CRP Re-Enrollment and Extension Process Begins
This week, USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices began notifying selected Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants with expiring contracts in 2007 if they are eligible for re-enrollments or two- to five-year extensions. FSA is using the Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) to determine eligibility for CRP re-enrollments or extensions. The EBI assigns points based on the land's expected benefit to water quality, erosion, enduring benefits, air quality and wildlife habitat, as well as for being in a national conservation priority area.
FSA ranked individual contracts into one of five tiers based on the environmental benefits of the original EBI score. Eligible participants ranking in the first tier (between 81-100 percent) of the EBI will have the opportunity to re-enroll their land in new contracts for 10 years. Farmers and ranchers with wetlands in this top tier ranking are eligible for a 15-year contract.
Eligible participants ranking in the second tier (between 61-80 percent) may extend their CRP contracts for five years. Eligible participants ranking within the third tier (between 41-60 percent) may extend their CRP contracts by four years. Eligible participants ranking in the fourth tier (between 21-40 percent) may receive three-year extensions. Eligible participants ranking in the bottom tier may extend their contracts by two years.
The USDA also announced that a general CRP sign-up will be held this spring. Farmers and ranchers will be able to make offers for CRP's competitive general sign-up from March 27, 2006, through April 14, 2006, at their local FSA offices.
PLJV Launches Playa Country Radio Show
Tune in to the High Plains Public Radio network every Monday morning at 10:30 and Saturday morning at 11:15 for an earful of wildlife conservation news and information from the PLJV. Playa Country is a new radio program produced by the PLJV and Boy/Girl Audio and aired twice weekly on HPPR stations throughout the PLJV's conservation region.
Colorado Habitat Stamp Raises Funds for Wildlife
The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) recently announced the availability of the new Colorado Wildlife Habitat Stamp which will help raise money to protect the state's wildlife habitat.
Hunters and anglers will be required to purchase a $5 stamp for the first two licenses they purchase within a calendar year, up to a maximum of $10 a year. Users of state wildlife areas without hunting or fishing licenses will be required to purchase a $10 stamp to enter the properties. The CDOW anticipates that the program will raise $2.3 million for wildlife habitat in 2006.
Until 2010, 60 percent of the money collected will be spent on big game winter range and big game migration corridors. The remaining money will be used on other habitat types critical to animal species in Colorado, including wetlands, riparian, shortgrass prairie and forest land projects. Stamps can be purchased wherever hunting or fishing licenses are sold, as well as from the CDOW's web site and by phone at (800) 244-5613 (licenses will not be available for purchase at State Wildlife Areas).
Happenings Around the PLJV:
> Feb. 8: Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance Annual Meeting, Woodward, OK; contact Trapper Heglin
> Feb. 11: 17th Annual Southern Great Plains Conference hosted by the Ogallala Commons, Nazareth, TX; contact Darryl Birkenfeld
> Feb. 14: South Platte Focus Area Committee meeting, Brush, CO; contact Kirstie Bay
> Feb. 14, 16 & 17: CP23a community leader and landowner meetings in western Kansas. Contact the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams for more information.
> Feb 17-20: Great Backyard Bird Count
> Feb. 22-23: North American Waterfowl Management Plan Assessment Steering Committee and Joint Task Group meeting, Denver, CO
> Feb 24 - 16: Snow Goose Festival and Colorado Birding Trail meeting, Lamar, CO; contact John Koshak
> Feb 27 - March 3: Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group meeting, Boulder, CO; contact Rick Lanctot or Brad Andres
> March 5-10: Central Flyway Technical Committee meeting, Ft. Collins, CO
> March 7: Playa exhibit opens at Sternberg Museum in Hays, KS
> March 15 - 17: Partners in Flight Western Working Group meeting, Missoula, MT
> March 16-19: 2006 Rivers and Wildlife Celebration, Kearney, NE
> April 7-9: New Mexico's 5th Annual High Plains Prairie-Chicken Festival, Milnesand, NM; contact Dawn Davis
Playa Post ©2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Playa Lakes Joint Venture. Submission deadlines are the 15th of each month for publication the following month. Send press releases, comments and subscription inquiries to Debbie F. Slobe.
This week, USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices began notifying selected Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants with expiring contracts in 2007 if they are eligible for re-enrollments or two- to five-year extensions. FSA is using the Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) to determine eligibility for CRP re-enrollments or extensions. The EBI assigns points based on the land's expected benefit to water quality, erosion, enduring benefits, air quality and wildlife habitat, as well as for being in a national conservation priority area.
