Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
PLJV Position on Grazing of Conservation Reserve Program Acres
Responding to recent livestock feed shortages, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the release of 24 million general sign-up Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for haying and grazing nationwide on May 27. On July 8, a U.S. District Court judge stopped this emergency haying and grazing of CRP acres at the request of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and six state affiliates. The final ruling on July 24 stated there will be no acreage cap on the Critical Feed Use provision. But the judge limited the program to farmers and ranchers who applied to use CRP acres for haying and grazing before July 8. In light of this lawsuit and the history of the CRP, the Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) is calling for a regional discussion about what the best management is for CRP acres for ground-nesting birds as well as for ranchers and farmers in the High Plains.
PLJV believes it is critical to obtain the three goals of the CRP, namely conserving soil, improving water quality and supporting wildlife, but it also must be balanced with the needs of ranchers and farmers. PLJV’s position is that management strategies for CRP need to be regional, not national, because one size does not fit all. In the PLJV region, CRP grass stands range from old-world bluestems to introduced cool seasons to mixed stands of native grasses and forbs. The hope is that many of these acres will not be returned to growing annual crops of various commodities such as wheat, corn, soybeans, sorghum or cotton.
The NWF, with the six state affiliates, had asked for a temporary restraining order to stop the USDA from instituting the Critical Feed Use program for livestock needs. This action had severe financial consequences for ranchers and farmers primarily in the area of the southern High Plains. It also caused many landowners to question whether they want to continue to be part of the CRP. Under the final ruling, the USDA now may only approve any additional applicants who show they made investments before July 8 in anticipation of using their conserved land.
These feed shortages were caused by drought conditions in the PLJV region and by sky-rocketing prices fueled by world-wide demand. This would allow the majority of general sign-up CRP acres to be hayed or grazed for one year during 2008. Participants would pay a $75 fee and restricting the activity to only 50 percent of the fields either hayed or grazed at the National Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) 75 percent stocking rate for the period following the end of the primary nesting season until Nov. 10. Under the final ruling, any haying or CRP acres under the Critical Feed Use provision must now be completed by Sept. 30 and grazing must by done by Oct. 15.
Because CRP is a voluntary program that is fully dependent on landowners willingness to enroll their land, their needs must be recognized and accommodated, especially in times of economic hardship. Adaptive management that allows the landowner to stay on the land while still creating the least short-term hardship for the wildlife dependent on CRP is the path to a long term, mutually successful partnership for all who want CRP to succeed.
So it is necessary to find ways to return these acres to viable grazing lands like they were originally before going under the plow. It also means these acres have to be managed by the tools allowed such as grazing, prescribed fire, strip disking and interseeding in order to bring them to where they can become as close to native grasslands again as possible.
Since the beginning of the CRP in 1984, grazing as a tool for managing the vegetative cover of grasses and forbs or as a threat to this cover has been a topic of discussion among wildlife managers.
For many years the only way it occurred was under emergency haying and grazing procedures brought about in response to extreme drought conditions. After the 2002 Farm Bill, managed haying and grazing were instituted as a way to perform mid-contract management to rejuvenate decadent stands of CRP grasses.
In the past, disagreements over timing of the haying and grazing in several states led to a lawsuit by the NWF and several of its state affiliates. The settlement of that lawsuit led to changes in how haying and grazing were applied in the various states with large amounts of CRP acres. Recently a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process was started to further refine the settlement policy to better fit the different regions.
The management tools currently available to CRP landowners include prescribed fire, mowing, strip disking, interseeding, haying and grazing. All have pros and cons but generally the wildlife community agrees that haying or mowing provides the fewest benefits for the grass stand and the most harm to wildlife concerns of nesting and brood-rearing cover. Fire is not well accepted in the drier parts of the PLJV region. Strip disking and interseeding are good but usually most effective when combined with one of the other practices. That leaves grazing as the one stand-alone practice that is good for increasing diversity and ground coverage in the grass stand while causing the least problems for ground-nesting birds in the year of application.
