NRCS2008 Farm Bill

MONTANA SUMMARY AND REVIEW

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

Seventy percent of the land in the United States is privately owned. Farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, tribes and others who own rural lands make daily decisions about natural resource use and management, impacting soil, water, and air quality and wildlife habitat. NRCS provides technical assistance and offers financial assistance to producers who install conservation practices through Farm Bill programs.

MONTANA Quick Facts278 Number of NRCS Employees

60 Number of NRCS Field Offices

5.5 million acres of Private Forestland or 5.8% of the state

36.9 million acres of Rangeland or 39.2% of the state

4.6 million acres of Cropland or 14.9% of the state

4.2 million acres of Pastureland 4.5% of the state

2008 Montana Farm Bill Percentage of Contracts by Program

2008 Montana Farm Bill Total Contracts by Program

EQIP

AWEP

WHIP

FRPP

CSP

GRP

WRPAWEPWHIPFRPPWRPGRP

2,397

33 3716 6

1,070

EQ

IP

AW

EP

WH

IP

FR

PP

WR

P

CS

P

GR

P

61

United States Department of Agriculture

EQIP66%

CSP29%

5%

NRCS FY 2012 Financial Assistance to Oregon Participants by Program

2008 Farm Bill

Payments by Program

EQIP

AWEP

WHIP

CSP

$87,593,724

$2,283,955

$2,158,898

$100,946,724

NRCS FY 2012 Financial Assistance to Oregon Participants by Program

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

$ $ $ $

2014 Farm Bill

NRCS OFFERS FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE to help agricultural producers make and maintain conservation improvements on their land.

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers in order to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and air quality, conserved ground and surface water, reduced soil erosion and sedimentation or improved or created wildlife habitat.

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) helps agricultural producers maintain and improve their existing conservation systems and adopt additional conservation activities to address priority resources concerns. Participants earn CSP payments for conservation performance—the higher the performance, the higher the payment.

The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) promotes coordination between NRCS and its partners to deliver conservation assistance to producers and landowners. NRCS provides assistance to producers through partnership agreements and through program contracts or easement agreements.

The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) provides financial and technical assistance to help conserve agricultural lands and wetlands and their related benefits. Under the Agricultural Land Easements component, NRCS helps Indian tribes, state and local governments and non-governmental organizations protect working agricultural lands and limit non-agricultural uses of the land. Under the Wetlands Reserve Easements component, NRCS helps to restore, protect and enhance enrolled wetlands.

Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) is a voluntary program intended to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies while leveraging Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection, in conjunction with agricultural production. Under CIG, Environmental Quality Incentives Program funds are used to award competitive grants to non-Federal governmental or non-governmental organizations, Tribes, or individuals.

Hot TopicSage-GrouseIn 2010, NRCS launched the Sage-Grouse Initiative to sustain working ranches and conserve Greater sage-grouse populations in the West. Using voluntary conservation programs, NRCS is assisting producers in 11 western states, including Montana, to simultaneously improve habitat for sage-grouse and productivity of native rangelands.

NRCS and partners target their efforts within sage-grouse abundant “core areas” to improve habitat across the species’ range. Conservation actions include establishing conservation easements to prevent working ranches from being converted into subdivisions; implementing sustainable grazing systems to improve hiding cover for birds; removing invasive conifers from grasslands to allow birds to re-colonize otherwise suitable habitat; and marking or moving high-risk fences near breeding sites to reduce bird collisions.

EQIP

500,138Total Acres of Conservation Applied for Sage-Grouse Habitat (2010-2013)

CSP

RC

PPA

CEP

CIG

EQIP 435,585 38

Program Acres

Number of Easements/Contracts

WHIP 12,378 22

GRP 13,578 5

FRPP 38,597 3

NRCS FY 2012 Financial Assistance to Oregon Participants by Program

Producer ProfileName: Lois RoseNRCS Program: EQIP

NRCS Helps Conserve Forestland with Crown of the Continent Initiative

Adjacent to Montana’s Glacier National Park, Lois Rose’s 506-acre property was in need. With dead lodgepole pine trees throughout, Rose and Karla Levengood, her daughter, knew a fire would be disastrous. “The lodgepole was at the end of its days,” said Levengood. “And we’ve had fires on all sides of us. We were afraid that lodgepole was going to burn next, so we wanted to get it cleaned up before that happened.”

