NEWS - For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Dave Brown, Assistant State Conservationist, 509/323-2971
New initiative offers funding for sage grouse habitat
Financial assistance for rotational, deferred grazing offered
SPOKANE, Wash. (Feb. 17, 2011) - Ranchers in certain areas of central and eastern Washington are being offered payments to help protect sage grouse habitat and improve range conditions for their livestock, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced today.
Through the NRCS Sage Grouse Initiative, ranchers can receive as much as $1.90 per acre for rotational grazing and $8.68 an acre for "resting" rangeland an entire year.
"By deferring grazing, or not grazing certain areas at all for a year, sage grouse habitat can be protected during the critical mating and nesting period," said NRCS Asst. State Conservationist Dave Brown. "Payments made possible through the Sage Grouse Initiative are designed to offset the costs associated with deferring grazing on that
land."
Brown said the payments, coupled with improvement in rangeland following the implementation of the grazing plan,
should be very attractive to ranchers whose rangeland's rental value averages $10-$14 per Animal Unit Month (AUM) - the amount of forage required by a mother cow for one month. "When ranchers 'pencil out' the costs and the benefits," Brown said, "I believe they'll see the value of participating in this initiative."
The sign-up deadline for the program is March 4, 2011.
In addition, other practices to improve sage grouse habitat may be applied with funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) or the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP).
Such practices include: Retrofitting existing fences to increase their visibility and reduce sage-grouse mortality; installing escape ramps for wildlife in watering facilities; deferring grazing in nesting areas to increase residual cover and increase brood survival rates.
"It's fair to say that what's good for sage grouse is good for livestock," Brown said. "Now thanks to this initiative, what's good for sage grouse is also good for the ranching business."
The initiative is limited to sage grouse habitat areas of central and eastern Washington. For more information on this and other conservation opportunities, producers are urged to contact their USDA-NRCS Service Center Office.
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Press release sent by:
Tilth Producers of Washington
www.tilthproducers.org
206-632-7506
organic@tilthproducers.org Tilth Producers promotes ecologically sound, economically viable and socially equitable farming practices that improve the health of our communities and natural environment.