The idea of grass banking during drought conditions also is gaining some support from both ranchers and wildlife professionals. This involves removing grazing from unbroken native grasslands during drought and moving the livestock to CRP acres for that period to reduce the damage to native grasslands while improving the CRP grass stands in the long term. This way, ranchers keep their livestock and the wildlife community maintains a tool for management that is better for grassland birds than tillage and crop production.
For more information about the current status of the CRP, its history and PLJV’s position, contact Barth Crouch, conservation policy director for PLJV.
~August 2008
New Farm Bill Maintains and Improves Conservation Programs
National farm bill legislation can have broad implications for grassland and wetland birds and their habitat in the PLJV region. The result of the recently passed 2008 Farm Bill is no exception and impacts many conservation programs. The bill’s overall impact to bird conservation is generally positive, providing a slight increase of funding for several conservation programs while maintaining others.
Some of the most significant gains in the new Farm Bill are in conservation, with new funding increasing by $4 billion for environmental stewardship programs. In addition, no ground was lost for future conservation funding because the baseline spending for the conservation title in this bill increased and will be used as the starting point for future farm bill legislation.
"This Farm Bill has many opportunities for higher levels of conservation gains but the road to them has to be built on unprecedented cooperation between agriculture, industry and conservationists,” said Barth Crouch, conservation policy director for the PLJV. "In particular, the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) offers the chance for partnerships to competitively seek up to 56 million dollars annually to assist agricultural producers maintain agricultural production, while conserving water quantity and insuring water quality.”
AWEP, previously known as the Ground and Surface Water Conservation Program, received $280 million through 2012 – an increase from the earlier Farm Bill. Under AWEP, the area overlaying the Ogallala Aquifer has been singled out as one of the areas in immediate need and considered a priority of this program.
One of only six priority areas in the United States mentioned in the legislation, the bill states that the Ogallala Aquifer is a critical source of groundwater for agriculture and municipal uses. Having the Ogallala Aquifer cited by name in the legislation will be beneficial to the area and may result in additional funding for the PLJV region.
Another major program affected by the new bill is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The proposed acreage in this program will be lowered from the earlier version of the Farm Bill's 39.2 million acres to approximately 32 million acres. Although this reduced acreage cap to 32 million acres is not a positive development for grassland bird conservation, it will not begin until Oct.1, 2009 to allow enrollment of continuous CRP practices to continue without interruption. The cap lowering was done to find the money for several other conservation programs that were about to be zeroed out.
Smaller programs such as the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) protecting water and the newer Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) expanding wildlife habitat were both renewed. But each program now has less funding than in the previous Farm Bill.
The WRP now lifts the cap to more than 3 million acres with the potential of $1.3 billion in funding for enrolling these added acres, making it more attractive for landowners than the earlier system. The GRP authorizes an additional 1.2 million acres eligible for enrollment between 2009 and 2012. This translates into approximately $300 million during a four-year period.
The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), previously the Conservation Security Program, and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) will both expand. Focusing on working-lands conservation benefiting birds and wildlife, these programs will receive increases in funding. The CSP program is adding $1.2 billion over the baseline of the earlier Farm Bill, while EQIP’s funding is rising from $1.2 billion in 2008 to $1.75 billion by 2012.
Another highlight in the new bill is an extension of the tax deduction incentives for donated conservation easements on private land to protect even more land in the future.
For more information on the new Farm Bill and its impact to conservation efforts in the PLJV region, contact Barth Crouch.
~July 2008
New Mexico NRCS Program to Protect Expiring CRP Acres
Pressures such as higher commodity prices are being placed on producers to take Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields out of grass and put back into production. Many CRP fields are set to expire within the next four years. There is a growing concern among conservationists about the amount of land that will stay in the CRP. The New Mexico Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is taking an innovative approach to stem the flow of CRP fields going back into crop production, while at the same time helping ranchers by using farm bill programs not normally associated with CRP.
The cap for New Mexico’s CRP acres in Curry, Quay and Roosevelt counties is decreasing from 35 percent to 25 percent of each county’s cropland. This revision is causing many of the CRP acres to expire from the program starting in 2010. To combat this 10 percent reduction on top of the regular expiring acres, and to continue to protect these expiring CRP acres, the New Mexico NRCS has created the New Mexico Grass Banking Pilot Program.
