the employees, partners and volunteers of the Natural Resources Conservation Service 

in Arkansas. We all need to work together to conserve, 

maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment - and, at the same time, maintain and improve the 

profitability of our agricultural operations.

One way each employee can help make the farm bill 

work is to continue making producers aware of all the 

assistance available to them. I hope you will use all the 

methods at your disposal to keep producers informed of 

how they can benefit from the 2002 Farm Bill.

The new farm bill gives us the opportunity to take conservation assistance to a whole new level, while remembering the cornerstone of our work is local leadership. 

I know locally-led conservation is the only conservation 

that works. That is why we will continue to work with 

our partners and with local people to help every private 

landowner in Arkansas achieve his or 

her conservation goals.