NRCS Accepting Applications for the WRP Program

Sample News Release for Field Office Use

Contact: Julie Best, Public Affairs Specialist - 334-887-4549

Auburn, AL, January 23, 2007

Landowners in Alabama with qualifying properties are encouraged to consider applying for the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). This is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore and enhance wetlands on their property.

WRP is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Funds are allocated annually to purchase easements and restore wetlands on qualifying lands. For 2007, applications received by March 15, 2007, will be ranked and considered for funding.

To be eligible for WRP, land must be restorable and be suitable for wildlife benefits. This includes:

• Farmed wetlands

• Farmland that has become a wetland as a result of flooding

• Rangeland, pasture, or hayland having wetland soils

• Riparian areas which link protected wetlands

Interested landowners are encouraged to contact the local USDA/NRCS field service center to file an application. Applicants will be contacted by an NRCS employee who will complete an evaluation of the site for ranking purposes. Those selected for funding will be notified in writing by the NRCS state office.

Landowners can choose from three options. There is the restoration agreement, which pays 75 percent of the cost of restoring the wetland by planting trees and adding shallow water. There is the 30 year easement, which pays the landowner 75 percent of the per acre value of the easement plus 75 percent cost-share. Then there is the permanent easement, which pays the landowner 100 percent of the easement value and 100 percent of the cost of restoring the area.

Restoring, protecting, and enhancing the functions and values of wetland ecosystems remain the focus of WRP in Alabama. By placing agricultural lands into WRP, the landowner provides resting and foraging habitat for migratory waterfowl, songbirds, shorebirds, wading birds and other wetland species. The NRCS in Alabama takes great pride in contributing to the many species of water birds observed on WRP lands.

WRP assistance is based on the potential benefit which the public may realize from wetland protection and restoration—projects and lands with the greatest wetland values are given the highest priority. Generally, agricultural lands containing restorable wetlands are eligible for funding, although forested lands are only eligible for participation in WRP if they are not enrolled in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

Participation in the WRP program can be beneficial to the landowner as well as to the environment. For more information about participation in the program, contact your local NRCS office at ______________________________.

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