NEWS

United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
9173 W. Barnes Dr., Suite C
Boise, Idaho 83709
 
For More Information:
Contact:  Jody Fagan, 208.685.6978

Conservation Program Offers Rewards
Producers: Don't Wait Until the Last Week to Sign Up

Boise, Idaho — Last year, 16 ranchers near Salmon found out their good stewardship pays dividends—possibly up to $45,000 per year for ten years.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offered a sign-up for the new Conservation Security Program (CSP) as a pilot project in the Lemhi Watershed in 2004. Now, the program is open to farmers and ranchers in 15 watersheds across the state from March 28 to May 27.

CSP is a voluntary program that supports ongoing stewardship of private, agricultural working lands and rewards those producers who are meeting the highest standards of conservation on their operations.

This year’s watersheds are located near Bonners Ferry, Kooskia, Grangeville, Cascade, Mountain Home, Arco, St. Anthony and Salmon. Producers in the 2005 watersheds may not see another CSP sign-up for eight years.

“Producers will want to visit their local NRCS service center sooner than later,” says Richard Sims, NRCS state conservationist for Idaho. “There’s an eligibility process they need to go through and it takes some time. If they show up the last couple days of the sign-up, we may not have enough time to work through the application.”

To be eligible for CSP, producers need to:

• Operate the majority of their land in a selected watershed.
• Promote soil and water quality through nutrient, grazing residue, pest and/or irrigation water management practices (where applicable).
• Keep written records to better manage their operation (two years of records are needed for application).
• Enhance wildlife habitat or additional resources on their property.

Last year, Don and Kathy Olson signed up for CSP and qualified for Tier 3, the highest reward the program offers. The Olsons run a 650-acre cow/calf operation along the Lemhi River, where Don’s grandfather once farmed. Their management includes a prescribed grazing plan, an irrigation water management plan, nutrient management plan, fish screens on their irrigation diversions, a pond and enhanced wildlife plantings.

“We try and manage all our resources the best we can,” Don Olson says. “The CSP program helped us pay off some bills that had been sitting there for quite a while.”

For more information on CSP, producers can contact their local NRCS service center (contacts and numbers listed below), or visit www.id.nrcs.usda.gov .

Grangeville
            Richard Spencer, District Conservationist, (208) 983-1046, x109

Cascade
            Keith Griswold, District Conservationist, (208) 382-3317

Weiser
            Tom Yankey, District Conservationist, (208) 549-4280

Bruneau/Mountain Home/Glenns Ferry
            Skip Vetten, District Conservationist, (208) 888-1890, x112

Arco
            Steve Cote, District Conservationist, (208) 527-8557, x105

St. Anthony
            Ken Beckmann, District Conservationist, (208) 624-3341, x102

Salmon
            Barry Albert, District Conservationist, (208) 756-3211, x102

 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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