August 2004
ARCHIVED
USDA Farm Service Agency's (FSA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Wetlands Restoration Initiative aims to restore up to 250,000 acres of wetlands and playa lakes that are located outside of the 100-year floodplain.
Wetlands are low-lying ecosystems where the water table is always at or near the surface. Playas are shallow, depressional, rechargeable wetlands formed through a combination of wind, wave, and dissolution processes with each wetland existing in its own watershed. Playa lakes are scattered across the western Great Plains and average 17 acres in size. A threat to playas is sedimentation from cultivation of adjacent cropland.
This initiative will further the large-scale accomplishments of CRP, which, as of July 2004, had restored 1.8 million wetland and wetland buffer acres nationwide.
Creating an additional 250,000 acres of large wetland complexes will:
- provide vital habitat for many wildlife species, such as upland ducks and sandhill cranes;
- recharge groundwater supplies;
- reduce downstream flooding; and
- provide recreational opportunities, such as bird watching and hunting.
Restoring playa lakes will: - provide habitat for migratory waterfowl during migration and winter. In fact, over 90 percent of the region's over-wintering waterfowl depend on the playas, and over 90 percent of the mid-continental population of sandhill cranes over-winter in the region;
- benefit many other species of birds, animals, and plants.
- recharge the Ogallala aquifer, one of the world's largest aquifers that lies beneath Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado; and
- recharge groundwater supplies critical for drinking water, irrigation, and wildlife.
Enrollment is limited to wetlands, including playa lakes, that are beyond the 100-year floodplain. The wetlands acreage must also not be currently eligible for enrollment in either:
- CRP continuous sign-up practice CP23, Wetland Restoration, which targets land located in the 100-year floodplain; or
- FSA's Farmable Wetlands Program, which protects farmed and previously converted wetlands of less than 40 acres per tract.
In addition, cropland must be suitably located and adaptable to the establishment of wetlands. In addition, the applicant must satisfy the basic eligibility and cropping history criteria for CRP. These requirements are listed in the CRP fact sheet, available on FSA's Web site at: Program Fact Sheets
To determine individual eligibility for the initiative, landowners should check with their local FSA office.
The acreage for the initiative is allocated to states as follows: State | Acres |
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Alabama | 700 |
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Arizona | 100 |
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Arkansas | 2,000 |
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California | 1,000 |
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Colorado | 1,600 |
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Connecticut | 100 |
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Delaware | 100 |
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Florida | 1000 |
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Georgia | 700 |
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Hawaii | 100 |
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Idaho | 200 |
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Illinois | 4,000 |
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Indiana | 700 |
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Iowa | 3,000 |
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Kansas | 11,000 |
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Kentucky | 100 |
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Louisiana | 12,000 |
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Maine | 900 |
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Maryland | 200 |
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Massachusetts | 300 |
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Michigan | 2,600 |
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Minnesota | 36,000 |
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Mississippi | 1,500 |
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Missouri | 1,400 |
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Montana | 1,400 |
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Nebraska | 14,000 |
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Nevada | 100 |
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New Hampshire | 100 |
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New Jersey | 200 |
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New Mexico | 3,500 |
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New York | 4,000 |
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North Carolina | 200 |
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North Dakota | 65,000 |
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Ohio | 1,100 |
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Oklahoma | 1,500 |
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Oregon | 1,900 |
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Pennsylvania | 150 |
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Rhode Island | 100 |
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South Carolina | 100 |
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South Dakota | 33,000 |
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Tennessee | 100 |
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Texas | 25,000 |
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Utah | 200 |
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Vermont | 900 |
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Virginia | 150 |
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Washington | 600 |
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West Virginia | 100 |
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Wisconsin | 4,700 |
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Wyoming | 600 |
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Reserve | 10,000 |
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Total | 250,000 |
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Program participants must apply conservation practice CP23A, Wetland Restoration Non-Floodplain, on eligible cropland. The purpose of this practice is to restore the functions and values of wetland ecosystems that have been devoted to agricultural use.
FSA estimates the program will provide $200 million in payments to participants through 2007. FSA will offer the following types of payments:
- A Wetland Restoration Incentive Payment equal to 25 percent of the cost of restoring the hydrology of the site;
- An Annual Rental Payment; and
- Cost-share Assistance of up to 50 percent of eligible practice installation costs.
Program sign-up at local FSA offices will begin Oct. 1, 2004, and will run on a continuous basis -- meaning eligible land may be enrolled at any time -- until 250,000 acres have been enrolled, or Dec. 31, 2007, whichever comes first.
More information on the CRP Wetlands Restoration Initiative is available at local FSA offices and on FSA's Web site at: www.fsa.usda.gov
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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