This pilot program will be available to all New Mexico areas with excess CRP grass beginning in 2009. Plans call for a three-year program phased in as CRP acres expire, and contracts to enter the pilot program can be written with landowners one year prior to their CRP expiration date.
“We want to provide an avenue to keep the CRP land in grass to let the native grass rest to benefit wildlife and prevent soil erosion,” said Kenneth Walker, area conservationist with the New Mexico NRCS.
To be eligible, the landowner of the expiring CRP must contract with a rancher in the same county to allow livestock to graze the expired CRP acreage. A benefit to ranchers is the opportunity to rest their private grassland. The program offers ranchers the opportunity to evaluate the benefits and effects of a planned grazing system without any risk or cost as well as provide an opportunity to establish a documented grazing history. The benefit to the farmer is a continued incentive payment, though reduced from regular CRP rental rates, somewhat offset by any financial arrangement with the rancher.
Conservation practices used on the expiring CRP acreage would address local resource concerns and facilitate the implementation of prescribed grazing. These conservation practices, such as building fences and addressing water issues on the CRP land would be eligible for cost-share assistance for landowners through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). These practices will maintain and enhance the conservation benefits on this acreage. The goal is to have expired CRP acreage remain as grassland and not return to cropland.
Participation in the program reduces the grazing pressure on native grazing lands and improves wildlife habitat by invigorating grass stands, increasing forb and insect populations. Ranchers also will be encouraged to rest their grass for a 10-month cycle. All this provides improved nesting for many bird species.
“This unique program is a great way to get ahead of the curve by addressing the projected loss of CRP in New Mexico,” said Christopher Rustay, conservation delivery leader for PLJV. “It not only benefits both farmers and ranchers in New Mexico but also grassland birds and their habitat. It shows what’s possible when creative minds that know the farm bill are tasked with solving a conservation concern.”
Plans are underway to hold informational local working group meetings this year with landowners and ranchers to outline the new program and its benefits to encourage enrollment in this unique program.
Information about the program will be promoted in local newspapers as well as Soil Water Conservation District and Farm Service Agency newsletters. The incentive payment to the participating CRP landowners has not yet been determined but will be finalized this year.
Contact Kenneth Walker to find out more information about the New Mexico Grass Banking Pilot Program.
~July 2008
More than Half of CRP Acres in PLJV Area to Expire by 2012
The PLJV region will face significant losses in CRP acres over the next five years, as more than 8 million out of the 11 million acres currently enrolled in the program will expire by 2012. The loss brings both bad and hopeful news for birds. While loss of CRP could negatively impact bird populations, some acres will be re-enrolled or extended, and if targeted correctly, could end up doing more for some birds than they do today.
CRP is a major supporter of many bird populations in the PLJV region, as evidenced in a recent Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) to quantify CRP benefits to mixed-grass prairie birds conducted by the Joint Venture and U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. The assessment found that in Texas and Kansas alone, CRP supports more than 15 percent of the population of Dicksissels, Grasshopper Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks. The loss of 8 million CRP acres — nearly 75 percent of the total CRP acres in the region — could drastically impact these birds and other grassland species. The PLJV recently incorporated FSA’s CRP expiration by county data into a region-wide map showing the trend through 2012. At right is a map showing this data for eastern Colorado. Click here for a map of the entire region.
But along with expirations come re-enrollments, extensions and perhaps more CRP sign-ups in the new Farm Bill. These acres could be targeted to the highest priority bird habitats in the region and help restore some species better than has been done in the past.
For example, the Lesser Prairie-Chicken — a species that is a candidate for listing under the Threatened and Endangered Species Act — receives only moderate benefit from the CRP today. According to the PLJV CEAP assessment, CRP contributes to about 6 percent of the birds’ population goal. That includes both CRP contracts containing prairie-chicken populations and contracts that are adjacent to existing populations and prairie-chicken range, helping to form large blocks of habitat, which the birds need to survive. If CRP were targeted to not only maintain contracts with existing chickens and create additional large blocks of habitat within the birds’ range, prairie-chicken populations could be restored in the shortgrass Bird Conservation Region, according to PLJV biological models.
