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NRCS is Accepting Applications for the WRP Program

Auburn, Ala. – (June 25, 2007)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Landowners in Alabama with qualifying properties are encouraged to consider applying for the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). The sign-up is continuous. WRP 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. 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

Landowners can choose from three options:

Restoration agreement, which pays 75 percent of the cost of restoring the wetland by planting trees and adding shallow water
30-year easement, which pays the landowner 75 percent of the per acre value of the easement plus 75 percent cost-share
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).

Three public meetings are scheduled to provide more information to landowners.

July 9, 2007, 6:30 p.m. Paint Rock Valley High School Princeton, Alabama Contact: Jim Frost Phone: 256-574-1005	* July 10, 2007, 6:00 p.m. AL Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries 21453 Harris Station Road Tanner, AL Contact: Mark Swafford, DC Phone: 256-232-4025	* July 12, 2007, 6:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church- Family Life Center Corner of 3rd and Dickson Streets Tuscumbia, AL Contact: Kathy Gotcher, DC Phone: 256-974-1174
	* At the July 10th and 12th meetings only, a meal will be served. If you plan to attend one of the meetings, contact the host county NRCS District Conservationist to make a reservation.

For those who cannot attend one of the meetings, NRCS program staff will be in the Jackson, Limestone, and Colbert Counties field offices from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. on the respective day of the meeting to answer questions.

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

Alabama NRCS Wetland Reserve Program Website.

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