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

LEMHI PRODUCERS SIGN-UP FOR NEW PROGRAM

Salmon, August 26, 2004—Eighteen producers in the Lemhi Watershed have enrolled in the first-ever Conservation Security Program (CSP) administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Lemhi producers and CSP enrollees Kathy and Don Olson with Lindsay Obray, NRCS soil conservationist, and Barry Albert, NRCS district conservationist, in Salmon

The Lemhi Watershed was one of 18 watersheds nationwide to hold a sign-up. CSP, authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill, is a voluntary program that rewards those farmers and ranchers who are already meeting the highest standards of conservation on their land.

The 18 producers make up about 13 percent of the watershed.

“The sign-up was a success,” says Lindsay Obray, NRCS soil conservationist in Salmon. “But this was definitely a hard time to hold a sign-up in the Lemhi Valley. Haying was in full-swing.”

Still, she says, the sign-ups demonstrate the valley’s good conservation ethic. Over half of the 18 producers qualified for Tier III, the program’s highest funding level.

Producers Don and Kathy Olson (see photo) run a 650-acre cow/calf and haying operation along the Lemhi River, where Don’s grandfather once farmed. They enrolled in CSP and qualified for Tier III due to their stewardship.

“Their pasture condition score was close to perfect,” Obray says. “Their riparian range was in great condition, the soil quality on their hayland is superior and their property offers wonderful wildlife habitat.”

The Olson’s management includes:

• A prescribed grazing plan
• Irrigation water management and nutrient management plans
• Fish screens on their irrigation diversions
• A pond and enhanced wildlife plantings

The Olson’s are part of 2,200 farmers and ranchers selected for CSP nationwide. The privately-owned land impacted by the new program covers nearly 1.9 million acres in 22 states. NRCS expects to fully use the $41 million in CSP funding that Congress provided this year.

“The participating agricultural producers are model conservationists who have set the twin goals of productivity and conservation for their operations,” said Agriculture Secretary Ann. M. Veneman in a public announcement today.

CSP Payments will begin immediately under three tiers of conservation contracts capped at $20,000, $35,000 and $45,000 annually. Contracts will last for five years for Tier I, and 5-10 years for Tier II and III. Nationally, 37 percent of the applicants qualified for Tier I, 40 percent for Tier II and 23 percent for Tier III.

“CSP recognizes those producers who are dedicated to achieving conservation,” says Richard Sims, NRCS state conservationist for Idaho. “We anticipate expanding CSP next year into 10 to 20 Idaho watersheds and celebrating the positive conservation results already on the land.”

Additional information on CSP is available at http://www.id.nrcs.usda.gov.

Learn More About CSP


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