Models aside, the fact remains that contracts are expiring and the number of acres coming out of CRP will peak between 2009 and 2012. For example, in 2008, only about 183,000 acres are set to expire, and in 2009 that number jumps to 2.1 million acres. That is why it is more important than ever for PLJV to get engaged in targeting Farm Bill programs to benefit bird conservation.
~May 2008
CRP Provides Big Benefits for Many Mixed Grass Birds
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is doing more for some birds than any other conservation practice in the mixed-grass prairie, and loss of CRP would have a drastic impact on regional bird populations. These findings and more are part of a new wildlife Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) study conducted by the PLJV and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to quantify the effects of the CRP on priority birds in the mixed-grass Bird Conservation Region (BCR 19).
“It’s pretty impressive when you look at certain species like Dickcissels. In the mixed grass prairie region of some states, the CRP is supporting a third or a half of the carrying capacity for the species. That is pretty surprising and powerful,” said Charles Rewa, wildlife CEAP coordinator for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
The CEAP assessment involved analyzing national and regional bird population goals and landscape carrying capacities for 12 priority birds in BCR 19, and determining how much CRP is contributing to those goals. The evaluation found that CRP contributes more than 15% of the population goal for Dickcissels, Grasshopper Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks in at least two of the four states assessed, and that the program contributes significantly to population goals for other priority species such as Cassin’s Sparrows, Lark Buntings, Northern Bobwhite Quail, Ring-necked Pheasants and Western Kingbirds.
PLJV used GIS-based spatial data to place the CRP within the context of other bird habitats. What they found was that not only does CRP provide significant percentages of habitat for many priority birds, but that it also helps create large blocks of grassland habitat important for Lesser Prairie-Chickens.
“CRP on its own wasn’t that important for Lesser Prairie-Chickens, but when you look at contracts adjacent to grasslands, the story changes. Straight CRP coverage provides less than 1% of the goal for Lesser Prairie-Chickens. But with contracts adjacent to grasslands that make up large blocks of habitat, CRP helps provide 6% of the goal. This illustrates the importance of where these enrollments are on the landscape with respect to their wildlife value for some species,” Rewa said.
“Given what we have learned through this CEAP process, we can now target CRP enrollment to nearly recover Lesser Prairie-Chickens,” said PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter.
This study of CRP was the first to quantify the impact of the program on regional bird populations and explicitly answer the question – how many birds does CRP support? PLJV and USDA partners were able to answer this question by calculating the carrying capacity of CRP for priority birds in the study area, and comparing those numbers to national and regional population goals. This was done using the PLJV’s Hierarchical All-Bird Conservation System database.
“Not only were we able to assess the effects of CRP for bird species, but also put it in the context of population objectives. If the goal is to double the population for a species and you find out that 20% is supported by CRP, that is a pretty important piece of the landscape,” Rewa said.
This study was a joint effort between the PLJV, Great Plains GIS Partnership, NRCS and the Farm Service Agency, and plans are in the works to conduct another CEAP project to assess the impact of CRP on priority birds in the shortgrass prairie Bird Conservation Region (BCR 18).
“This project is a good example of how productive partnerships work. The USDA had the need to assess CRP, and the PLJV and Great Plains GIS Partnership had the tools and mutual interest to put a project together that is technically sound and produced useful outputs,” Rewa said.
The USDA will use the results to help improve how the agency operates in the field, and is currently working on a blueprint for putting all CEAP findings into practice. NRCS will also soon release a Conservation Insight related to this project.
“In addition to evaluating the past, the project gives us good insight on how to do better for bird populations in the future,” Carter said.
The full CEAP project report can be downloaded from the PLJV website. You can also listen to a recent Playa Country interview with PLJV GIS Analyst Megan McLachlan about the project.
~April 2008