FSA ranked individual contracts into one of five tiers based on the environmental benefits of the original EBI score. Eligible participants ranking in the first tier (between 81-100 percent) of the EBI will have the opportunity to re-enroll their land in new contracts for 10 years. Farmers and ranchers with wetlands in this top tier ranking are eligible for a 15-year contract.
Eligible participants ranking in the second tier (between 61-80 percent) may extend their CRP contracts for five years. Eligible participants ranking within the third tier (between 41-60 percent) may extend their CRP contracts by four years. Eligible participants ranking in the fourth tier (between 21-40 percent) may receive three-year extensions. Eligible participants ranking in the bottom tier may extend their contracts by two years.
The USDA also announced that a general CRP sign-up will be held this spring. Farmers and ranchers will be able to make offers for CRP's competitive general sign-up from March 27, 2006, through April 14, 2006, at their local FSA offices.
PLJV Launches Playa Country Radio Show
Tune in to the High Plains Public Radio network every Monday morning at 10:30 and Saturday morning at 11:15 for an earful of wildlife conservation news and information from the PLJV. Playa Country is a new radio program produced by the PLJV and Boy/Girl Audio and aired twice weekly on HPPR stations throughout the PLJV's conservation region.
Each show is 4.5 minutes long and features people, partnerships and programs that are making a difference in the conservation of wildlife habitat in the playa lakes region, and includes interviews with resource managers, biologists, local community leaders and private landowners. Archives of each show can be found on the HPPR website.
The series began airing Monday January 2, and programs have been pre-produced through March 31. The PLJV is currently seeking story ideas from partners for the second quarter of programming which will air April 1- June 30. Please submit story ideas to PLJV Communications Team Leader Debbie Slobe.
Colorado Habitat Stamp Raises Funds for Wildlife
The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) recently announced the availability of the new Colorado Wildlife Habitat Stamp which will help raise money to protect the state's wildlife habitat.
Hunters and anglers will be required to purchase a $5 stamp for the first two licenses they purchase within a calendar year, up to a maximum of $10 a year. Users of state wildlife areas without hunting or fishing licenses will be required to purchase a $10 stamp to enter the properties. The CDOW anticipates that the program will raise $2.3 million for wildlife habitat in 2006.
Until 2010, 60 percent of the money collected will be spent on big game winter range and big game migration corridors. The remaining money will be used on other habitat types critical to animal species in Colorado, including wetlands, riparian, shortgrass prairie and forest land projects. Stamps can be purchased wherever hunting or fishing licenses are sold, as well as from the CDOW's web site and by phone at (800) 244-5613 (licenses will not be available for purchase at State Wildlife Areas).
Happenings Around the PLJV:
> Feb. 8: Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance Annual Meeting, Woodward, OK; contact Trapper Heglin
> Feb. 11: 17th Annual Southern Great Plains Conference hosted by the Ogallala Commons, Nazareth, TX; contact Darryl Birkenfeld
> Feb. 14: South Platte Focus Area Committee meeting, Brush, CO; contact Kirstie Bay
> Feb. 14, 16 & 17: CP23a community leader and landowner meetings in western Kansas. Contact the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams for more information.
> Feb 17-20: Great Backyard Bird Count
> Feb. 22-23: North American Waterfowl Management Plan Assessment Steering Committee and Joint Task Group meeting, Denver, CO
> Feb 24 - 16: Snow Goose Festival and Colorado Birding Trail meeting, Lamar, CO; contact John Koshak
> Feb 27 - March 3: Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group meeting, Boulder, CO; contact Rick Lanctot or Brad Andres
> March 5-10: Central Flyway Technical Committee meeting, Ft. Collins, CO
> March 7: Playa exhibit opens at Sternberg Museum in Hays, KS
> March 15 - 17: Partners in Flight Western Working Group meeting, Missoula, MT
> March 16-19: 2006 Rivers and Wildlife Celebration, Kearney, NE
> April 7-9: New Mexico's 5th Annual High Plains Prairie-Chicken Festival, Milnesand, NM; contact Dawn Davis
Playa Post ©2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Playa Lakes Joint Venture. Submission deadlines are the 15th of each month for publication the following month. Send press releases, comments and subscription inquiries to Debbie F. Slobe.
PLJV Board Honors Members, Welcomes NE Colorado, and Awards Grants
The PLJV Management Board bid farewell to three of its members, welcomed northeast Colorado partners, and awarded $83,000 in conservation grants during its winter meeting last month in Denver.