Rose asked one of her neighbors, who is a logger, to help her clean up the ranch. In turn, he “introduced” her to EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program)—a voluntary NRCS program that provides technical and financial assistance to plan and implement conservation practices that address natural resource concerns on agricultural

land and non-industrial private forestland.

This EQIP project is a part of America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, an effort to achieve lasting conservation of the outdoor spaces that power the nation’s economy, shape culture, and build outdoor traditions. The Montana project is called The Crown of the Continent.

Citing its size and proximity to the national park, Angel Rosario, NRCS district conservationist in Kalispell, said this fit into the goals of the Crown of the Continent initiative. “By thinning and planting trees, we are better managing the land—preserving open space and healthy forest for wildlife.”

Contractors logged the old lodgepole pine trees and thinned the new regeneration. The

NRCS FY 2012 Financial Assistance to Oregon Participants by Program

Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) also grew seedlings for species diversity and for areas that do not naturally regenerate.

“She wanted to do something about the land, but she needed funding and help from professionals to tell her what she needed and how to go about it,” said Rosario. “That’s where NRCS and others stepped in. I’ve learned that for these types of partnerships, you have to be creative and open to different avenues to do the business we do.”

Rose and Levengood are just happy to see it all coming together. “We got with the right people,” said Lois. “Maybe this is a prelude to something down the road for other people.”

And that’s exactly what Rosario is looking forward to doing. “We should always be open to new opportunities and new challenges because it’s for the good of the land at the end,” said Rosario. “And if we can get it done, everybody is a winner.”

“

“

—Lois Rose, landowner

The north fork of the Flathead River, a desig-nated wild and scenic river, runs between Lois Rose’s property and Glacier National Park. Her forest management work will improve tree diversity, wildlife habitat, and water quality.

Adjacent to Glacier National Park, Lois Rose worked with NRCS to implement a forest management plan to add tree di-versity to her property. Rose recognized her land needed some attention and teamed with NRCS through the Ameri-ca’s Great Outdoors Initiative to make her forest land healthier.

Maybe this is a prelude to something down the road

for other people.

NRCS FY 2012 Financial Assistance to Oregon Participants by Program

NRCS FY 2012 Financial Assistance to Oregon Participants by Progr

NRCS technical assistance is supported with discretionary and mandatory funds. Discretionary funding, provided annually through the Conservation Technical Assistance Program (CTA), is pivotal to NRCS’ success. CTA supports everyday operations, scientific research, technology transfer, and is key to the development of individual conservation plans. The land user, in consultation with NRCS specialists, develops a conservation plan that is suited to his or her individual operation. Once a producer has a conservation plan, he or she can implement it with or without further assistance from NRCS.

Financial assistance is available to eligible applicants to implement their conservation plans. Mandatory funds provided through Farm Bill programs are used to cover the costs of detailed planning needed to implement conservation practices and provide financial assistance to help defray some of the costs of conservation practices installation.

MONTANA NRCS Service Centers

www.mt.nrcs.usda.govUSDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

2008 Farm Bill

Contracts by Program

by Year

EQIP

October 2014

2012

2011

2010

2009

2013

56

75

21

52

55

40

24

4

9 5 5 14

AWEP WHIP CSP WRP GRP FRRP

2012

2012

2012

2011

2011

2011

2010

2010

2010

2009

2009

2009

2013

2013

2013

2012

2012

2012

2011

2011

2011

2010

2010

2010

2009

2009

2009

2013

2013

2013

11

47

9

3 1 611 141

3 421 108

26

6

5 1 1110

18

4

8 1 6