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Status of USDA Programs
Affecting Walnut Council Members
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
A USDA-FSA program. Local details available from county USDA Service
Center or state FSA website. A new Concentrated Signup is likely in April
but has not yet been officially announced. In December 2003, a new
forestry practice was added to the Continuous Signup, CP31, Bottomland Timber
Establishment on Wetlands. Purposes of the practice include improvement of
water quality, wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration and wetland restoration.
Differences between CP31 and CP22, Riparian Buffer, include no incentive
payments (SIP and PIP) for CP31, and eligibility for CP31 of all lands in the
100 year floodplain, as long as at least 50% of soils are considered hydric.
It is expected that CP31 will be used to fill in floodplain areas behind CP22
acreages and fields that are levied. There is a national cap of 500,000
acres for this practice, but IL and MO lead the nation with 75,000 acres each,
followed by IA with 68,000, while other states are allocated much less, such as
MI with 4,000 acres. NRCS and Technical Service Providers (TSPs) have
technical responsibility for CP31.
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
(CREP)
A USDA-FSA program. Local details
available from county USDA Service Center or state FSA website. Several
states now have CREP areas and each is administered differently. Contact
your state DNR or Conservation agency. In IL DNR has said that state
funding will be provided for the IL River CREP in calendar year 2004, but no
date has been announced.
Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Program
(WHIP)
An NRCS program. Local details
available from county USDA Service Centers or state NRCS websites. Once
again well-funded at the national level in the Fiscal Year 2004 budget.
Approved practices vary from state-to-state but usually include Forest Stand
Improvement, Tree/Shrub Establishment, and Fencing for livestock exclusion.
Black walnut or other mast producing hardwoods are usually important parts of a
forestland wildlife habitat plant, which is required for enrollment in WHIP.
Cost-share is 75% and not-to-exceed rates are generous. There are no
rental payments and contracts are for 5-15 years.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
(EQIP)
An NRCS program. Local details
available from county USDA Service Centers or state NRCS websites.
Well-funded in FY2004. Program administration varies from state to state,
but about half of funds are earmarked for livestock concerns. Remaining
funds usually are allocated based on ranking criteria that is often aimed at
improving water quality, reducing soil erosion and improving wildlife habitat.
Forest health is sometimes an additional resource concern. Often
cost-share is available for Tree/Shrub Establishment and Forest Stand
Improvement.
Wetland Reserve Program
An NRCS program. Local details
available from county USDA Service Centers or state NRCS websites.
Well-funded in in FY2004. A wetland restoration/conservation easement
program, offering easement contracts of 15 years, 30 years and permanent
easements. Up to 100% cost-share is available for certain contracts.
Since most bottomlands will be restored, at least in part, to hardwoods, there
is plenty of opportunity for tree planting. Some restrictions on future
timber harvest, but special use permits can be obtained to manage for timber.
Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP)
Funding from the USFS, administered by the
states and therefore FLEP varies considerably from state to state. Contact
state DNR office or website for state FLEP Priority Plan. Promises of a
$100 million 5-year national program were dashed by a decision to pay for the
costs of the 2003 wildfires with $50 million of FLEP funds. Only $10
million is expected to be repaid to FLEP. In addition, the 2005 Bush
administration budget calls for canceling the remaining $40 million of FLEP
funds. The only good news is that Fiscal Year 2003 FLEP funds were
allocated, states have received these funds and have begun to make them
available for cost-share and educational projects. Eleven FLEP practices
are available nationally with each state free to choose which practices to
offer. Each state also sets standards for how practices will be installed
and rates for cost-share.
Conservation Security Program (CSP)
An NRCS program. Local details
available from county USDA Service Centers or state NRCS websites. Rules
still being made final, but apparently a limited roll-out will occur this year.
Only certain as yet undetermined priority watersheds in certain states will
participate in FY2004. CSP is intended to reward producers for installing
and maintaining certain conservation practices, including buffers such as
windbreaks and riparian forest buffers. Existing forest lands are only
eligible if they are included in a conservation plan that has been developed for
agricultural or livestock operation. Funding was intended to be generous
and $3.77 billion was authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill over a 10 year period, an
average of $377 million per year. 2004 funding, however, has been capped
at $41 million. Subsequent years may be better funded. Three tiers
of participation have been established, with increasing commitment to addressing
water quality and soil quality resource concerns.
Technical Service Providers (TSPs)
The 2002 Farm Bill includes language to
increase the use of the private sector for delivering Farm Bill programs.
A website, TechReg, http://techreg.usda.gov
has been established to allow for registration, certification, and listing of
potential TSPs to help deliver and implement Farm Bill programs. TechReg
also provides landowners a list of potential contractors to install practices
that are cost-shared through Farm Bill programs.
Walnut Council Board Meeting
March 5, 2004
Federal Representative Report
Tom Ward, USDA-NRCS Agroforester, Champaign, IL
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