The program, as it was crafted, was flexible enough to apply to grassland or riparian corridor or whatever was deemed environmentally sensitive. Flexibility in local application seems consistent with the concept of locally-led conservation which a current goal. However, I agree with Dave Risely in that easement purchase to secure carbon sequestration benefits associated with conservation tillage would be very costly. It would be necessary to pay a lot of producers who are already committed to do it in order to reach those that don't. WRP has proven that many landowners like and will use voluntary easement programs.
Landowners are stacked-up to enroll land as soon as funding is available.
I also agree with Barbara in regard to the proposed Conservation Security Program. There is very real potential in the conversion of transition payments and other subsidies to compensation for the conservation landowners actually provide. This kind of payment would have the effect of encouraging landowners to provide holistic conservation as a product of their land. We have also discussed the need for some type of prairie dog incentive payment program. With the decline and potential listing of black-tailed prairie dogs, some type of USDA program payment would go a long way to help manage the species at a relatively inexpensive cost.