Grassland Reserve Program (GRP)

The Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance grasslands on their property.  Section 2401 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-171) amended the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize this program.  The Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency and Forest Service are coordinating implementation of GRP, which helps landowners restore and protect grassland, rangeland, pastureland, shrubland and certain other lands and provides assistance for rehabilitating grasslands. The program will conserve vulnerable grasslands from conversion to cropland or other uses and conserve valuable grasslands by helping maintain viable ranching operations.

 “Grasslands provide critical ecological benefits and play a key role in environmental quality, as well as contributing to the economies of many rural areas,” said Alabama NRCS State Conservationist Gary Kobylski. “This voluntary program helps protect valuable grasslands from conversion to other land uses, thus helping to ensure this national resource is available to future generations.”

Grasslands make up the largest land cover on America's private lands. Privately-owned grasslands and shrublands cover more than 525 million acres in the United States. For the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will direct financial resources and technical expertise to help landowners protect and restore these lands.

Grassland Reserve Program in Alabama

• Related Links
• Questions and Answers
• Definitions and Guidance
• GRP Conservation Planning Requirements
• Historical Grassland Prairie Soils
• Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative - National NRCS (New Window)
  • GLCI - Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (New Window)
  • Third Annual Conference on Grazing Lands

The following documents are provided in  Adobe Acrobat, and Microsoft Excel.

GRP Poster (11x17) (1.7 MB)
GRP Poster (8 1/2 x 11) (1.7 MB)
GRP Manual (144 MB)

2005 Archive

National NRCS Grassland Reserve Program

Sign-up Forms and Program Information

Contact

For information or questions regarding the Grassland Reserve Program  in Alabama, contact Eddie Jolley
USDA–NRCS, Conservation Agronomist
Phone: (334) 887-4564,
E-mail: Eddie.Jolley@al.usda.gov

Last Modified: 10/19/2007

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