The three outgoing board members are Mace Hack of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, who has taken a new position as Director of Conservation Programs for The Nature Conservancy of Nebraska; Paul Gertler, Assistant Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6, who is retiring from the USFWS; and Richard Hatcher, Assistant Director of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC), who served as PLJV board chairman from 1996-1998. The outgoing members were honored with Northern Pintail decoys during an evening reception hosted by the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Also at the reception, the PLJV honored Mike O'Meilia of the ODWC who is a founding participant of the PLJV, former board member and more recently participated on the JV's Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Team.
Amid all the goodbyes, the PLJV officially welcomed northeast Colorado into the partnership. The PLJV recently finalized a boundary change in northeast Colorado which resulted in the entire Shortgrass Prairie Bird Conservation Region (BCR 18) portion of the state coming under the administration of the PLJV. At the board meeting, representatives of the South Platte Focus Area Committee - Greg Kernohan of Ducks Unlimited and Matt Filsinger of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - spoke about recent habitat conservation accomplishments of the Focus Area.
Also during the meeting, the PLJV board awarded $83,340 in ConocoPhillips funding to 10 education/outreach, habitat and research projects. ConocoPhillips' donation was leveraged by an additional $348,102 in partner cash and in-kind contributions. Projects included a playa and grassland enhancement project in Texas, CP23a signup incentive program in Kansas, schoolyard shortgrass prairie habitats in Nebraska, playa management workshop in New Mexico and wildlife viewing trail development in Colorado and Oklahoma. Since 1990, ConocoPhillips has donated more than $1.5 million to the PLJV to help fund more than 300 conservation projects throughout the six-state region.
The next PLJV board meeting will be June 13 - 15, 2006, in Nebraska.
Follow the Money:
> North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant: March 3rd is the deadline to submit proposals for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Standard Grant Program. The NAWCA Standard Grant Program awards up to $1 million in matching funds for habitat projects that conserve wetlands and wetlands-dependent fish and wildlife through acquisition, restoration and/or enhancement. Developing a NAWCA project and proposal takes a considerable amount of effort, and project leaders are highly encouraged to seek input from their respective Joint Venture from the start. The PLJV has developed a suggested timeline for submitting a Standard NAWCA Grant to guide potential applicants through the process, which can take up to a year or more to complete. The next Standard NAWCA deadline is July 28, and potential applicants should notify the PLJV that they intend to apply if they haven't already done so.
> Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative: Proposals are due March 7 for the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) which is offered through the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). The CCPI is a voluntary program established to foster conservation partnerships that focus technical and financial resources on conservation priorities in watersheds and airsheds of special significance. In 2006, $4 million is available for projects that address stated conservation priorities including aquatic wildlife habitat, invasive species, and locally-led watershed assessments. Applicants should submit proposals to their respective state NRCS office.
> Five Star Restoration Matching Grants Program: The National Association of Counties, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Wildlife Habitat Council, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other sponsors, are soliciting applications for the Five-Star Restoration Matching Grants Program. The program provides modest financial assistance on a competitive basis to support community-based wetland, riparian and coastal habitat restoration projects that build diverse partnerships and foster local natural resource stewardship through education, outreach and training activities. Awards are between $5,000 and $20,000; the average grant is $10,000. The deadline to submit proposals is March 10.
> Conservation Innovation Grants: Proposals are due March 20 for the National Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) program offered through the NRCS. The CIG awards grants on a competitive basis for projects that address innovative conservation approaches and technologies for natural resource concerns in conjunction with agricultural production. Up to $10 million available for proposals addressing one or more of the CIG natural resource concerns, including water, soil, and grazing land health. There are also State CIG programs offered in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas. State CIG announcements are separate from the national competition and will be announced at a later date.
> Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program: Proposals are due March 28 for the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program which is offered through the NRCS. WREP provides an avenue for the NRCS to form special partnerships with others to improve or expand the delivery of the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), including, but not limited to, easement acquisition and activities associated with wetland restoration, creation, or enhancement. For federal fiscal year 2006, NRCS is making $9.5 million available for WREP.
> Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative:
Applications for grants to manage or control the spread of invasive species affecting grazing land are being sought by NRCS. Up to $4 million is available for projects in 2006. Approximately 40 grants are expected to be awarded between $50,000 and $500,000. Proposals that address invasive species concerns on western range grazing lands will be given a priority. Proposals are due into NRCS headquarters by 5:00 p.m. on April 3, 2006. For additional information contact: Thomas Sommer, 202-205-4211.