Douglas County isn't the largest population center in Washington State. With ten towns and 33,000 people, it isn't even close. But what this north central county does have that other places don't is one of the last remaining populations of three endangered animal species - the Sharp-Tail Grouse, the Sage Grouse, and the Pygmy Rabbit.

For the past twenty years, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has provided habitat for these species and eased threatened and endangered species requirements for agricultural producers. A federal judge's decision linking a threatened and endangered species ruling to the existence of CRP in Douglas County reflects the significance of the program.

Jim Davis is one Douglas County producer who illustrates the commitment to preserving wildlife in this under populated but growing county. The joy Jim Davis experiences when seeing wildlife in his CRP fields in Douglas County is well earned.

Davis' efforts to build and maintain habitat include installing guzzlers and choosing biological weed controls. The guzzlers are structures to capture and make water available to wildlife. Use of biological weed control instead of chemicals means Davis can retain alfalfa in with CRP grasses for the nourishment of wildlife. His efforts are working so well in fact that the State Department of Fish and Wildlife is using Davis' CRP and pastures as part of its inventory to develop baselines for future habitat programs.

Davis manages approximately 2,600 acres of deeded and leased acres in CRP. He began enrolling the land, which is dispersed throughout Eastern Douglas County, in 1986. When asked about his reasons for doing this, Davis said "I wanted my kids and grandkids to see what this area used to look like." He explained that Douglas County was homesteaded in the 1880's, but it still has small pockets of native pasture, including some adjacent to the land he put in CRP.

The program makes sense to him from a business perspective as well. "We would have a lot more environmental controls and restrictions without CRP," said Davis.

The Foster Creek Conservation District has incorporated CRP into a Habitat Conservation Plan being developed for the area. "The plan helps prevent third-party lawsuits," explained Davis. The Habitat Conservation Plan is an effort led by the conservation district to maintain critical habitat for selected species in the watershed - such as the Sage Grouse, Sharp-Tail Grouse, and Pygmy Rabbits.

"CRP is the most intensive conservation practice a farmer can put on the land and still be a farmer," said Britt Dudek, Foster Creek Conservation District Manager. "It makes the native shrub-steppe habitat larger - it amplifies what remaining habitat is out there. Without the CRP, there would be a very serious impact on all the species that depend on the habitat," said Dudek. The district manager pointed out the indirect habitat benefits as well. He explained that the CRP in Douglas County has significantly reduced the amount of stream sedimentation that results from flash flooding. "We found steelhead in Foster Creek this year," he said to illustrate the improved water quality and explained that it is an unusual sight.

While the CRP acres benefit wildlife, Jim Davis plants crops in the more productive soils. By concentrating his fertilizer and other inputs on his best soils and removing the poorer soils from his crop operation, his yields have improved. The steady rental payment from CRP is welcomed by bankers making operating loans for the rest of the farming operation.

"CRP has provided a solid economic benefit for rural communities," Davis said. "It has kept farm families in rural communities and kept some of these small towns alive."

CRP provides habitat year round for three endangered species in Douglas County.